Honeywell has developed and demonstrated a new two- stage compressor that promises to enable lower turbine engine fuel consumption while increasing power-to-weight ratio across a broad operating range, the company announced.

Revealed here at Heli-Expo’06, the advanced compressor design is scalable to a variety of engine power classes, according to Ron Rich, director of advanced technology. Honeywell is applying it to the new HTS900 turboshaft engine selected by Bell Helicopter for the 407X, which has been chosen by the U.S. Army for its armed reconnaissance helicopter mission.

Honeywell is part of a joint DOD, NASA, Department of Energy and industry alliance to pursue a variety of cutting-edge technologies aimed at improving engine performance while balancing operating costs, said Rich.