2018 turbofan focus - FlightGlobal
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
commercial engines
2018
turbofan focus
In association with
commercial engines 2018 commercial engines 2018
contentS
Engine events
Memorable recent events and future entry into service 4-5
analysis & news
Engine deliveries in 2017 6-7
Engine market shares for Airbus and Boeing 8-9
Commercial engines: manufacturer market share 10
Engine market share by market group 11
Rolls-Royce’s vision of aviation’s future 12-14
A focus on Rolls-Royce’s Trent 1000 15-17
Updates on the GE9X 18-19
News from Flight Dashboard 20-38
reference information
Engine options by commercial aircraft 39 The information contained in our databases and
Day in. Day out.
Commercial aircraft by engine type 40 used in this presentation has been assembled from
many sources, and whilst reasonable care has been
Airliner turbofan engines: production timeline 41 taken to ensure accuracy, the information is
supplied on the understanding that no legal
Commercial engine manufacturer and types overview 42-47 liability whatsoever shall attach to FlightGlobal, its
offices, or employees in respect of any error or
CFM Services. Supporting your engine throughout its lifecycle. omission that may have occurred.
engine census
© 2018 FlightGlobal,
Operator listing by commercial engine type 48-59 part of Reed Business Information Ltd
At any point in time – from entry into service to mid-life and through maturity –
we have the capability, resources and experience to deliver all of your engine service
requirements. From customized programs to tailored transactions, we ensure your
CFM engine is maintained to meet your needs and cost of ownership objectives
Wherever you are in the world, whatever day in your engine’s life.
Expertise. Choice. Flexibility.
www.cfmaeroengines.com/services
CFM International is a 50/50 joint company between GE and Safran Aircraft Engines
GE Aviation
FlightGlobal | 3
commercial engines 2018 commercial engines 2018
Engine events
Wideroe
Rolls-Royce
May 2017
Boeing delivers first April 2018
Leap-1B-powered 737 November 2017 Embraer delivers
first PW19000G-
Boeing
Max 8 to Malindo Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 March 2018 powered E190-E2
TEN enters service on GE9X enters flight
Boeing 787s to Wideroe
test phase
May May
2017 Jul Sep Nov Jan Mar 2018
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
Jun Aug Oct Dec Feb Apr
February 2018
October 2017 Qatar Airways takes delivery of first May 2018
May 2017 Trent 7000-powered XWB-97-powered A350-1000 First test flight for Trent
Maiden flight for the A330neo takes off on XWB-powered Cathay
Leap-1C-powered C919 maiden flight Pacific A350-1000
future entry into service
aircraft engine year
Airbus A330neo Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 2018
Boeing 787-10 Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 2018
Embraer E-Jet E195-E2 Pratt & Whitney PW1900G 2019
May 2018
Irkut MC-21 Pratt & Whitney PW1400G 2020 Power-on for the
Irkut MC-21 Aviadvigatel PD-14 2020 first CJ-1000AX
Mitsubishi MRJ Pratt & Whitney PW1200G 2020 demonstrator engine
Boeing 777X GE Aviation GE9X 2020
achieved
Embraer E-Jet E175-E2 Pratt & Whitney PW1700G 2021
Comac C919 CFM International Leap-1C 2020-21
Comac
Airbus
Comac C919 ACAE CJ-1000AX 2022
4 | FlightGlobal FlightGlobal | 5
AIRCRAFT & ENGINES POWERPLANT MARKETS
commercial engines 2018 commercial engines 2018
DATA COMPILATION AND ANALYSIS ANTOINE FAFARD FLIGHTGLOBAL
Lifting expectations
Last year saw the Leap-1B enter service on the Boeing 737 Max, as CFM International
cemented its domination of the global market by number of powerplants delivered. The
Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 meanwhile powered the first A330neo flight, in a year when overall
deliveries again rose to keep pace with record numbers of aircraft joining commercial
airline fleets. In the regional sector, GE and Pratt & Whitney continued to dominate
A330 engine manufacturer share Engine manufacturer ranking
2017 deliveries Backlog* 2017 deliveries Backlog*
Manufacturer Aircraft Share Aircraft Share Rank Manufacturer Engines Share Engines Share
General Electric 11 18% 9 3% 1 CFM International 1,714 58% 13,928 53%
Pratt & Whitney 2 3% - - 2 General Electric 406 14% 1,634 6%
Rolls-Royce 49 79% 245 82% 3 Rolls-Royce 390 13% 2,520 10%
Undecided - - 45 15% 4 International Aero Engines 278 9% 120 1%
Total 62 299 5 Pratt & Whitney 150 5% 2,950 11%
Source: Flight Fleets Analyzer Notes: * At 31 December 2017. Excludes 6 Engine Alliance 20 1% 16 0.1%
corporate and military operators. Includes A330neo
Undecided - - 5,096 19%
A380 engine manufacturer share Total 2,958 26,264
Source: Flight Fleets Analyzer Notes: *At 31 December 2017. Data for installed engines based on Airbus/Boeing types. Excludes corporate and
Airbus
2017 deliveries Backlog* military operators
Manufacturer Aircraft Share Aircraft Share
Engine Alliance 5 33% 4 4% A320 family engine manufacturer share Airbus/Boeing fleet by engine manufacturer
12,000 11,713
Rolls-Royce 10 67% 61 64%
Undecided - - 30 32%
Total 15 95 10,000
Source: Flight Fleets Analyzer Notes: *At 31 December 2017. Excludes 13%
corporate and military operators 38% 8,000
37%
767 engine manufacturer share
25% 2017 Backlog* 6,000
2017 deliveries Backlog* deliveries 4,000
Manufacturer Aircraft Share Aircraft Share 3,118
1% 3,037
BillyPix
General Electric 10 - 60 100%
62% 24% 2,304 2,029
2,000
Pratt & Whitney - - - -
Total 10 60 129
Source: Flight Fleets Analyzer Notes: *At 31 December 2017. Excludes 0
corporate and military operators CFM International General Electric Rolls-Royce Pratt & Whitney Engine Alliance
International Aero Engines
Notes: *At 31 December 2017. Excludes corporate and military operators. Source: Flight Fleets Analyzer
Notes: In-service and parked fleet at 31 December 2017. Boeing data includes former MDC types.
Excludes corporate and military operators Source: Flight Fleets Analyzer
CFM International International Aero Pratt & Whitney Undecided Total deliveries: 558
Engines Total backlog: 6,130 Airbus total: 9,552 Boeing total: 12,778 Grand total: 22,330
787 engine manufacturer share Regional aircraft engine manufacturer market share
Bombardier
9% 4%
45% 46%
36% 28% 32%
Airbus
2017 2017 Backlog**
Backlog*
deliveries deliveries*
64% 27% 45% 65%
Notes: *Airframe. **At 31 December 2017. Excludes corporate and military operators. ***Including P&W Canada.
