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Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) has achieved supplemental type certification (STC) for its FAST prognostics solution on the single-engine Pilatus PC-12 47E NG aircraft powered by the PT6A-67P.
The FAST solution captures and analyzes full-flight engine and aircraft data, enabling high visibility on a multitude of key operating parameters within 15 minutes of the pilot shutting down the engine, which can be used to optimize maintenance planning and operations and further increase aircraft availability. P&WC is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation.
PlaneSense, a leading fractional aircraft ownership program, will launch the FAST solution on its fleet of PC-12 NG aircraft.
“We at PlaneSense have always been focused on safety, reliability, and maintainability,” said George Antoniadis, president and CEO, PlaneSense. “We’re delighted that the FAST solution will lead to improvements in all three, while also offering savings on direct operating costs.”
The PC-12 NG will be among a growing number of PT6A-powered aircraft that already benefit from FAST. The solution’s advanced predictive and preventive maintenance capabilities further enhance the overall engine value proposition, adding to the industry-leading reliability delivered by the PT6A.
The PT6A is the only turboprop engine approved for single-engine instrument flight rules for commercial passenger revenue activity in Europe, North America and Australia.
“FAST has proven itself one of the aviation industry’s most effective turnkey predictive and preventive engine health management solutions; we’re delivering meaningful results to customers and opening up new opportunities to drive even greater availability and operational optimization,” said Tim Swail, vice-president, Customer Programs at P&WC.
“FAST’s robust, OEM-backed data pipeline is optimized to work seamlessly within the P&WC analytics environment to meet our customers’ trending requirements and drive highly beneficial outcomes.”
In addition to the PC-12 NG, the FAST solution is certified on the Beechcraft King Air 200/300 series, Textron Aviation’s Cessna Caravan 208/208B as well as Air Tractor platforms. P&WC continues to invest in new FAST certifications, including in the development of an STC for the PC-12 45 and 47 series of aircraft to help meet the growing demand for advanced digital engine health management among 7,000 PT6A operators.
“We are moving customers toward fully preventive maintenance environments, including on-condition programs, and offering reduced rates on our pay-per-hour plans supporting many platforms, such as the Dassault Falcon aircraft family, the Cessna Citation Latitude (chosen by NetJets), PT6A-powered aircraft such as the Cessna Grand Caravan and numerous regional airline applications,” continued Swail.
P&WC will be at EBACE, booth O115A. Interested operators are invited to drop by the booth to speak with a marketing or customer service representative.
