June 13, 2005 -- LE BOURGET - Development tests continue on the Engine Alliance's GP7200 engine, which will power the Airbus A380 aircraft.
"We are very pleased with the performance of the engine," said Bruce Hughes, president of the Engine Alliance. "To date, eight development engines have accumulated more than 4,000 cycles and 1,750 hours of operations. We remain on schedule for engine certification with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in October."
In November 2004, the Engine Alliance successfully conducted fan blade-out containment on the GP7200 engine. This April, the engine successfully completed three separate bird ingestion tests with four 2.5-pound flocking birds, a 5.5-pound bird and an 8-pound bird. This month, the GP7200 development engines will undergo water ingestion, icing and a 150-hour block endurance testing. These tests are required for FAA engine certification.
Endurance testing on the GP7200 engine will continue beyond the certification test program. Prior to service entry, the eight-engine GP7200 test program will accumulate more than 15,000 "Service Ready" endurance cycles. While four engines will power the A380 aircraft, the Engine Alliance will put the GP7200 engine through the rigorous twin-engine test program called the Extended Twin-Engine Operation (ETOPS) ground demonstration. The test will demonstrate the high reliability of the GP7200 engine.
The second phase of flight tests on GE's 747 Flying Testbed in Victorville, California, began earlier this month. The tests are validating the engine's in-flight performance and FADEC software refinements.
The Engine Alliance is on track to support the first flight of the A380 with GP7200 engines. Engines for the flight test will start shipping to Airbus in mid-year.
The GP7200 engine has been tailored to satisfy both current and future thrust requirements of the A380 family of aircraft. The GP7200 will initially certify at 76,500 lbs. (340 kN) of thrust. Subsequent durability endurance testing will be performed to certify the engine at 81,500 lbs. (363 kN) of thrust in 2006 to accommodate future growth for the A380. If needed, the basic GP7200 architecture can accommodate thrust growth up to 84,000 lbs. (374 kN) of thrust.
The GP7200 engine has been selected for 67 of the 120 A380 aircraft ordered with the engines specified. Emirates, Air France, FedEx, and International Lease Finance Corporation have selected the GP7200 engine for their A380 fleets, resulting in firm orders for almost 300 engines valued at more than $3 billion.
The GP7200 benefits from the heritage of the highly successful GE90 and PW4000 families. Building on the GE90 core and the PW4000 low-pressure system, the GP7200 is a refined derivative with an infusion of new, proven technologies. The engine features a hollow-titanium, swept wide-chord fan; a five-stage low-pressure compressor; a nine-stage high-pressure compressor and a two-stage high-pressure turbine; a low-emissions single annular combustor that will meet future emissions regulations with substantial margin; and a six-stage low-pressure turbine.
MTU of Germany, Snecma of France and Techspace Aero of Belgium are revenue-sharing participants in the GP7200 engine program.
The Engine Alliance, a 50/50 joint venture between GE Transportation - Aircraft Engines and Pratt & Whitney, was formed in August 1996 to develop, manufacture, sell, and support a family of modern-technology engines for new high-capacity, long-range aircraft.
Rick Kennedy
GE Aviation
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