Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies Corp., today announced it has launched a new engine rigging video series for pilots, owners and maintainers of Cessna Caravan aircraft powered by either PT6A-114A or PT6A-140 engines. Rigging is the process of hooking up engines to an aircraft's body, an essential skill that requires precision and uniformity.
"Our customers expect to be able to fly their aircraft on time, all the time," said Nicholas Kanellias, vice president, General Aviation at Pratt & Whitney. "The rigging video series is an example of how Pratt & Whitney is constantly finding new ways to offer customers easy access to the support and information they need, when it's convenient for them."
Engine rigging is an art and the Pratt & Whitney engine rigging video series bring that art to life. "A properly rigged engine results in improved aircraft handling, less unscheduled maintenance, reduced operating costs, and better environmental performance," said Kanellias. "The response we received to the 2018 King Air rigging videos was overwhelmingly positive, so we developed a new series for Cessna Caravans."
The videos were filmed in cooperation with Tropic Air, a regional airline based in San Pedro, Belize. Filmed in their new hangar, the videos show the basic set-up of the engine control system, final rigging and engine adjustments.
"It was an easy decision to assist Pratt & Whitney in making a PT6A engine rigging tool available in a format that can benefit my maintenance team and other Caravan operators," said John Greif IV, executive vice president of Tropic Air. "This collaboration reflects both the high standard of training for our technicians and our long-standing relationship with Pratt & Whitney."
The videos help save both time and money and ensure proper engine rigging for a single aircraft or for an entire fleet. The first series of videos for Cessna Caravan aircraft powered by the PT6A-114A engine is available here, while the next set of videos created for the Grand Caravan EX powered by the PT6A-140 engine will follow in August. Pratt & Whitney is already hard at work on the next engine rigging video series – for the PT6A-powered Air Tractor.