Notes: *At 31 December 2017. Excludes corporate and military operators. Source: Flight Fleets Analyzer Data for firm orders for ATR, Bombardier, Comac, Embraer, Mitsubishi and Sukhoi. Source: Flight Fleets Analyzer
Rolls-Royce General Electric Undecided Total deliveries: 134 General Electric Pratt & Whitney*** Powerjet Total deliveries: 278
Rolls Royce
Total backlog: 656 Total backlog: 1,242
IAE
6 | |FlightGlobal
42 Flight Airline Business | April 2018 flightglobal.com/airlines flightglobal.com/airlines April 2018 | Flight Airline Business | |43
FlightGlobal 7
COMMERCIAL ENGINES FLEETS AND ORDERS
commercial engines 2018 commercial engines 2018
Powerbase
Boeing’s 777X family will use efficiency Airbus/Boeing order backlog by engine manufacturer
gains from in-development GE9X
Airbus
Boeing
Engine options impact operating performance and airline 0 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000
economics. We use data from Flight Fleets Analyzer to Source: Flight Fleets Analyzer (May 2018)
CFM International Pratt & Whitney Rolls-Royce
detail the selection balance for Airbus and Boeing types GE Aviation International Aero Engines Unannounced
Airbus A320neo-family by engine manufacturer and region Airbus/Boeing in service fleet by engine manufacturer
2,000
Airbus
1,500
Boeing
Boeing
1,000
Qatar Airways’ A380 fleet is exclusively 0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000
Source: Flight Fleets Analyzer
driven by Engine Alliance GP7200s Note: In-service fleet at 9 May 2018; Boeing data includes former MDC types
500
CFM International Pratt & Whitney Rolls-Royce
GE Aviation International Aero Engines Engine Alliance
0
Asia-Pacific Europe Latin America North America Middle East Africa Unknown
Source: Flight Fleets Analyzer PW1100G is one of two options available
Note: In-service fleet and order backlog at 9 May 2018
to customers for re-engined A320neo
CFM International Pratt & Whitney Unannounced
Boeing 787 by engine manufacturer and region
500
400
300
R Gnecco/Airbus
200
100
0
Delivered in March, 737 Max 8 is a great
Asia-Pacific Europe Middle East North America Latin America Africa Unknown Leap forward for Kazakh carrier SCAT
Source: Flight Fleets Analyzer
Note: In-service fleet and order backlog at 9 May 2018
Airbus
GE Aviation Rolls-Royce Unannounced
Boeing 787 by engine Airbus A320neo-family by Rolls-Royce has secured orders to equip
manufacturer engine manufacturer one-third of global Dreamliner fleet
33% 39%
8%
Total 29%
Total
1,258 5,003
32%
59%
Source: Flight Fleets Analyzer Source: Flight Fleets Analyzer
Paul Gordon/Boeing
Note: In-service fleet and order backlog at 9 May 2018 Note: In-service fleet and order backlog at 9 May 2018
GE Aviation Rolls-Royce Unannounced CFM International Pratt & Whitney Unannounced
Xxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx
Boeing
746 413 99 1,936 1,465 1,602
32| | Flight International | 29 May-4 June 2018 flightglobal.com flightglobal.com 29 May-4 June 2018 | Flight International | |33
8 FlightGlobal FlightGlobal 9
commercial engines 2018 commercial engines 2018
At a glance Engine market share by market group
Commercial engines: manufacturer market share commercial narrowbody aircraft Other
MANUFACTURER AIRCRAFT ENGINES (1%)
CFM International 11,271 22,542 3%
6%
International Aero Engines 3,059 6,118
europe
Pratt & Whitney 856 1,759
MANUFACTURER AIRCRAFT ENGINES
Rolls-Royce 546 1,092
North america
CFM International 3,292 6,702 19%
middle east Other 65 179
MANUFACTURER AIRCRAFT ENGINES
GE Aviation 1,113 2,458
MANUFACTURER AIRCRAFT ENGINES TOTAL 15,797 31,690
31,690
International Aero Engines 674 1,348
CFM International 2,583 5,166 GE Aviation 475 986 ENGINES
Rolls-Royce 615 1,472
GE Aviation 2,344 4,936 CFM International 387 788
Pratt & Whitney 196 439 71%
Pratt & Whitney 814 1,715 Rolls-Royce 186 420
Other 302 909
Rolls-Royce 803 1,606 International Aero Engines 127 254
TOTAL 6,192 13,328
International Aero Engines 761 1,522 Engine Alliance 103 412
Other 7 26 Other 117 329
africa
TOTAL 7,312 14,971 TOTAL 1,395 3,189
MANUFACTURER AIRCRAFT ENGINES
CFM International 402 834
asia-pacific
GE Aviation 161 327
MANUFACTURER AIRCRAFT ENGINES commercial widebody aircraft
south america Rolls-Royce 129 276
CFM International 3,967 7,958 MANUFACTURER AIRCRAFT ENGINES (0.2%)
MANUFACTURER AIRCRAFT ENGINES Pratt & Whitney 49 120
International Aero Engines 1,209 2,418 GE Aviation 2,879 6,504
3%
CFM International 738 1,486 International Aero Engines 41 82
4%
GE Aviation 1,089 2,400 Rolls-Royce 1,588 3,596
GE Aviation 304 611 Other 28 108
Rolls-Royce 921 1,954 Pratt & Whitney 738 1,705 13%
International Aero Engines 247 494 TOTAL 810 1,747
Pratt & Whitney 352 781 Engine Alliance 123 492
Pratt & Whitney 111 236
Rolls-Royce 96 192
Other 63 232 CFM International 98 392
12,701
TOTAL 7,601 15,743 Aviadvigatel 3 12 51%
Other 38 106 ENGINES
TOTAL 5,429 12,701
TOTAL 1,534 3,125
28%
Other commercial regional jet
world commercial jet aircraft
MANUFACTURER AIRCRAFT ENGINES (3%)
MANUFACTURER AIRCRAFT ENGINES
4% GE Aviation 2,607 5,214 (1%)
CFM International 11,369 22,934
7% Rolls-Royce 616 1,232
GE Aviation 5,486 11,718
Honeywell 113 452
International Aero Engines 3,059 6,118
11% (1%)
Powerjet 102 204
Rolls-Royce 2,750 5,920 6%
Pratt & Whitney 1,595 3,466 52,107 44% Ivchenko-Progress 22 66
Other 23 46
Other 586 1,951 12% ENGINES
TOTAL 3,483 7,214 17%
TOTAL 24,845 52,107
7,214
ENGINES
22%
72%
NOTE: Information for active commercial jets. Information
includes narrowbody, widebody and regional jets in
NOTE: Information for active commercial jets. Information includes narrowbody, widebody and regional passenger, freighter, combi and quick change roles
jets in passenger, freighter, combi and quick change roles SOURCE: Flight Fleets Analyzer (May 2018) SOURCE: Flight Fleets Analyzer (May 2018)
10 | FlightGlobal FlightGlobal | 11
COMMERCIAL ENGINES ELECTRIC PROPULSION
commercial engines 2018 commercial engines 2018
large investment in research and develop-
ment. In addition to electrifying current air-
craft power systems, Mekhiche sees three
new classes of electric-powered air vehicles
for transportation.
First, a new class of on-demand mobility
platforms will provide intra-urban transports
for one to four passengers seeking to avoid
road traffic congestion. Aurora has pledged to
divert the XV-24A’s distributed electric pro-
pulsion system to this emerging market, with
a goal of fielding a commercial product as
soon as 2023.
