The Pratt & Whitney 2000 engine is a popular engine installed on Boeing’s 757 aircraft and still operates today in both passenger and freighter variants; it is also used on the C-17 globe master aircraft.
Read moreAt launch the PW2000 was ground-breaking in commercial aviation – it was the first Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) engine in commercial aviation use. The engine was given inputs from the pilot directly or the autopilot systems managing the thrust and a computer controlled the engine fuel flow and monitored the operation. This was a move away from the manual cable-controlled engines in use, where a physical control cable from the flight deck was linked to the engine controlling the fuel flow.
The engine control was developed using technology from Pratt & Whitneys military engines and could control the engine in 3 different methods, most engines only have two control modes.
The engine would normally operate in a mode called Engine Pressure Ratio (EPR) where the air pressure at the front of the engine is compared to the back – the difference then is your EPR power setting. If that failed then the engine can be controlled using N1 speed, which means it monitors the fan speed of the low-pressure shaft (the fan you see at the front of the engine). Then if both failed then we could control the engine from N2 speed, which is the high-pressure shaft (this is internal in the engine and not visible externally).
The PW2000 is one of the engine options available on the Boeing 757, the other being a Rolls Royce RB211.
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