The first CFM Leap-1A-powered Airbus A320neo made its first flight on Tuesday from Toulouse, France. CFM reported that the engines performed “extremely well” throughout the flight envelope during the four hour, 25-minute maiden test mission.
The CFM-powered narrobody joins two other A320neos—both powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1100G geared turbofans---in the type’s flight test program. Airbus plans to fly five more A320neo-family test articles, including another Leap-powered A320, two A319neos--one powered by the Leap and the other the PW1100G--and a pair of A321neos, one of each powered by the respective new powerplants.
Scheduled for certification by the end of this year, the first Leap-1A began undergoing ground testing in September 2013 at GE Aviation’s test site in Peebles, Ohio. It took the skies for the first time on October 6 on a modified Boeing 747 flying testbed at GE Aviation Flight Test Operations in Victorville, California. CFM said Tuesday that it has submitted and received approval for nearly 60 percent of the required engine reports.
The Leap program includes 28 ground and CFM flight test engines, along with a total of 32 flight test engines for the A320neo, the Boeing 737 Max and the Comac C919. The program has logged a total of more than 3,660 certification test hours and 5,460 test cycles. Plans call for the engines to accumulate 40,000 cycles up to entry into service.
The first Pratt-powered A320neo—now undergoing high-altitude and extreme weather testing--took to the air last September; the second--configured for reliability, noise and ETOPS approval—flew for the first time this past March.
Airbus expects the PW1100G-powered A320neo to gain certification by the end of this year and the Leap-powered version by mid-2016.