Cadets Tour Williams International
Cadets had a unique opportunity to tour the facilities at Williams International today. Williams International, located in Walled Lake, MI, is the world leader in the development of small turbine engines for general aviation and military applications. From powering the first cruise missiles, to powering the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer nonstop around the globe, Williams also produces the engines for the most popular business jets.
After passing through secruity and receiving their visitor badges, cadets were greeted by Todd Lindsey, program manager for the FJ44-4 engine program. Mr. Lindsey gave a brief presentation to explain the basic operations of a jet engine. He then took us through a tour of the facility, which included research and development areas, engine build areas and a small company museum. Cadets were also able to view live engine tests being performed in one of the test cells where an engine was being cycled through it’s power range every 65 seconds to test durability. After a walk through of their repair facility for customer engines, the group proceeded back to a conference room to view films of engine tests. These films included footage of engines ingesting small birds and ice, and also containment of seperated fan blades.
We would like to thank Mr. Lindsey for donating his personal time to show us around the facility and answer our questions! We look forward to visiting again in the future.
