Story ID: 637CFMDubai2015PreprintAIN.doc
CFM Busy Testing New Leap Engines
By: Thierry Dubois
Caption: Last summer in the UAE, the engine maker tested a system for sand particle rejection
Word Count: 390
CFM is busy testing its Leap family turbofans for the Airbus A320neo and Boeing 737 Max single-aisle jets (respectively the Leap-1A and Leap-1B). The engine-maker, which is a joint venture between GE Aviation of the U.S. and France’s Safran, has delivered the first two Leap-1C propulsions systems, including nacelles, to Comac for its C919. The Leap-1C shares the same turbomachinery as the Leap-1A.
  
As of October 5, test engines for the three versions have accumulated a combined 5,800 hours on the ground, representing 11,000 simulated flight cycles. On GE’s two Boeing 747 flying testbeds (based in Victorville, California), they have logged 750 flight hours. “They have performed perfectly,” CFM executive v-p François Bastin told AIN.
  
Since May 19, when Leap-1As powered an A320neo for the first time, they have chalked up 270 hours in 90 flights, and a second CFM-equipped A320neo has also started flying.
  
Two important trial campaigns took place last summer. In the United Arab Emirates, hot-weather testing confirmed that “the Leap will be an excellent engine to operate in the Middle-East region,” Bastin went on. It features a debris rejection system that involves special fan and spinner profiles. Meanwhile variable bleed vanes located just downstream of the low-pressure compressor scoop sand particles out when the engine runs at intermediate speed–typically during taxiing. The system thereby prevents the particles from entering the high-pressure compressor.
  
The second important campaign last summer was high-altitude-testing in Bolivia. Both programs were so successful that each campaign was completed one day earlier than planned, Bastin said. He added that, since the beginning of the evaluation phase, the engines have confirmed predictions in fuel burn, noise and pollutant emissions.
  
The certification program is progressing without any unexpected issues, he confirmed. Reliability is said to have met design objectives–which were set much higher than in-service engine reliability. “Since the beginning of its development, this engine has had an exceptional track record,” Bastin claimed.
  
CFM (Stand 1160) has received more than 9,500 engine orders for the Leap family, accounting for six or seven years of production. The entry into service of the Leap-1A is scheduled for 2016 and certification of the Leap-1C is expected next year. Comac is due to roll out the first C919 by year-end.