Making Noise About a Quiet Jet Engine

If you live near an airport, you have probably developed a few innovative techniques to deal with the noise of aircraft taking off and landing. You may have even said, "I don't even hear it anymore!" But you have to shout that because the shuttle from D.C. is landing.

There are a few things airports can do to minimize noise. Things like blast fences and precision approaches help, but let's face it – airports don't make noise. Airplanes – and, more specifically, aircraft engines – make noise.

This is where Pratt & Whitney's new PurePower® Geared Turbofan™ (GTF) engine comes in to play. It reduces its noise footprint by 75 percent, while also delivering a 16 percent improvement in fuel efficiency and reducing NOx emissions by 50 percent to the regulatory limit. If every airplane departing LaGuardia was powered by a Geared Turbofan engine, about 500,000 fewer airport neighbors would be impacted by noise from takeoff and landing.

This engine not only leads to quieter neighborhoods near airports – it's a key to the health of our future cities and skies, too. As our population grows and urbanizes, and with air travel expected to double by 2035, we'll need a way to not only connect urban centers, but also protect the planet. One way to do that is through green aviation technology like the Geared Turbofan engine.

Pratt & Whitney and its parent company, Fortune 45 manufacturer United Technologies Corporation, are investing heavily in alternative fuels and leading-edge technologies like additive manufacturing and nanomaterials to make even greener, quieter engines.

Air traffic continues to rise, the Geared Turbofan engine will help airlines sustainably manage this growth with technologies that are changing the world and helping Pratt & Whitney "Go Beyond."

To learn more about the Geared Turbofan engine and how Pratt & Whitney and United Technologies smart and innovative design created a new jet engine that takes sustainable aviation to new heights visit http://naturalleader.com/ or www.purepowerengines.com.