Williams International
| Williams International | |
|---|---|
| legal form | Limited Liability Company |
| founding | 1955 |
| Seat | Pontiac (Michigan) , United States |
| management | Gregg G. Williams, Chairman , President and CEO |
| Branch | mechanical engineering |
| Website | www.williams-int.com |
Williams International is an American manufacturer of small gas turbines based in Pontiac, Michigan . The company produces jet engines for cruise missiles and small jet-propelled aircraft .
history
The company was founded in 1955 by Dr. Sam B. Williams (born May 7, 1921, in Seattle - † June 22, 2009 in Indian Wells (California) ) founded as Williams Research Corporation in Birmingham (Michigan) (other sources name 1954). In 1981 the company was renamed Williams International . Since the 1950s, the company is building small turbofan -Triebwerke for very light jet aircraft ( very light jet , VLJ), cruise missiles and drones.
Using the cruise missile engines, Williams developed a number of VTOL vehicles, including a jet-propelled belt, in 1969. In the 1970s the company built the Williams Aerial Systems Platform (WASP) and in the 1980s the X-Jet , which was used by the Army the United States was tried.
In the 1980s, Williams saw the need for a small, lightweight jet engine in general aviation to power an inexpensive home or business jet . The company then developed the FJ44 , which enabled the introduction of a number of light jet propelled aircraft.
In 1992, NASA launched its Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiments (AGATE) program to work with various manufacturers to develop new technologies to revitalize the general aviation industry. In 1996 Williams participated in this program to develop a fuel-efficient turbofan engine that would be even smaller than the FJ44. The result was the FJX-2 engine. Williams concluded after an agreement with Burt Rutan's company Scaled Composites to construction and development of the Williams V-Jet II , a mini jets , which should serve as a test carrier and technology demonstrator. The aircraft and engine were presented at the 1997 Oshkosh Airshow . The production version of the engine, which was now called EJ22 (later FJ22), was used in the prototype of the Eclipse 500 , which was developed from the V-Jet II , but was later replaced by a Pratt & Whitney engine.
Products
among other things are produced:
- Williams International WR19 , used in cruise missiles and drones
- Williams International F107 , used in a variety of cruise missiles
- Williams International FJ22 , a derivative of the FJX-2; alias EJ-22, for the VLJ market
- Williams International FJ33 , also for the VLJ market
- Williams International FJ44 , produced in collaboration with Rolls-Royce for light business aircraft
See also
- General Motors EV1 , of which there was also a hybrid model with gas turbine from Williams
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Company Timeline (company history, English)