Although focused on developing new jet engines, Pratt & Whitney Co. has found ways to keep aloft its 1960s-vintage workhorse that powered airliners and warplanes.
Pratt announced Monday that federal aviation authorities have certified several enhancements to the venerable JT8D engine introduced in 1964 to power the triple-engine Boeing 727 jetliner and the Navy’s A-6 Intruder attack fighter. It also later powered Boeing 737 and McDonnell Douglas DC-9 jetliners and air freighters.
Indeed, the engine improvements are part of a re-engining program involving Pratt and its San Antonio aerospace partner, Seven Q Seven, to upgrade Boeing 707s still flying in civilian and military fleets.
The upgraded JT8D-219 engines, featuring more corrosion-resistant high-pressure compressor rotors and stronger gearbox elements, are designed to be more powerful yet quieter, more reliable versions of the original, Pratt said.
The reworked engine – built and tested at Pratt’s Middletown plant — underwent 150 hours of endurance testing last May to clear the way for certification, Pratt said.
The first JT8D-219 motors are due for delivery in February to aircraft builder Northrup Grumman to re-engine the Air Force’s E-8C JSTARS version of the 707 used for aerial-attack surveillance.
If the Air Force chooses, Pratt said it could be in line to deliver as many as 80 of the new-generation engines.
