LETHBRIDGE, Alberta -- Pratt & Whitney Canada announced that the 500th PT6 E-Series engine has rolled off the production line at the company’s PT6 Engine center of excellence located in Lethbridge, Alberta. Powering the Daher TBM 960 and the Pilatus PC-12 NGX, the PT6 E-Series family has flown more than 200,000 hours since entry into service in 2019. Pratt & Whitney is an RTX business.

The PT6E-67XP powers the Pilatus PC-12 NGX and the PT6E-66XT powers Daher’s TBM 960.

The PT6 family of engines has been the go-to powerplant for general aviation and helicopters for more than six decades. Today's PT6 engine is up to four times more powerful, has a 50% improved power-to-weight ratio, and up to 20% better specific fuel consumption compared to the original engine.

Since the PT6 engine was introduced in 1963, this engine family has been used to power more than 155 different aircraft models and has flown more than 500 million hours.

Source: https://innovation.prattwhitney.com/

CASABLANCA, Morocco - To mark 25 years since its inception, Safran Aircraft Engines Services Morocco (SAESM), a joint venture between Safran Aircraft Engines and Royal Air Maroc, inaugurated an extension of its Nouaceur plant, close to Casablanca’s Mohammed V International Airport.

The two partners also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the unit’s continued growth, including 2,000 square meters (21,500 sq. ft) of added capacity, enabling it to increase the number of shop visits from 70 to 100 a year by 2026. SAESM is strengthening its position as a center of excellence for the CFM56 engine family within Safran’s global maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) network, offering airlines a complete range of services covering the entire MRO process, from diagnosis to performance guarantee at the test bench.

To support this development, SAESM also plans to hire around 100 people up to 2026, bringing the plant’s total staff to 350. It will also rely on key local academic partnerships, supported by Royal Air Maroc and Safran Aircraft Engines, to develop MRO expertise in Morocco.

Source: https://www.safran-group.com

PARIS -- Safran Helicopter Engines has renewed its contract with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to support the Arriel engines powering its MH-65 helicopters. This new 5-year contract will provide in-service support and MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) for more than 240 Arriel 2C2-CG engines, under a Support-By-the-Hour (SBH) contract.

The U.S. Coast Guard's MH-65 helicopters have been powered by two Arriel 2C2-CG engines since 2003. They are used daily for Short Range Recovery (SSR) missions. Equipped with their Safran engines, this fleet has accumulated over 1.7 million flight hours.

In-service support for these engines will continue to be provided by Safran Helicopter Engines USA in Grand Prairie, Texas, which supports more than 400 customers in the United States and a total fleet of 3,200 engines.

Source: https://www.safran-group.com/pressroom/safran-continues-service-support-us-coast-guard-mh-65-helicopter-engines-2024-04-15