A Look at the Latest Engines at Williams International

A small company with headquarters in Walled Lake, Michigan, Williams International has supplied small gas turbine engines to the aerospace industry since the 1950s. This post takes a closer look at the new projects the company has unveiled within the past year. [1]

Williams International made headlines last year when Swiss jet company Pilatus selected the FJ44-4A turbofan engines to power its Pilatus PC-24 aircraft. These engines can provide a normal takeoff thrust of 3435 lbf with an added 5 percent of thrust available in reserve through what Williams calls an Automatic Thrust Reserve. The special features of this engine, however, are what makes it even more appealing to small jet companies. The inlet of the engine is designed to reduce icing and noise, and a pre-cooler helps reduce bleed air and losses due to drag. The engine possesses a Quiet Power Mode, which provides energy to power the jet's electrical systems without the need of an auxiliary power unit. This allows for the aircraft to operate at a higher fuel efficiency. Finally, the FJ44-4A leads its engine class with a time between overhaul of 5000 hours, allowing the PC-24 to operate without interruption for a longer period of time. [1][2]

The Pilatus PC-24 aircraft [3]

In addition, Williams began production on two more FJ44 engines - the FJ44-1AP-21 and the FJ44-4A-32 - after both received certification from the Federal Aviation Administration in March and May of 2013. The 1AP-21 improves upon its predecessor, the FJ44-1AP, with a 10-15% increase in thrust and a percent decrease in fuel consumption during long range cruise. In addition, the engine provides more thrust at hot and high takeoff conditions and an increase in time between overhaul of 500 hours. With all these improvements, aircraft using these engines can operate more efficiently than before, takeoff under more extreme conditions, and fly for longer periods of time and greater distances. Cessna's Citation M2 jet makes use of the FJ44-1AP. The 4A-32 also improves in thrust,  its 3230 ibf output being nearly 500lbf greater than its predecessor. The other great benefit of the 4A-32 is its fuel economy: with its range at 1,930 nautical miles, it's an impressive 43% greater than the engine it replaces. The Hawker 400XPR reaps the benefits of this improved 4A-32 engine. 

The Williams International FJ-44 4A engine. This model was later improved upon by later iterations. [4]

With the improvements they've made to their FJ44 engines, Williams International has shown why they are held in high regard in the small gas turbine industry. 

The Cessna Citation M2 jet [5]

Sources:
[1] "Williams International | News." Williams International | News. N.p., 21 May 2013. Web.<http://www.williams-int.com/news.html?pid=32>.
[2]"Welcome to Pilatus Aircraft Ltd." Welcome to Pilatus Aircraft Ltd. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.pilatus-aircraft.com/#278>.
[3]<http://www.pilatus-aircraft.com/01-api/navigation/1.0/images/contentheader/slide/PC-24-SVJ/09.jpg>
[4]<http://www.aero-news.net/images/content/commav/2003/williams-fj44-1003b.jpg>
[5]<http://www.aopa.org/-/media/Images/AOPA/Home/News/All%20News/2011/September/Cessna%20offers%20Citation%20M2%20jet/110926cessna_citation_m2.jpg%3Fw%3D480%26h%3D260%26as%3D1>