The dramatic cancellation of the Eclipse's EJ22 engine and the
rancor that followed have not slowed down Williams International.
Five companies have chosen the more conventional Williams FJ33
engine for new light jets--including Diamond, with the single-engine
D-JET--and the company is introducing its most powerful engine
yet, the FJ44-4. There is no announced application for the -4,
although its 3,500 pounds thrust rating puts it up in the same
class as the PW500 and smaller TFE731s: "All we're saying
now is that we are forecasting that there will be a market for
the engine," says chairman and CEO Dr. Sam Williams.
Some work on the radical FJ22, with its one-piece axial compressor,
is continuing, says Dr Williams, "but we're not out promoting
it at this time. The aircraft that everyone is looking at are
in the FJ33 thrust range, and I think that's good. It's the right-size
airplane. I'm optimistic about that market-the airlines are making
it very desirable to have small air taxis."
The FJ33 "is way ahead of anyone else in the field,"
says Dr Williams. Production engines have flown on the Adams A700,
birdstrike tests have been completed, and certification is not
far away. Although the engine is "pretty much a scaled FJ44,"
Dr Williams says, some of the manufacturing technology developed
for the EJ22 is now being applied to the FJ33 and FJ44.
In particular, Williams International has advanced its high-speed
machining technology-we have the most advanced manufacturing systems
in the world," Dr Williams states flatly-and has applied
it to the smallest parts of its engines. That is one reason why
the FJ33 can be priced lower than the FJ44, a larger engine but
similar in layout. Details of the HSM process are "strictly
proprietary-they're a big element in the cost and quality of a
small engine."
The FJ44-4 is not the upper limit to the Williams range. "We
haven't announced any activity," says Dr Williams, "but
we're always looking upwards, because the dollar volume [in larger
engines] is very interesting."