A second category in the market is
20-40-passenger commuter aircraft with rela-
tively short ranges, Mekhiche says. “The op-
portunity there is to actually take away some
of the business jet or regional jet market. It is
very possible and plausible that an electrified
platform offers a much more attractive value
proposition than, say, a business jet or region-
al jet,” he says.
Finally, the large transport market is also a
Airbus
candidate for electrification, at least on large
short-range trips with hybrid-electric propul- Urban transport vehicles like CityAirbus are the likely first application for breakthrough
sion systems.
ket, with small electric motors providing bles. They are not connected to mechanical
Airbus
INTEGRATED SYSTEMS back-up power in short bursts during, for structures,” Mekhiche says.
Airbus E-FanX demonstrator will be a BAe 146 adapted to fly on three ordinary gas turbines and one nacelle-mounted electric fan In the largest category, the transition will be example, a situation with an engine failure. A key limitation of a turboelectric system
Current affairs
more gradual, but in many ways has already The next stage of electrification is coming is the absence of an integrated battery for en-
started. By introducing new technologies soon, as suggested by Airbus’s plan to fly the ergy storage, he adds. Pushing beyond a tur-
such as the E2SG, R-R can make today’s gas- E-FanX demonstrator in 2020. It uses a turbo- boelectric system with integrated batteries
powered aircraft produce electricity more effi- electric propulsion system, with a gas turbine opens new paths to improving overall fuel
ciently, which allows designers to convert generating electricity for electric motors that efficiency.
more onboard systems to electric power. provide the thrust. “Your propulsion and “We’re looking at what electrification
Another upgrade exists in the rotorcraft mar- your engine are now connected only by ca- [means] to the engine design,” Mekhiche says. ❯❯
A future in which even large airliners are powered by hybrid and eventually all-electric
propulsion systems is becoming an industry expectation; Rolls-Royce details its vision
STEPHEN TRIMBLE LAS VEGAS mens-supplied electric motor to the existing ing into critical technologies: motors and bat-
nacelle and supply a turbine engine to func- teries and most importantly the control sys-
I
n Rolls-Royce’s vision of aviation’s future, tion as an electric power generator. tem that allows us to optimise the power flow
the entire market will shift to electric between the engine and the loads. The [E2SG]
power for propulsion in ways that will BRIDGE TO THE FUTURE is one important programme. But it is not the
disrupt business models and even the de- The company plans to continue to be an only one.”
sign of gas turbine engines. Says Rolls-Royce active participant as the technology develops. R-R’s vision of the future is one that it large-
Electrical global head Mike Mekhiche: “It’s In a recent presentation, Mekhiche showed ly shares with its peers. GE Aviation has al-
not a matter of if. It’s a matter of when. The an image of a new technology called the ready revealed details of an aggressive push
entire aerospace business is going to be elec- Embedded Electric Starter Generator (E2SG). to develop new megawatt-class motors and
trified.” Such a technology presents a bridging step electrical systems for future military and com-
R-R has given itself a front-row seat as the between today’s technology and an electric mercial aircraft. Pratt & Whitney has also dis-
transformation unfolds. When the US De- future. Using an Adour engine demonstrator, closed a similar effort, including a demonstra-
fense Advanced Research Projects Agency an R-R team installed a power-dense E2SG tion of a large electric motor driven by a
launched the (now cancelled) Aurora Flight into the inhospitable core of a jet engine, con- turbofan engine. Honeywell had signed up to
Sciences XV-24A Lightning Strike pro- verting the shaft power directly into electric supply the 1MW-class electric motor for the
gramme, R-R supplied the AE1107 gas tur- power. By removing the need for a bleed-air XV-24A, which was to be integrated with the
bine used to power the electric motors for the offtake from the compressor to an accessory R-R turboshaft engine to power that aircraft.
turboelectric, unmanned air system. When gearbox, installing the E2SG in a future R-R has not yet released similar details of
Airbus launched the E-FanX demonstrator engine is another step in the electrification of in-house demonstrations of megawatt-class
last year to replace one of the four turbofan current aircraft systems, Mekhiche says. electric motors and integrated hybrid-electric
Airbus
engines on a BAe 146 with a 2MW-propul- “We’re looking at a variety of architectures propulsion systems, but the company’s vision
sion system, R-R signed up to adapt the Sie- and systems solutions,” he says. “We’re look- for the technology seems consistent with a Airbus/Rolls-Royce e-Thrust hybrid concept combines gas turbine power generation and backup batteries with electric fans for thrust
26 | Flight International | 29 May-4 June 2018 flightglobal.com flightglobal.com 29 May-4 June 2018 | Flight International | 27
12 | FlightGlobal FlightGlobal | 13
COMMERCIAL ENGINES TRENT 1000
commercial engines 2018 commercial engines 2018
High stakes
❯❯ “How does the engine design change be- we had engines that were designed to be opti- batteries during take-off and step climbs, the tional capacity. It became clear that on certain
cause it is now going to be part of an electric mised for an electric propulsion system that propulsion supplier is able to reduce the max- Trent 1000s the durability issues also extended
powerplant? That is extremely relevant… to we were able to realise the full capability of imum thrust rating for the gas turbine without to the high-pressure turbine (HPT) and inter-
understanding our value stream and how we that type of system.” sacrificing performance, he says. mediate-pressure compressor (IPC).
blade game
operate going forward in this electrified mar- In what is called a parallel hybrid architec- “There’s an entire paradigm shift around The costs are already mounting: R-R dis-
ket. When we started doing electrification of ture, R-R envisions packaging a gas turbine what the engine does and when does it do it closed in March that in 2017 it incurred a
cars and heavy-duty vehicles, we realised a and batteries to deliver thrust to an electric and how that can be realised,” Mekhiche charge of £227 million ($311 million) related
lot of benefits. But actually, it was not until motor. By augmenting electric power with says. ■ to addressing technical issues on Trent
1000s and the Trent 900s powering Airbus
A380s. And the UK engine maker said that
STRATEGY STEPHEN TRIMBLE CHICAGO
this year, the upgrade programme’s annual
European electric systems expertise makes transatlantic journey for Siemens cash impact would “broadly double” from
For Rolls-Royce, designing and delivering modifications last year’s £170 million, before dipping in
Anton and Botti were both amateur pilots filled 2019 as work drops off.
Current CFM56’s 5:1
with dread about the future of gas-powered
to resolve Trent 1000 reliability problems are a drain on However, that was before the revelation in
power-to-weight ratio is
Siemens’ benchmark
aviation. As emission regulations become engineering resources, cash and customer confidence April of “additional disruption” – and higher
more strict over the next four decades, Anton costs – from further inspections required to
could envisage a day when it would no longer address IPC blade durability issues on Trent
be possible to fly conventional aircraft on re- MICHAEL GUBISCH LONDON modification programme would grow in 1000 Package C engines.
scope and complexity, causing significant Of course, previous engine programmes –
W
gional routes.
hat starts as a trickle can end disruption for some Boeing 787 operators. of both R-R and other manufacturers – have
SPARK OF AN IDEA up a torrent: when, in 2016, Airlines had to park Dreamliners as engines required updates to address premature part
For Siemens, the only possible solution to the Rolls-Royce first announced a required unscheduled maintenance to replace deterioration, particularly in the hot section.
problem called for electrifying aircraft propul- durability issue with blades in IPT blades, and aircraft could not be returned And R-R says it is “not uncommon for long-
sion systems. It seemed an impractical vision at the Trent 1000’s intermediate-pressure tur- to service amid a shortage of available spare term engine programmes to experience tech-
the time, given the state of electrical power bine (IPT), there was no indication that the Trent 1000s – some carriers had to lease addi- nical issues during their life”. ❯❯
technology. At that time, the only electric mo-
tors on the market were used for terrestrial ap- Trent 1000 modifications have disrupted
plications, lacking the aviation industry’s operations for multiple 787 customers
demand for the lightest possible weight. A con-
ventional electric motor produces about 1kW
for every pound of weight, resulting in a roughly
1:1 power-to-weight ratio. By comparison, a
CFM International CFM56-7B has a power-to-
weight ratio above 5:1.
