Pratt & Whitney · Case study
Pratt & Whitney PW4000
Pratt & Whitney's widebody mainstay of the 1990s. Built in three fan diameters from one design philosophy, the PW4000 succeeded the JT9D and powered almost every long-haul airframe of its era.
Architecture
The PW4000 is a two-spool high-bypass turbofan offered in three fan sizes — nominally 94, 100 and 112 inches — each tuned to a different thrust class. The smallest serves the 767 and A310; the largest, with a fan well over two and a half metres across, was developed for the Boeing 777.
It succeeded the JT9D and was among the early civil engines designed around full-authority digital engine control (FADEC), which sharpened fuel scheduling and protection across the flight envelope.
The cycle
Spanning such a wide thrust range meant the family covered a broad band of bypass and pressure ratios. The larger-fan members pushed bypass ratio up for better cruise efficiency on long sectors, while the whole family leaned on Pratt & Whitney's core experience to keep on-wing life long.
Engineering significance
The PW4000 kept Pratt & Whitney competitive across the entire widebody market through the 1990s and 2000s, and the 112-inch variant put the company on the 777 alongside the GE90 and the Trent 800 — a three-way contest that pushed all three manufacturers' large-fan technology forward.
Applications
Boeing 747-400 · 767 · 777 · Airbus A300 / A310 / A330 · MD-11
Explore a representative turbofan cycle for this engine class in the interactive console.
Open the simulator →All figures are public-estimated and approximate, given for a representative variant; exact values vary by sub-model and rating. PropulsionLab is an educational project and is not affiliated with any engine manufacturer. Engine names are the trademarks of their respective owners.