Engine Alliance GP 7200

GP7200 Engines Recognized for Fuel Consumption Benefit

East Hartford, Conn. – April 10, 2012, Airbus recently revised its performance handbook to indicate that GP7200-powered A380 aircraft have been demonstrating fuel consumption levels better than previously stated. This latest revision – the third positive adjustment since 2007 -- reflects an additional 0.5% improvement to the previous version of the performance handbook and further increases the GP7200-powered aircraft’s competitive advantage. Aircraft purchasers frequently refer to these assessments as a predictor of aircraft and engine performance.

“GP7200 engines are saving our customers more than $1 million per aircraft per year – and more than 3,000 metric tonnes of CO2 per year – based on demonstrated performance,” said Mary Ellen Jones, President of the Engine Alliance. “This latest validation of GP7200 fuel efficiency, combined with excellent performance retention and reliability, shows that the Engine Alliance is now delivering an even bigger advantage to our customers.”

The GP7200 engine entered service in 2008, and 32 GP7200-powered A380s are now in service. Current operators include Emirates with 21 aircraft, Air France with six and Korean Air with five. Other GP7200 customers include Air Austral, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways. To date, Engine Alliance GP7200 engines have been selected to power 56% of all A380s.

FARNBOROUGH, July 11, 2012 — Today the Engine Alliance announced a series of performance and durability enhancements to the GP7200 engine applicable to new engine deliveries that will begin to enter service later this year.

“These improvements will give airlines even greater confidence that the GP7200 continues to be the best-performing engine for the A380,” said Engine Alliance President Mary Ellen Jones. “The GP7200 fleet recently surpassed one million flight hours. We’re very proud of this accomplishment and look forward to offering Engine Alliance customers these added advantages for millions more hours.”

The refinements, to be released into production over the next 18 months, incorporate upgrades to engine clearances and sealing, introduce an improved turbine blade and offer a modest incremental weight reduction. These performance enhancements are in addition to the recently announced demonstrated improvement in GP7200 fuel consumption published in Airbus’ A380 performance handbook – the third positive adjustment since December 2007 – and to a series of weight reductions that put the engine well below production requirements.

“The Engine Alliance is focused on continuous improvement for our customers,” said Jones. “We’re proud of our track record of reliable operation and our position as the most fuel-efficient engine for the A380. These latest enhancements build on those advantages.”

A380 aircraft powered by GP7200 engines have flown more than one million flight hours, a milestone reached this month. The GP7200 engine entered service in August 2008 and 34 GP7200-powered A380s are now in service with Emirates, Air France and Korean Air. Other GP7200 customers include Air Austral, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways. To date, Engine Alliance GP7200 engines have been selected to power 56% of all A380s.

Specialists from the General Electric and Pratt & Whitney Engine
Alliance working with Australian investigators are focusing on a failed
nozzle guide vane as the suspected cause of an engine shutdown on a
GP7200-powered Emirates Airline Airbus A380.
The aircraft
experienced the engine incident around 20 min. after departure from
Sydney, Australia on Nov. 11. The aircraft, bound for Dubai with 380
passengers on board, returned safely to the airport, where inspectors
are believed to have discovered damage caused by the failure of a second
stage, high-pressure (HP) turbine nozzle guide vane.
Engine
Alliance declines to comment specifically on the cause of the incident
but says it “is investigating the root cause of the engine event and
will initiate prompt corrective action.” It adds that, to date, the
engine “has demonstrated excellent reliability and performance on the
Airbus A380, and the Engine Alliance is committed to maintaining those
standards.”
Emirates President Tim Clark in an interview with the
Financial Times notes that several “rogue engines” also would be
removed for fixing. The upgrade involves replacing the HP turbine second
stage nozzle guide vanes with improved units with more advanced
cooling.
The revised cooling configuration was designed after
thermal distress in the guide vanes was unearthed during endurance runs
of a test GP7200.
The change, prompted by an Engine
Alliance-issued service bulletin in 2011, is thought to have been made
to around 300 GP7200 engines, and fewer than a dozen are believed to
still require the fix. One of these engines is also believed to be the
unit involved in the Emirates event.

Admin a écrit:+ amélioration sur la durabilité moteur en conditions moyenne orientale côté turbine haute pression