As Siemens set out to conquer this problem,
Boeing
it drew on its industrial digitalisation strategy.
The company’s PLM software allows designers
Since its founding 170 years ago, German con- team,” says Teri Hamlin, Siemens’ vice-president to create a virtual copy of a physical product,
glomerate Siemens has built a global industrial of electric and hybrid-electric propulsion. using simulation tools and computational analy-
empire, making electric power components for The Waco-based team, which is co-located sis to make rapid improvements.
cars, hospitals and power stations. It has gained with Texas State Technical College, is focused on The result of that approach led to the design
a toehold in the aerospace industry as a pro- aircraft at the lower end of the power scale. of a new 260kW motor for the aviation market,
vider of product lifecycle management (PLM) These include unmanned air vehicles for the de- boasting a 5:1 power-to-weight ratio. That im-
software for aircraft designers and automated fence market, auxiliary power systems for large provement was possible because of advances
systems for aircraft assemblers. commercial aircraft and an emerging class of in the efficiency of the motor’s power cycle. It
Now, Siemens has found a way to enter the electric-powered urban air taxis, Hamlin says: was also enhanced by Siemens’ use of its PLM
aviation market as a tier one supplier, leveraging “We’re on some projects right now that should software suite to make certain components
its decades-old expertise in electric power sys- be announced real soon – hopefully, by this sum- substantially lighter. A bearing shield on the
tems in an industry on the verge of a major trans- mer.” front of the motor normally weighs 11.3kg
formation in propulsion system technology. The US operation is building on a decade-long (25lb), but that figure was reduced to 4kg.
It began with a chance encounter between a pursuit by their colleagues in Europe of a new role “Siemens is not intending to become an air-
Siemens and Airbus executive in 2008. A dec- for Siemens in the aviation supply chain. As the craft OEM. We have no intention to move into
ade later, Siemens has opened a US facility in market electrifies, Siemens is attempting to take a that space,” Hamlin says. “We’re focusing on
Waco, Texas, dedicated to introducing innova- position now occupied by the likes of United what we’re good at and that is the electric pro-
tors in the US market to a potential new part- Technologies’ UTC Aerospace Systems, pulsion and the electrification of complex sys-
ner in several key systems for an Honeywell and GE Aviation’s electric power sys- tems, including motors, generators, power and
electric-powered aircraft. tems division. signal distribution, inverters and complete end-
“What we really wanted to do here in the Siemens’ quest to obtain this role began in to-end drive trains of these electric components.
USA is stand up a team. We need to be close to 2008 during a chance encounter between This is where Siemens shines. We have decades
innovators. If you’re not in the US aviation mar- Siemens executive Frank Anton and then-Airbus and decades, 100-plus years of experience in
ket, you’re not really in the market, so this team chief technology officer Jean Botti at a Siemens’ complex electrical systems. We’re coming at this
Rolls-Royce
was stood up to be extension of the European in-house innovation day. According to Siemens, market from that level of expertise.” ■
28 | |Flight International | 29 May-4 June 2018 flightglobal.com flightglobal.com 29 May-4 June 2018 | Flight International| | 29
14 FlightGlobal FlightGlobal 15
COMMERCIAL ENGINES TRENT 1000
commercial engines 2018 commercial engines 2018
Bloomberg Intelligence warns that the
ETOPS restriction could put R-R at a disad-
vantage on the 787 versus rival GE Aviation
and its GEnx engine.
In a research note, Bloomberg senior
aerospace analyst George Ferguson asserts
that airlines will be required to “adjust oper-
ations to remain closer to diversion
airports”, and that this “reduces efficiency
and range, especially for extreme long-haul
operations, which are most appealing for
787 buyers”.
He describes the FAA directive as a “blow”
to R-R and operators of Trent 1000 Package-C-
powered 787s, which will “probably hurt
sales and value for the airplane”.
ANZ subsequently disclosed that it needed
AirTeamImages
to introduce refuelling stops on certain 787
flights as new weight restrictions apply to air-
ANA grounded some of its 787s in 2016 due to corrosion-related part failures, prompting redesign of intermediate-pressure turbine blades craft with affected engines. ANA and British
Airways, meanwhile, say the ETOPS changes
❯❯ Teal Group vice-president analysis The initial IPT blade replacement affected engines. R-R believes that the modifi- have had a minor effect on their operations.
Richard Aboulafia, however, considers the programme for the Trent 1000 was disclosed cation effort can be completed during Norwegian’s chief executive Bjørn Kjos ac-
Trent 1000 modification effort to be “some- after All Nippon Airways had temporarily planned rather than unscheduled shop visits. knowledged in April that the increased in-
what worse than normal”. grounded some of its 787s in 2016 as a result Whether that retrofit programme will spection regime will affect operations, but
of premature, corrosion-related part failures. cover certain TEN engines is not entirely says “it is too early to predict the scale of the
ENGINEERING RESOURCES R-R redesigned the IPT blade and intro- clear. R-R says Trent 1000 TEN compressors issue”.
Rolls-Royce
Aboulafia wonders whether R-R’s issues with duced it on the latest version of the Trent “are of different designs to the Package C”, R-R’s effort to resolve the Trent 1000 prob-
the Trent 1000 – and Pratt & Whitney’s prob- 1000, the 1000 TEN, and on the Trent 7000 and that “a new standard” HPT blade is in- lems and modify the in-service fleet “takes an
lems with its PW1000G-series geared turbo- derivative that powers the A330neo. The new stalled on the TEN. awful lot of resources”, which will likely Engineers have been redeployed from other projects to help resolve Trent 1000 issues
fan – might be a result of having “greater am- part is being retrofitted to earlier Trent 1000s However, the manufacturer does not rule have an impact on the company’s ability to
bitions than resources”. and, says R-R, should resolve the durability out retrofitting a new IPC and the latest HPT concentrate engineering staff on other pro- opmental Advance and UltraFan engine pro- GE, P&W and R-R have all submitted en-
The technical challenges and required en- issue. But the modification programme never- blades to the TEN. “We will continue to posi- jects like future engine development, Aboula- grammes “continue to progress as expected”. gine proposals for Boeing’s proposed New
gineering effort to develop more efficient en- theless caused a wave of shop visits as some tively confirm that none of the issues we are fia suggests. Aboulafia does not believe that airlines and Mid-market Airplane (NMA), which could
gines have hugely increased from previous engines required urgent blade replacement. experiencing on the Trent 1000 Package C en- He says the development and implementa- aircraft manufacturers have lost faith in R-R enter service around 2025. If Boeing were to
generations of equipment. More broadly, There has been inevitable disruption for gines will apply to the Trent 1000 TEN,” the tion of modifications for issues on in-service as a result of the Trent 1000 woes. Operators launch the NMA programme without R-R on
Aboulafia thinks the Trent 1000 problems operators: Air New Zealand temporarily manufacturer says. engines is “fairly labour-intensive stuff”, while which have ordered Trent 1000-powered board, it would leave the UK manufacturer
show that “we are on the very limits of grounded several Dreamliners after experi- And earlier this year, R-R said it was “pos- the ramping-up of production for new engine 787s have not yet switched to the GEnx. But having almost the entirety of its large engine
squeezing performance improvement out of encing in-flight failures on two of its 787-9s in sible that a population of early Trent 1000 programmes, such as the Trent XWB for the he warns that the problems have not done R-R business – all in-production models except
existing turbine architectures” and that high- December 2017. The carrier resorted to wet- TEN and Trent 7000 engines may benefit from A350, is largely a matter of capital expenditure. “any favours” either and that “a lot of it de- the Trent 1000 – tied to Airbus.
