Pratt & Whitney to open world-class flight test operations centre in Montreal

April 23, 2008

A Boeing B747SP in Pratt & Whitney’s Plattsburgh, N.Y., location

Longueuil, Que.-based Pratt & Whitney Canada willconcentrate its flight test operations in a new world-class centre at Montreal-Mirabel International Airport. The new global hub represents an investment of about $90 million.

“Establishing this single, state-of-the-art facility will improve our competitiveness and support flight testing for the complete range of Pratt & Whitney engines, from turboprops to turbofans up to 90,000 pounds of thrust,” said Benoit Brossoit, senior vice-president of service centres and operations. “We have recently won several competitions to supply engines for new aircraft, and we need to evolve our flight test operations to support this growth.”

Flight test operations positions currently in Plattsburgh, N.Y., and Saint-Hubert, Que., will be transferred to Mirabel. This will create more than 75 highly skilled jobs at the new facility, including test engineers and specialized technicians. An additional 100 indirect jobs are also expected to be created for the construction of the facility and the maintenance of aircraft.

The 164,000-square-foot facility will feature two bays for the company’s test aircraft, allowing for the testing of a full range of development engines. P&WC will operate two Boeing B747SP test aircraft by the time the new flight test facility in Mirabel is completed in the spring of 2009. These aircraft are currently being upgraded and modified with the necessary test equipment.
http://www.pwc.ca