Pratt & Whitney has successfully conducted a 100 percent SAF Test Flight with PW127M engines powering a Braathen Regional Airlines’ ATR 72-600. During the two hour test flight, both engines were fueled with Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel.
On Tuesday (June 21, 2022), Pratt & Whitney Canada announced the successful completion of a 100 percent SAF test flight with PW127M engines powering a Braathen Regional Airlines’ ATR 72-600 aircraft. During the flight, both engines were powered exclusively with Neste MY Sustainable Aviation Fuel for two hours, with the aircraft traveling from Malmo to Bromma Airport and back. The flight test was a collaboration between the airline, Pratt & Whitney Canada and ATR, marking the first time Pratt & Whitney engines flew simultaneously on 100 percent SAF, and the first turboprop in the world to reach this major milestone. Currently, commercial aircraft are certified to fly on 50 percent SAF blends, and the successful test will help pave the way to a potential 100 percent SAF drop-in solution for aviation.
In Tuesday’s announcment, Pratt & Whitney’s Vice President – Regional Aviation and APU Product Marketing and Sales, Timothy Swail, said,
“We are extremely pleased with the successful testing of our PW127M engines on 100% SAF. We have worked closely with ATR and Braathens leading up to the flight testing and share their enthusiasm over the future application of SAF in the aviation industry.”
Also commenting on the successful SAF test flight, ATR’s CEO, Stefano Bortoli, said,
“Today is a historic day for aviation. After more than a century of commercial flights powered by kerosene, we are at the dawn of a new era. In recent months, with the support of Pratt & Whitney Canada we carried out a series of successful flights with sustainable fuel in one engine. We now decided it was time to perform the first test flight with 100% SAF in both engines. This helps us to certify our aircraft to fly solely on sustainable fuels faster and to enable more sustainable air links as a result. The flight represents a true milestone for the entire aviation industry as it shows that this technology works and can be promptly adopted by many in our industry to speed up the transition to zero emission aviation.”
Braathen Regional Airlines’ Chairman, Per G. Braathen, added,
“As a leading Swedish domestic airline our sustainability focus started long before any other airline, and this milestone is one of the main pillars and represents a real innovation for the industry. It proved that 100% SAF is the most immediate and effective option we have to reduce CO2 emissions and move faster to a decarbonized industry.”
Braathen Regional Airlines ATR 72-600 Successfully Completes Historic First Flight With 100 Percent SAF on Tuesday, June 21, 2022 - Courtesy ATR
The historic 100 SAF percent test flight was crewed by Chief ATR Pilot Cyril Cizabuiroz, Co-Pilot Jean-Pierre Marre, and Flight Test Mechanic Pascal Daussin. The team flew the aircraft from Malmo, a coastal city in southern Sweden, to Bromma near Stockholm, which took approximately one hour and twenty minutes.
Pratt & Whitney Canada’s engines have been 50 percent SAF compatible since the late 2000s. The company’s family of regional turboprop engines reduce fuel consumption and emissions by 40 percent compared to a similar sized jet aircraft on similar routes.
A division of Raytheon Technologies Corporation (NYSE: RTX), Pratt & Whitney is a global leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft and helicopter engines and auxiliary power units (APUs) for commercial, military, regional, business and general aviation aircraft. Pratt & Whitney is known for their innovative technologies such as the Geared Turbofan (GTF) commercial aircraft engine and the PW800 business jet engine.
Source(s): Pratt & Whitney, ATR
Editor’s Note: The original article was updated to include additional information and photographs from ATR at approximately 14:30 on Tuesday, June 21, 2022.