ly engineered parts come with a “certain set leasing aircraft to support its schedule. proactive maintenance to embody parts in R-R says it had to redeploy “engineering pends how quickly they can make it good”. That is already the case today, as the Trent
of vulnerabilities”. Virgin Atlantic in January disclosed plans their first shop visit that weren’t available at resource” to tackle the Trent 1000 issues, but R-R concedes: “Of course these issues must 700, 900, 7000 and XWB are exclusively em-
Especially on Airbus and Boeing’s latest to add four A330s to its fleet and return to the point of production”. notes: “[We] expect this to be a temporary affect perception of the Trent 1000 by custom- ployed on Airbus long-haul aircraft. But
aircraft programmes – the A320neo, A330n- service a stored A340-600 in a bid to measure.” The manufacturer says its devel- ers.” But the engine maker says it is “confi- Aboulafia thinks a further re-enforcement of
eo, 737 Max and 777X – fuel-efficiency gains improve the “resilience” of its operation “in ETOPS LIMITATIONS dent” that the family’s latest version and cur- that alliance in the long-haul segment is a
have been mainly, if not entirely, achieved light of an industry-wide shortage of Trent Regulatory pressure is compounding the dis- rent production standard, the TEN, is a “great “very risky concept” for R-R.
through new engine technology. As a result, 1000 engines”. ruption for operators. engine” for the 787. GE is, likewise, the sole engine supplier to
the airframers have redistributed much of The IPC blade issue was first disclosed Following the April disclosure relating to Boeing’s 777 and 747-8 programmes. How-
the research and development effort, and after an engine failure aboard a Scoot 787-9 in the IPC, the European Aviation Safety Agency SOLUTIONS ever, the US engine maker also has, via its
therefore risk, for new programmes to the en- late 2016. Singapore’s Transport Safety Inves- mandated that operators conduct repetitive “It is our job to show them [airline and air- CFM International joint venture with Safran,
gine manufacturers; at the same time, Airbus tigation Bureau determined that the failure on-wing borescope inspections for all Pack- frame customers] they can continue to trust in a strong position in the high-volume narrow-
and Boeing have put engine suppliers under was caused by an IPC blade having broken off age C engines, and introduced additional in- us and the engine,” R-R says. It foresees that body market. Since it withdrew from the In-
pricing pressure and driven production to – probably as a result of material fatigue – and spections for powerplants employed for ex- solutions for the existing issues will be imple- ternational Aero Engines consortium with
record levels. linked two further shutdown events on Scoot tended twin-engine operations (ETOPS). mented throughout the fleet by 2022. P&W, Japanese Aero Engines and MTU, R-R
“The ability to add resources at the engine 787-9s last year to the same issue. Meanwhile, the US Federal Aviation Ad- However, Aboulafia suggests the Trent has no active participation in the single-aisle
companies was constrained at exactly the mo- R-R says the cracking problem applies to ministration more than halved the time that 1000 problems could have an effect on future segment.
ment when so much was expected of them,” the Trent 1000’s Package C configuration and Trent 1000 Package C-powered 787s can fly orders: “I think where it might hurt is where R-R, for its part, argues that the prospect of
Aboulafia says. that neither the TEN nor the Package B ver- under ETOPS regulations, to 140min, from a people are looking at A350-1000 XWB versus a potential selection as NMA engine supplier
Boeing 787 chief engineer Bob Whittington sion is affected. The manufacturer is in the previous maximum of 330min. 777X and... A330neo versus 787.” Both of the is “unrelated” to the Trent 1000 problems:
revealed in January that “all” operators of process of preparing redesigned blades for the The US regulator says that if an engine were Airbus programmes are exclusively powered “We continue to invest in our future engine
Trent 1000-powered Dreamliners were affect- IPC – and for the HPT where erosion is an to fail and the remaining powerplant already by R-R engines. programmes irrespective of this [Trent 1000]
ed by “some of the wear-out issues in the issue on existing blades. had cracked IPC blades, the “likelihood of the “The big issue here for Rolls-Royce is that challenge and will continue to evaluate any
Dreamliner is the only Boeing airliner
Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce engine”, which entered service The new parts are scheduled to become remaining engine failing will further increase the 787 is their only connection with Boeing opportunities to have our engines selected as
for which Rolls-Royce supplies engines
in 2011. available by year-end and will be retrofitted to before a diversion can be safely completed”. right now,” says Aboulafia. they come up.” ■
30 | Flight International | 29 May-4 June 2018 flightglobal.com flightglobal.com 29 May-4 June 2018 | Flight International | 31
16 | FlightGlobal FlightGlobal | 17
COMMERCIAL ENGINES GE9X
commercial engines 2018 commercial engines 2018
gine is doing exactly what we want it to do
and we’re on track to meet our objectives on
performance,” Ingling says. “The engine is re-
ally performing well and we couldn’t be hap-
pier with that.”
The engine is installed on the inboard sta-
tion of the left wing of the 747-400, which was
itself an engineering challenge, he adds. “We
put the engine on wing in record time and
with little drama. Boeing designed the pylon
for us… and how it attaches to the engine is
really the same as how it would do on the
777X, so Boeing’s been involved in our [flying
testbed] since the beginning. The installation
was really remarkably quiet and flawless. En-
gine and instrumentation systems came to-
gether perfectly.”
