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Aviation History
1999
1999 - 1390.PDF
THE CFM56 STORY Presidential beginnings The B-l 's F101 engine provided the CFMS6 core tory. Ravaud raised the topic of Snecma's new " 1 Ot" study engine, the M56. Would it be possi ble, he asked, for GE to join forces with Snecma on this new project? Neumann was extremely interested. Like everyone in the engine business, he knew Snecma was looking for a partner to help it develop the M56 - a new commercial engine in the 20,0001b-thrust (89kN) range. The French Government-supported engine project had been conceived as a running mate for the newly created Airbus Industrie. The engine would not only allow Snecma to diversify away from its reliance on French military aircraft, but would also give it a chance to compete to power a raft of proposed new narrowbody twins. Foremost of these was a possible follow-on to the Pratt & Whitney JT8D-powered Dassault Mercure, while others included multi-national short take-off and landing concepts and 150- seater projects that would later evolve into Europlane, and the Joint European Transport (JET). The JET study, undertaken by partners in France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, was based around the CFM56 and later gave birth to the Airbus SA (single-aisle) family, which - 10 years after that first Paris meeting between Neumann and Ravaud - ultimately became the A3 20. Although die French plan was full of ambi tion, it was tempered by reality. Snecma knew that, to develop a successful new commercial powerplant, it would need to form a partnership with one of the "big three", GE, P& Wor Rolls- Royce. It had a relationship with GE, but ini tially began partnership talks with P&W, which already held an 11 % stake in tire French engine I ''Snecma would not physically obst was to be excluded, and all the com maker. However, it soon became obvious that P&W was not very interested. This was hardly surprising given that the M56 was a proposed successor to its ownJT8D, which was becoming established as the fastest-selling civil power- plant ever. Furthermore, P&W had plans to re- fan die JT8D, and saw plenty of life left in its engine. This re-fanned version would eventual ly emerge as the JT8D-200, powering the McDonnell Douglas MD-80. R-R was more interested in the concept, but was struggling to climb out of bankruptcy fol lowing RB2 11 development problems, and was in no position to take on new projects. Besides, it was still fully engaged with Snecma on the M45, a lightweight regional turbofan short on FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 19 - 25 May 1999
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