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Aviation History
1992
1992 - 1275.PDF
COMMERCIAL WRBOFAN DIRECTORY lilt*"* -nmn GE's CF6-80E1 began flight tests on an A300 in February ""*%he development pattern for the next decade of airliner engines has become more clear. A new genera- • •• tion of widebodies is beginning to emerge; in the mid-range market, CFM International and International Aero En gines (IAE) are expanding the battleground; and the ultimate shape of the new regional- jet aircraft market will probably firm up before the end of the year. During the last year, the manufacturers of the big fans have focused their attention on the fight to power the Boeing 777 twin-aisle twinjet, witb Pratt & Whitney taking an early lead in 1990 through the selection of its 325kN (73,0001b)-thrust PW4073 to power launch customer United Airlines' 34 aircraft. Since then, P&W has also secured the order to power All Nippon Airways' fleet of 15 777-200s. British Airways' selection of the new General Electric GE90 to power its 15 777-200s caused the big-fan market's shock of the year in August 1991. Rolls-Royce's Trent 800 series was a late starter in the 777 market, but has come back strongly this year. Thai Airways Inter national was confirmed in February as the 333kN Trent 870's launch customer, with COMPILED BY SIMON ELLIOTT AND GUY NORRIS eight 777s on order. Dubai-based Emirates Airlines' 777s will also be Trent-powered, and R-R has been selected to power Cathay Pacific's 22 777s on order and option. R-R is offering the 385kN Trent 884 for the longer-range B-model 777. The most significant new platform to have emerged in the last year is the McDonnell Douglas (MDC) MD-12, now configured as a 375- to 700-passenger twin-deck, four-engine widebody. Launch is planned for the fourth quarter of this year, with a first flight in 1996. MD-11-class- engines will be offered for the new aircraft; P&W's 276kN PW4460, GE's 273kN CF6- 80C2 and R-R's 284kN Trent 764. Larger, 400kN, engines will be required for a proposed twin-engine MD-12, and manufacturers are working in this direction. While GE is committed to the continued development of the GE90, which will un derpin its large-thrust-engine strategy into the next century, P&W is stepping up research on its advanced ducted propulsor (ADP) concept. Testing of the ADP's fan-drive gear sys tem continues to encourage P&W, which will test a full-scale ADP demonstrator, using a PW2037 core, later this year. GE's 300kN CF6-80E1, set to power the Airbus A330 on its first flight, began flight tests at Mojave, California, on 14 February on the engine manufacturer's A300 testbed. In the middle-rated turbofan market, one of the most significant events was the first flight of the Airbus A340, powered by four 139kN CFM56-5C2s, on 25 October, 1991. CFM International (CFMI), the GE/Snecma joint venture, is set to develop a new turbofan to power the proposed A340-400X. CFMI has had a good year overall, an example being Swissair and Austrian Air lines' selection of the CFM56 (against the competing IAE V2500) to power the 39 Airbus A320/321s which the carriers have on order, with 41 options. Icing and per formance tests on prototype 133kN CFM56- ,5B.S:for the A321 were completed in March and flight tests will begin aboard GE's Boeing 707 testbed this year. Ground tests on the engine's low-emission, double annu lar combustor will also begin later this year. IAE is even closer to achieving a place with all three of the big aircraft manufactur ers, with the first V2500s set for delivery to FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 20-26 May, 1992 27
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