GE Aviation
But the start of testing was delayed by more
than two months, after GE engineers made a
late discovery. Inside the compressor of the First phase of flight testing with the GE9X-105B was launched from Victorville in March
GE9X are 11 stages of rotating blades, with
stationary vanes located in between each set using the existing configuration. The rede- dow between delivering the FETT and the
of spinning rotors. These stator vanes slow signed lever arms for the variable stator vanes second engine to test (SETT) with certifica-
down the airflow, thereby raising its pressure will be installed as part of the tear-down prior tion-ready hardware. Since entering ground
as it moves upstream to the combustor. To op- to the restart of flight tests in phase 2, Ingling testing at Peebles 12 months ago, the SETT
timise the pressure of the airflow in take-off says. has been joined by four more test engines.
and cruise conditions, the engine’s computer- “We’ve made some fantastic progress on
operated controls can adjust the position of SECOND FRONT the certification programme,” Ingling says.
the stator vanes relative to the airflow. Meanwhile, ground testing is continuing at “We’re through a little more than 25% of all
GE Aviation
Lever arms mounted externally on the en- GE’s test centre in Peebles, Ohio. GE delivered required certification testing. Icing tests were
gine case set the pitch of the vanes, but GE the first engine to test (FETT) for the GE9X completed in the first quarter. We completed
Installing the powerplant on inboard pylon of 747-400 flying testbed’s left wing – carried out in record time – was a major engineering feat discovered a problem last December. The me- programme in 2016. This features its most ad- all the crosswind testing, [as well as] inlet
Thrusting
chanical design and materials used to build vanced engine core, with a compression ratio compatibility, aero-mechanics of the fan and
“It will be months of work to bring the en- the lever arms were correct, but the device of 27:1, versus 23:1 in the GE90-115B. The booster, and aero-mechanics and thermal sur-
gine down and back up again. The majority of wore out faster than it had expected. GE9X is loaded with new technology. Its $42 veying of the high-pressure turbine.”
the activities are around the instrumentation “We didn’t alter the material of the lever million list price makes a set of two engines The GE9X actually represents an entire
that we have on this vehicle. There’s over 1,600 arms or anything,” Ingling says. “It was just on each 777X nearly equal to the advertised family of engines. The 777-9 will be powered
onwards
pieces of discrete information through sensors the design was not as robust as we needed it cost of a 737-700. For that price, GE has prom- by the version designated GE9X-105B, with
that get bundled onto this engine and routed to be. It didn’t affect the engine from a [specif- ised that the engine will burn 10% less fuel the numeral in the suffix representing the
into the aircraft,” Ingling says. ic fuel consumption] standpoint.” than the GE90 in flight and 5% less than a 105,000lb-thrust power rating. GE also plans
“We want to preserve that instrumentation It was too late to incorporate the new lever Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 on a test stand. to develop a 102,000lb-thrust version of the
for the missions that follow. As a result, what arm design in the first GE9X flight-test engine, Driven by concerns about moving too engine, along with another with a 93,000lb-
would normally be a quick turn-around for so the first phase of flight tests began in March quickly, GE afforded itself a 13-month win- thrust output, according to a regulatory docu-
incorporation of the hardware changes takes ment filed with the US Federal Aviation Ad-
With its giant GE9X a critical element of the 777X update to us much longer to bring the engine down and ministration in November 2017. The reduced
back up and make sure all the instrumenta- ratings will likely power future variants of the
Boeing’s popular big twin, GE Aviation is powering ahead tion is working,” he adds. 777X family, including the long-range 777-8
with testing and production of its most advanced engine and a potential freighter version.
GETTING STARTED For now, however, GE is focused on getting
The first phase of flight-testing with the GE9X the GE9X engine certificated.
STEPHEN TRIMBLE WASHINGTON DC kicked off on 13 March, with the engine desig- “We’re in the middle of building the very
nated as No. 4 within the programme lifting first compliance engine in Durham, [North
I
n the second week of May, the crew of an of a two-stage flight-test effort on the 105,000lb- off in Victorville. In nearly two months, the Carolina]. The long-lead hardware on produc-
Antonov An-124 operated by Russian cargo thrust (467kN) GE9X. Phase 1 included 18 747-400 flying testbed logged 110h overall tion engines are coming in,” Ingling says. “So,
airline Volga-Dnepr got to work on the flights on board the company’s Victorville-based during the 18 flights. “A portion [of the flight we’re ramping the production process using
flightline at Victorville, California, loading Boeing 747-400 flying testbed, GE9X pro- tests are reserved] for check-out of the aircraft the Durham facility. The development en-
a pallet measuring 3.96m (13ft) wide and gramme manager Ted Ingling tells FlightGlobal. and systems and the rest of it was dedicated to gines are built in Evendale. Compliance and
7.77m long into the cargo bay of the chartered GE is on a tight schedule. Boeing needs the achieving the objectives of the flight test mis- production [engines] will be assembled in
widebody freighter for emergency shipment GE9X ready to begin flight testing for certifica- sion,” Ingling says. Flight-test crews also ex- Durham and tested out of Peebles.
to Columbus, Ohio. The size of the payload tion on board the first 777-9 in 2019, allowing plored the high-altitude envelope for the “We’re building the very first compliance
and the route were dead give-aways: GE Avia- the aircraft to enter service in 2020. So the new GE9X, evaluating how its cruise performance engine and we’re accumulating hardware up
GE Aviation
tion’s first GE9X flight-test engine was coming powerplant for the 777-9 needed to return to compared with ground test data. to the third engine, so more than 50% of
home to Evendale, Ohio. Evendale to prepare for phase 2, which is “We are very encouraged about the engine. hardware is accumulated depending on
In early May, GE wrapped up the first phase scheduled to begin in the third quarter. All indications from fight test is that the en- An array of instrumentation captures performance information across 1,600 parameters which engine you’re looking at,” he adds. ■
34 | Flight International | 29 May-4 June 2018 flightglobal.com flightglobal.com 29 May-4 June 2018 | Flight International | 35
18 | FlightGlobal FlightGlobal | 19commercial engines 2018 commercial engines 2018
P&W-powered jets trickle back into Airbus P&W plans to deliver E190-E2 combustor
delivery figures liner fix in Q4
News from
News from
Published on 8 May 2018 Published on 12 April 2018
Airbus handed over two Pratt & Whitney-powered A320neo- taken place this year, as Airbus and Pratt & Whitney sought Pratt & Whitney plans to certificate a durability upgrade Operational experience on other versions of the geared
family jets in April, ending a 55-day suspension of deliveries to overcome further technical snags with the powerplant. for the combustor liner on the engine powering Embraer’s turbofan engine has revealed that combustor liner gets
with the PW1100G engine. E190-E2 flight by September, the engine manufacturer tells exposed to hot spots in unexpected locations. As a result,
Airbus’s resumption of deliveries in the last week of April FlightGlobal. the pattern of cooling holes in the original design of the
Both deliveries – an A321neo on 24 April and an A320neo on contributed to overall output of 17 A320neo-family jets for combustor liner is inadequate, which reduces the service life
30 April – were to lessor AerCap, with the jets each bound the month, including three A321neos. If the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) comes of the combustor liner.
for Mexican operator Volaris. through on schedule, P&W can begin delivering the improved
This brought total A320neo deliveries so far this year to PW1900G geared turbofan to Embraer’s customers starting The problem surfaced originally on the PW1100G engine
Airbus lists its last previous PW1100G delivery as taking 47, of which 43 were fitted with CFM International Leap-1A as early as October, P&W says. installed on Airbus A320neo aircraft, but it has also affected
place on 28 February, with an A321neo for China Southern powerplants. the PW1500G on the Bombardier CSeries and the PW1900G
Airlines, while the one prior to that, for Air China, was a Embraer has said that the engines now on the wings of on the E190-E2.
month earlier on 1 February. Airbus’s latest backlog figures show that re-engined jets E190-E2s can be replaced with upgraded PW1900Gs in an
accounted for 36% of the airframer’s single-aisle deliveries overnight procedure. P&W certificated the redesigned liner for the PW1100G in
These had been the only other PW1100G deliveries to have over the first four months of 2018. December and started delivering engines with the upgraded
The Brazilian airframer delivered the first E190-E2 to launch component in January. The fix redistributes the pattern of
operator Wideroe on 4 April with engines that include P&W’s cooling holes within the liner to eliminate the unexpected
existing configuration for the combustor liner. hot spots and increase service life.
