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Aviation History
1978
1978 - 0033.PDF
FLIGHT International, 7 January 1978 41 ninth largest in the US in 1976, were a record $931 million (£530 million), up 34 per cent on the previous year. GE has a broad-based, stable spectrum of engines in pro duction, split more or less equally between six commer cial units (CF6-6, CF6-45, CF6-50, CF700, CJ610 and CT58) and seven military units (F103, J79, J85, T58, T64, T700 and TF34). Backing these up as potential future programmes is a batch of new engines: the commercial CF6-32, CF34 and CT7, and the military F404. The company is clearly continuing to increase its commitment to the commercial sector while still retaining a sizeable hold on the military sector. The target over the next 10-15 years is a change in the military/commercial/industrial-and- marine sales split from its present 60/30/10 toi a more balanced 40/40/20. In support of this, both GE and P&W see commercial aircraft turbine sales in the West reaching an annual figure of close on $4,000 million (£2,278 mil lion) by 1985-86, a doubling of the 1976 total when measured in constant 1075-76 dollars. Industrial and marine gas-turbine sales are also expected to' double in the same period. Ategg Single-shaft core engine. GE has been one of four contractors participating in the joint USAF/USN Ategg (Advanced Turbine Engine Gas Generator) programme for development of advanced components and technology. CF6-6 Two-shaft turbofan. The first member of GE's growing family of CF6 commercial high-bypass turbofans, the CF6-6 entered service in the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 Series 10 in August 1971. Since then more than 400 CF6-6s and 800 of the larger CF6-6-50 have been ordered by the airlines and the USAF, and total flying time is now in excess of 7-25 million hours, divided more or less equally between the -6 and the -50. Closely derived from GE's big TF39 military turbofan, the CF6-6 spearheaded the com pany's successful thrust into the commercial engine sector in the early 1970s. Currently the CF6 family contributes just over a quarter of GE's annual aero-engine earnings. Over 110 CF6-6-powered DC-lOs have been ordered (the majority of which have now been delivered), representing about a third of the total CF6 order book. CF6-6 reliability has been high, With powerplant-caused in-flight shutdowns averaging less than six per 100,000 engine flight hours. Basic versions of the CF6-6 are the 40,0001b CF6-6D and the 41,0001b GF6-6D1. A derated version for the Airbus Industrie A300B10 is also a possibility. CF6-6D Single-stage fan and single-stage 1-p compressor, sixteen-stage h-p compressor, annular combustor, two-stage h-p turbine, five-stage I-p turbine. Take-off 40,0001b, bypass ratio 5-9:1, pressure ratio 24-2:1, mass flow l,3071b/sec, length 188in, width 93-7in, height 108in, weight 7,4501b. 'GE's CF6-32, a cropped-fan version of the CF6-6 CF6-32 Two-shaft turbofan. This engine, a 30,0001b * cropped-fan derivative of the CF6-6, was unveiled at the ;II977 Paris Air Show as a potential joint venture with Snecma, By utilising the CF6-6 core and a scaled-down CF6-6 fan with the Vstage booster eliminated and mated to a new three-stage 1-p turbine, GE can offer a very com petitive engine for delivery in just three or four years from go-ahead. Compared with the cost of developing a brand-new 30,0001b turbofan, GE's investment is halved to around $200 million and financial break-even is reached in about 12 years instead of 14. Added benefits for GE are reduced risk and earlier product maturity; for the cus tomer, lower operating costs plus built-in, proven growth. Proposed1 growth versions are rated at 33,3501b and 35,0451b. Potential applications are the Boeing 7N7 and 7X7, Lockheed Advanced L-1011 and McDonnell Douglas Advanced Medium Range Transport (AMRT). Design work on the CF6-32 has been under way since December 1976, and at the 1977 Paris Show it was anticipated that a suffi ciently firm application would emerge to permit final sizing of the engine during the third quarter of 1977. This would have made possible a first run before the end of this year, certification by 1981, and service entry in 1982. Snecma's participation is expected to cover development of the fan module, and testing of this unit. At the end of last year, however, go-ahead of the CF6-32 still awaited decisions by the airline and airframe companies, though a specific version appeared rated at 32,6001b for the 7X7. CF6-32 Single-stage fan, sixteen-stage compressor, annular combustor, two-stage h-p turbine, three-stage 1-p turbine. Take-off 30,0001b, bypass ratio 4-5:1, pressure ratio 21-3:1, mass flow 9601b/sec, length 138 -5in, fan diameter 72in, weight 6,2001b. CF645 Two-shaft turbofan. GE announced the FAA cer tification of two models of the CF6-45 in August last year. Designated CF6-45A and CF6-45B, both are derated ver sions of the CF6-50E, with which they are identical in con figuration. Both engines produce 46,5001b thrust, flat-rated to 97°F and 110°F respectively, and both are being offered on the Boeing 747SR and 747SP. Other potential applica tions are the McDonnell Douglas DC-X-200 (2 X CF6-45B) and a stretched DC-10 Series 10 (3 X 45,0001b CF6-45), and as an alternative power unit on the Airbus Industrie A300B10 (2 X 46,5001b CF6-45). The first firm order for the derated engine came from All Nippon Airways for three 747SRs with the CF6-45A, plus eight options. CF6-50 Two-shaft turbofan. Probably GE's most important single engine programme today, the CF6-50 powers a wider range of applications than either of the P&W or R-R big fans. Derived from the CF6-6, the -50 features three (rather than - one) booster stages after the fan, has a 14-stage (rather than 16-stage) h-p compressor with variable bleed valves, and a new 1-p turbine of four (rather than five) stages. Main production versions are the 49,0001b CF6-50A, the 51,0001b CF6-50C and the 52,5001b CF6-50E. The company is also understood to' be offering the 52,5001b CF6-50C1 this year in competition with P&W's bid based on the 53,0001b JT9D-59A to break GE's monopoly on the A300B. The CF6-50C1 would be uprated to 54,0001b in 1979. Even more powerful is the 55,5001b CF6-50M being considered by McDonnell Douglas for a stretched DC-10 Series 30, and by Boeing for an 850,0001b 747. The most significant recent success by the CF6-50 was Lufthansa's order last summer for three 747SLs, a 747 Combi and a 747F, all with the GE engine, for delivery in late 1978. They will replace the airline's older JTSD-powered 747s. In addition, options were taken on four more GE-powered 747s. Lufthansa's Condor charter subsidiary may also switch from the JT9D to the CF6-50 on its 747s. In their F103 military guise, CF6-50s are also being delivered for half-a-dozen Boeing E-4A command-post versions of the 747. In its other military application, the Boeing YC-14, the CF6-50 has shown exceptional reliability. A US Defence Department decision on the future of this project (and its YC-15 McDonnell Douglas opponent) is imminent. In the A300 the CF6-50—assembled by Snecma for this application—has also been highly successful, and towards the end of last year Airbus Industrie decided to increase production rate from one to two aircraft per month. The A300B was also scheduled to have made its US
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