Lichtenstein/Saxony, August 31, 2009 – The U.S. Army has made extremely positive comments on the reliability of CENTURION 2.0 engines. For years these engines have been deployed worldwide in the reconnaissance drones manufactured by General Atomics. The U.S. Army plans to expand its fleet of drones in 2010, while continuing to deploy the CENTURION 2.0 engine.
In an interview with the magazine Aviation Week, Tim Owings, project manager for unmanned aircraft (UAVs) at the U.S. Army, expressed his deep satisfaction with CENTURION engines. In internal Army tests the engine proved that it is able to operate reliably at flight altitudes of up to 25,000 feet and even reaches flight altitudes of more than 30,000 feet. The engines have been flown a total of 6,000 hours without a single problem. The big driver across the board in terms of UAVs equipped with expensive technology is in-flight engine failures. “We’ve had zero,” Owings confided in Aviation Week.
“We are pleased about the confidence of the U.S. Army and their confirmation of our engine’s performance even under difficult operating conditions,” commented CENTURION chairman of the board Jasper M. Wolffson. “Each one of these hours of deployment is very valuable and contributes to the further development of our engines. Above all, our civilian customers in the area of general aviation also profit from this experience.”
Altogether, more than 2,600 CENTURION 1.7 and 2.0 engines in operation in the area of general aviation have completed more than 1.7 million flying hours to date. The engines are employed in Cessna, Piper, Apex, Robin, and Diamond machines. Both civilian and military customers appreciate the reliability, range, the low consumption and minimal emissions offered by the engines. What is more, kerosene (Jet A) is low-priced and available worldwide. CENTURION has more than 300 service centers and thirty distributors on all of the important general aviation markets worldwide.
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About CENTURION
CENTURION is the world’s leading brand for certified, kerosene (diesel) piston aircraft engines for general aviation. CENTURION engines were the first in the world to be approved for kerosene piston engines. A global network of more than 300 authorized service centers is also available to CENTURION pilots. The more than 2,600 CENTURION engines in operation have to date completed more than 1.7 million flying hours altogether.
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Press contact:
Sebastian Glaser
möller pr GmbH
Phone: +49 (0)221 80 10 87-80
e-mail: sg@moeller-pr.de
www.moeller-pr.de