Ambitious Airbus resumes P&W A320neo
Sukhoi considering PW1000G power for
deliveries
Published on 27 April 2018
Superjet shrink
Published on 6 February 2018
Airbus remains committed to meeting a full-year delivery with “a lot to do in the second half”.
target of 800 aircraft, but admits that the figure is becoming Sukhoi Civil Aircraft (SCAC) has launched a major “shrink” thrust Pratt & Whitney PW1200G which powers the Mitsubishi
increasingly ambitious as it continues to tackle A320neo Airbus says that CFM International is also “working to catch derivative of the Superjet – and the variant could be MRJ.
engine issues. up” after its Leap-1A production encountered delays. powered by Pratt & Whitney’s PW1000G geared turbofan
when it enters service in 2022. “We are talking to engine suppliers and will make a decision
The airframer has resumed deliveries of Pratt & Whitney Over the first quarter of this year Airbus delivered 30 this year,” says Rubtsov.
PW1100G-powered jets, after a suspension of several A320neo-family jets, including six A321neos. Only two of SCAC president Alexander Rubtsov revealed to FlightGlobal
weeks. these aircraft – one for Air China and one for China Southern at the Singapore air show that a launch decision for the 75- The derivative will use a shortened version of the 95-seat
Airlines – were fitted with PW1100G engines. seat derivative was made “last week” following a 100-aircraft Superjet’s five-abreast fuselage married to a smaller,
Flight Fleets Analyzer lists an A321neo, fitted with PW1100G commitment from an undisclosed Russian airline. optimised wing. As part of efforts to reduce the weight,
engines, as having been delivered to Volaris via AerCap on Airbus chief executive Tom Enders says the airframer’s first- SCAC is examining adopting composite for the wing in place
25 April. AerCap has confirmed that it has newly delivered quarter performance “reflect the shortage of A320neo Rubtsov says the programme will require an investment of of aluminium. It will also update the cockpit, incorporating
the second of six A321neos to the airline. engines” and the consequent back-loading of deliveries. “several hundred million dollars”, adding that SCAC is now systems from the MC-21 which could also aid pilot cross-
evaluating choices around the wing structure – aluminium or training.
Airbus has not clarified whether this aircraft, MSN8087, was “It’s a challenging situation for all,” he adds. “But based on composite – and the engines.
the first handover since the February suspension. the confidence expressed by the engine makers, and their “For marketing purposes, the 75-seater may be called the
ability to deliver on commitments, we can confirm our full- The Superjet’s current 18,000lb-thrust (80kN) PowerJet ‘MC-21-75’, but it’s not decided yet,” says Rubtsov.
But the airframer says that PW1100G-powered aircraft year outlook.” SaM146 engine is “a bit too big”, says Rubtsov, “so we
deliveries “have resumed”, and Airbus states that it is could detune it or use other engines, either Russian or non- Because of the strong interest in a smaller Superjet, SCAC
“committed” to delivering “in line with” its overall 800- Airbus’s first-quarter commercial aircraft revenues were down Russian, to optimise the aircraft”. has shelved plans to develop a stretch. A larger Superjet
aircraft target for 2018. by 12% to €7.2 billion, while its adjusted earnings showed a variant would take it into the Bombardier CSeries market,
€41 million loss – although this was an improvement on the Potential engines under evaluation include the Aviadvigatel says Rubtsov, “and I don’t think it is the right time to
It admits, however, that the situation leaves the manufacturer previous loss of €103 million. PD-7 derivative of the Irkut MC-21’s PD-14, and the 17,000lb- reproduce the CSeries”.
20 | FlightGlobal FlightGlobal | 21commercial engines 2018 commercial engines 2018
CFM issues new inspection protocol for 737
engine fan blades
6TCEMGF
News from
Published on 20 April 2018
CFM International has sent an alert to Boeing 737 operators blew out of a CFM56-7B engine with 40,000 cycles on a
7VKNK\CVKQP
recommending ultrasonic inspections within the next 20 Boeing 737-700 operated by Southwest Airlines. Pieces of
days to fan blades on CFM56-7B engines with more than the engine or cowling penetrated the wing and fuselage,
30,000 cycles since they were delivered. blowing out a window and killing one passenger.
The service bulletin released on 20 April also calls on A quick inspection of the damage by the US National
operators to perform inspections on fan blades with more Transportation Safety Board found signs of metal fatigue
than 20,000 cycles by August and on all fan blades as soon where blade fractured at the hub. That early finding echoed
as they reach 20,000 cycles. the NTSB’s preliminary report on a similar blade-out failure
of the same engine in August 2016, which also led to engine
About 680 engines are covered under the 30,000-cycle shrapnel puncturing the fuselage and wing of a Southwest
inspection deadline and 2,500 engines fall under the August 737-700.
#PGYGNKVGFCVCUGVVQRQYGT[QWTCPCN[UKUQHCKTETCHV deadline, says CFM, a joint company formed by GE Aviation
CPFGPIKPGƃ[KPIJQWTUCPFITQWPFGXGPVU
and Safran. CFM’s newly-released service bulletin stops short of a
mandatory inspection, but airlines, such as Southwest and
The inspections target the oldest engines in the global fleet United, have already moved to scrutinise metallic fan blades
of CFM56-7B engines, which has accumulated 350 million on older CFM56-7Bs.
flight hours since entering service 21 years ago, CFM says.
Integrating reliable insight into one single source: The inspection should then be repeated for all engines The US Federal Aviation Administration announced on 19
with more than 20,000 cycles on intervals of 3,000 cycles, April that a directive with a mandatory fan blade inspection
representing about two years of average airline service, says procedure will be released within two weeks. The FAA’s
CFM. airworthiness directives are often patterned on related
service bulletins issued by manufacturers.
The service bulletin comes three days after a fan blade
CFM delivers 186 engines in Q1 but misses
target by 25%
(NKIJV5EJGFWNG (NKIJV5VCVWU (NGGV&CVC Published on 20 April 2018
CFM International delivered 186 Leap engines to Airbus and and 737 Max aircraft family programmes.
Flight number Actual gate and runway departure/ Aircraft/engine types and Boeing during the first quarter, but that was about 25% shy
Operator arrival times minor variants
of the three-month goal, says GE Aviation chief executive The company has planned to catch up on deliveries by the
Departure/arrival airports >VÕ>Ìi`ÌÕÀÉÌ>ÝÉy} ÌÌià Scheduled seats/classes vs John Flannery. third quarter this year.
and delays vs schedule >VÌÕ>yÜ
Published schedule
Cancellation/diversion/aircraft Aircraft weight/age/ownership Despite the slow start, the joint company formed by GE “The team is really, really focused on it into the supply chain
type change information and Safran remains on track to deliver 1,100 to 1,200 Leap and exactly what we need to do, what our suppliers need
Terminal/gate information engines this year, Flannery told analysts on a first quarter to do to really move Leap execution,” Flannery says. “Right
(where available) earnings call on 20 April. now, we are tracking to be back on track by the end of third
quarter.”
