There are hundreds of people at Pratt & Whitney Canada who work daily and diligently to build and maintain PT6 engines. It’s an impressive family of individuals, and this month we’re featuring a few PT6 family members whose passion for their jobs is clearly evident. These are some of the many people that make the PT6 engine great.

When Paul Forest joined P&WC in 1969, the PT6 engine was just six years on the market. In 2013, as Paul celebrates 44 years with the company and the PT6 engine turns 50, there is likely little about the engine he doesn’t know.

Paul is the resident PT6 technical expert at the company, having worked in Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul and Customer Training in Longueuil, Quebec, as well as Field Operations in Asia. As such, he leads a team that deals with the technical aspects of the engine. “Even back in the early days of the PT6 engine, it already had a reputation for reliability and ease of maintenance,” says Paul. “At that time, it was mainly used for corporate aircraft.”

To operators around the world, Paul is unofficially viewed as P&WC’s ambassador for the PT6 engine. He is also the company’s Customer service liaison with a couple of major aircraft manufacturers who are loyal users of the engine. Paul makes PT6 engine presentations at many operator conferences, which takes him to some unique places.

“Recently I was on a trip that took me through Jordan, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania,” says Paul. “I often travel with local P&WC field support representatives (FSRs), providing maintenance seminars and technical updates. I really enjoy meeting customers face to face and going from hangar to hangar to give personalized service.” He estimates that he travels some 48,000 kilometres a year, often to remote areas, with rugged and sometimes hostile terrain, where PT6-powered aircraft provide service.

And soon after contributing to this article, Paul was off again – this time to Arizona.