Press Releases 2006

The Polish students gather around the PW4000-112" engine with Customer Training F100 instructors on graduation day.

Polish Air Force Officers Complete PW-229 Training

31 July 2006

On July 18, 16 Polish Air Force students graduated from a six-month F100-PW-229 maintenance-training program at Pratt & Whitney's Customer Training Center (CTC) in East Hartford, Connecticut. The students - made up of captains, lieutenants and warrant officers - are the first former Eastern Bloc air force members to take such training since the Polish Air Force purchased 48 Lockheed Martin F-16's and 53 Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-229 engines to power them.

Before beginning training at Pratt & Whitney, the students spent two months at the Defense Language Institute in San Antonio, Texas, improving their English language proficiency. Then, in January of 2006 they began their first class at the CTC.

"Training on the F100-PW-229 posed many challenges to the students, as they were living in a foreign country and learning very detailed technical information in their second language," says Jon Moore, Poland ILS manager. "In addition, they were seasoned veterans on Russian engines and aircraft, which are very different from our engines," he adds. Even with these challenges, the students were extremely dedicated and willing to learn. "This group will be leaving Pratt & Whitney with all the knowledge and tools needed to keep their engines running in top condition."

The Polish training program included:

• Familiarization
• Systems & Troubleshooting
• Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals (IETMS)
• Intermediate Maintenance
• Intermediate Maintenance OJT
• Borescope Inspection Procedures