CFM had planned to deliver about 250 engines in the first
Power your analysis of aircraft and engine utilization quarter, but missed the target by about 70 units, Flannery The Leap engine exclusive powers the 737 Max and is one
says. of two options available for the A320neo. Another version of
by accessing tracked hours and cycles information the engine will be offered on the Comac C919, which enters
Since late 2017, CFM executives acknowledged falling about service after 2020.
six weeks behind on delivery commitments to the A320neo
Find out more at YYYƃKIJVINQDCNEQORTQFWEVUVTCEMGFWVKNK\CVKQP
22 | FlightGlobal FlightGlobal | 23commercial engines 2018 commercial engines 2018
FAA and CFM seek to address complex fan 7Bs that had accumulated more than 15,000 cycles since a
last shop visit. Engines with less than 15,000 cycles would
apparently flew forward, hitting the forward part of the
cowling and causing the cowling to disintegrate into
blade issue need inspections within 18 months, the FAA proposed. shrapnel that damaged the aircraft, Goglia suspects.
News from
News from
Published on 19 April 2018 The agency estimated 220 engines in service with US airlines Investigators retrieved parts of the cowling on the ground
Federal regulators in 2017 proposed inspections aimed airworthiness directive within the next two weeks that will would be affected. 65nm (120km) from Philadelphia, the NTSB said.
at preventing engine failures like the one that damaged a require inspections of certain CFM56-7B engines.”
Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 and killed one passenger “This proposed AD was prompted by a report of an in-flight “Everybody has been saying it’s an uncontained engine
on 17 April. “The directive will require an ultrasonic inspection of fan fan blade failure and uncontained forward release of debris failure. It isn’t by the FAA definition,” Goglia says.
blades when they reach a certain number of takeoffs and on a CFM56-7B turbofan engine,” says the proposal. “The
Since then, the document has worked through a lengthy landings. Any blades that fail the inspection will have to be fracture in the blade initiated from the fan blade dovetail.” Experts studying such failures believe the forward trajectory
federal review process and been subject to comments from replaced,” the statement said. results from pressure behind the blades, he adds.
airlines, some of which requested more time to complete The industry took no major issue with the 2017 proposal,
proposed engine inspections. Engine maker CFM is also working with the FAA and airlines though some airlines requested longer compliance times. But the extreme rarity of such failures and complexity of
as it writes an updated service bulletin – one that likewise They said the rule would affect more than 220 engines forces involved make testing, understanding and predicting
The FAA, already under pressure following a critical 60 recommends inspections, that company says. because airlines often swap blades between engines. blade failures difficult.
Minutes report last week, now says it will issue a final
airworthiness directive (AD) in the coming weeks. “We are meeting with the FAA today on timing,” CFM CFM actually asked the FAA to reduce from 18 months to 12 The blades whirl thousands of times per minute, forcing cold
tells FlightGlobal. “You can expect a [service bulletin] with months the inspection deadline for engines with less than outside air into hot aft sections, Goglia notes. And incidents
But it remains unclear if that proposal, had it been issued immediate FAA endorsement through an AD.” 15,000 cycles since a shop visit. like bird strikes, even those years ago, might theoretically
earlier, might have prevented the Southwest incident, which degrade blade strength.
was caused by the poorly-understood and exceedingly- “The actual numbers are being reviewed finalised with the Southwest disagreed with CFM, asking for 18 months to
rare problem of internal cracks in the fan blades of CFM FAA,” CFM adds. “The major airlines know it is coming, so inspect 732 affected engines; American Airlines asked for “[Engine makers] are using the very best materials they
International CFM56-7B engines. those with the largest fleets are prepared.” 20 months. can get their hands on, but we are still learning,” he says.
“In order to get that knowledge, there is got to be a lot of
“They can’t get a good handle on this,” former National KNOWN PROBLEM The FAA says the document had been working through the testing on blades to get them to break on the ground.”
Transportation Safety Board member John Goglia tells Those responses build on previous work to address an issue lengthy federal regulatory review process for months, and
FlightGlobal. “It’s not well understood. We can see the that became salient after the August 2016 inflight failure that it had been weeks away from becoming an AD even Fixing the problem now rests with the FAA, CFM and airlines.
physical results behind [failures], but the cause and the actual of a CFM56-7B22 on a Southwest 737-800 over the Gulf of before the 17 April Southwest incident. One possible solution could be to require airlines to replace
mechanism that led to the failure is not so plain to see.” Mexico. The aircraft lost the engine cowling, and the pilots blades after a specified number of cycles – throw them out
landed safely with no passenger injuries. But the AD might not have applied to the Southwest and replace them with new blades, Goglia says.
He adds that today’s high-bypass engines have larger fan aircraft anyway. On the day of the accident, Southwest
blades than previous-generation engines; when modern Though the NTSB has not issued its final findings, the 2016 chief executive Gary Kelly said the engine had accumulated But blades are “brutally expensive”, and airlines would likely
blades fail, they can cause more damage. event caught everyone’s attention. 10,000 cycles since a shop visit – below the FAA’s proposed be wary of a “knee jerk” reaction to a poorly-understood
15,000-cycle threshold for urgent inspections. problem, he says.
“As we go to bigger and bigger high-bypass engines and In a service bulletin issued in March 2017 and updated
bigger, more-efficient blades, we have been getting more in June 2017, CFM recommended airlines “as soon as Following the accident, Southwest said it would inspect all
mass in that rotation, which means more damage if [a blade] possible” ultrasonically inspect blades in CFM56-7Bs that its engines, but the company has not said if it had started or
becomes separated,” Goglia says. had accumulated more than 15,000 cycles since a shop completed any checks prior to the accident.
visit.
On 17 April, Southwest pilots made an emergency landing “FORWARD RELEASE”
after their Boeing 737-700’s left-side CFM56-7B22 powerplant “Investigation has identified a crack that initiated and Like in 2016 incident, the 17 April engine explosion may
exploded, damaging the aircraft with shrapnel and breaking propagated in fan blade dovetail,” says the June update. not technically qualify as an “uncontained failure” – a term
a window, which killed one passenger. The aircraft had been The dovetail is the end of the blade that fits into the engine meaning a blade penetrated the casing around the fan, says
operating flight 1380 from LaGuardia to Dallas, but diverted hub. Goglia.
to Philadelphia.
As a matter of proportion, the CFM56-7 has accumulated 350 “You can see the containment ring, and it’s still on the
NTSB investigators already traced the failure to a broken million flight hours with few problems, according to CFM. engine,” Goglia says after viewing NTSB photographs
fan blade. They found an “internal” crack in the blade near of Southwest flight 1380. “Further back… you see the
where the blade meets the engine hub. The FAA responded in August 2017 with the proposed containment ring. It’s totally intact.”
airworthiness directive. It proposed requiring airlines, within
NTSB
The FAA responded on 18 April, saying it “will issue an six months, to ultrasonically inspect fan blades on CFM56- The blade broke near the hub, according to the NSTB. It
24 | FlightGlobal FlightGlobal | 25You can also read
