SaM146 Powerjet

On January 2010 the SaM146 engine has totaled more than 5.800 hours operating, of which 2 700 hours in flight.
It behaviour keeps excellent and all the parameters answer to expectations

PowerJet, the joint venture responsible for the Sukhoi Superjet 100's SaM146 engine, confirms that certification has been delayed by "a few months" due to "industrial issues" at the Russian partner NPO Saturn.

The engine, which is jointly produced by Snecma and NPO Saturn, was due to be certificated by the end of this year. However, Sukhoi recently revealed that the powerplant has been subject to a delay that has had an impact on the aircraft's development schedule.

"It is true we have had a few months delay," says PowerJet.

It explains that while the engine is progressing well through certification tests, there has been a hold-up in final approval due to "operational and production problems at NPO Saturn's Rybinsk plant" in Russia.

The issues, which PowerJet says resulted from some financial problems at the Russian partner, were identified recently following the installation of a new management team at NPO Saturn. "There was a financial impact on the industrial plan and the new team has implemented an action plan to address the issues," it adds.

17/03/2010
Certification tests of Russia’s new Sukhoi Superjet 100 medium-haul airliner are nearing completion. Its engine was subjected to tough reliability tests involving simulated ice and hail storms and frozen-carcass bird strikes.

La charte de PowerJet lui interdit de produire des moteurs de plus de 82 kN (8,35 tonnes) de poussée, afin de ne pas entrer en concurrence avec les produits de CFM International.

Snecma a développé avec le motoriste russe NPO Saturn le réacteur SaM146 du Superjet. Sa certification par l'Agence européenne de la sécurité aérienne (EASA) est prévue mercredi après-midi à Cologne en Allemagne.

"Nous aurons fait correctement notre travail si nous fabriquons au moins 800 moteurs sur ce programme", a ajouté Philippe Petitcolin.

PowerJet, the joint venture between France’s Snecma and NPO Saturn of Russia, received European Aviation Safety Agency type certification for the SaM146 turbofan engine that will power the Sukhoi Superjet 100.
Avia Register of Russia is expected to issue a certificate for the engine in a few weeks, company representatives say.
The SaM146 certification paves the way for Superjet certification followed by deliveries to launch customers Aeroflot and Armavia later this year. At the beginning of 2010, internal Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (SCAC) plans called for Superjet certification tests to be completed by October, though the same plan foresees SaM146 certification in May. SCAC expects delivery of four Superjets by the end of 2010.
The first production-standard engine will be shipped to Sukhoi at the beginning of July, with the second following a month later, NPO Saturn’s managers say. Powerjet is planning to deliver 12 engines this year. The powerplants will be assembled in Russia.

PowerJet said that throughout the certification test program, the engine's performance "has fully met or exceeded expectations." The SaM146 has logged 7,100 hr. of testing, including 3,500 hr. in the air.

The SaM146 has a take-off thrust of 76.8 kN (17,275 pounds) and has a dry weight of 1700 kg

...
Philippe Petitcolin a ajouté espérer que le constructeur russe Sukhoï signerait au moins 400 commandes pour son bimoteur régional Superjet 100, une performance qui lui permettrait de placer 800 moteurs avec son partenaire local NPO Saturn.

Snecma a développé avec NPO Saturn le réacteur SaM146 du Superjet. Sa certification par l'Agence européenne de la sécurité aérienne (EASA) a été validée mercredi après-midi à Cologne en Allemagne.

"Nous aurons fait correctement notre travail si nous fabriquons au moins 800 moteurs sur ce programme", a expliqué Philippe Petitcolin.

Le Superjet 100, dont les premières livraisons sont programmées pour le quatrième trimestre 2010, soit avec près de deux ans de retard, a enregistré 122 commandes à ce jour, selon Snecma.

VITRINE

Aeroflot sera la compagnie de lancement de cet appareil qui pourra transporter 75 à 95 passagers et qui se présente comme la vitrine du renouveau technologique russe dans l'aéronautique civile.

United Aviation Corporation (UAC), propriétaire de Sukhoi, avait annoncé en décembre 2009 le report du calendrier de livraisons des Superjet 100 au motif de retards dans la fabrication des moteurs.

Jean-Paul Ebanga, PDG de Powerjet, la coentreprise formée entre Snecma et Saturn pour le programme Superjet, n'a pas souhaité endosser cette responsabilité.

"Tous les grands rendez-vous de ce programme ont été respectés. Comme beaucoup d'entreprises russes, Saturn a éprouvé des difficultés de refinancement, sa structure a évolué (la société a été nationalisée en décembre 2008, ndlr) et son équipe dirigeante a été remaniée, tout cela prend du temps", a-t-il fait valoir.

"La certification du moteur obtenue aujourd'hui constitue néanmoins une première dans le cadre d'un partenariat franco-russe, ce dont nous pouvons être très fier", a-t-il ajouté.

Philippe Petitcolin a rappelé que la priorité numéro un de Snecma restait d'assurer l'avenir de CFM mais que ses équipes chercheraient également à se positionner sur les futurs grands programmes d'avions régionaux et de jets d'affaires pour lesquels il prépare un nouveau moteur dédié, le Silvercrest.

"S'il y a des possibilités dans le régional et que l'on nous sollicite pour des appels d'offres, nous répondrons. Avec le SaM146, un dérivé ou un autre moteur, nous ne nous interdisons rien", a-t-il dit.

Just an hour before joint venture PowerJet received formal European certification for its SaM146 engine, its Russian manufacturer NPO Saturn explained - with remarkable frankness - why the programme was running two years behind schedule.
...
To bring the SaM146 programme into line the manufacturer had to draw up a "realistic timeframe", he says: "Right now we're following that schedule. The Russian state is providing great support."
With the mainstay Tupolev Tu-154 and Tu-134 fleet fading into retirement, and the encroachment of foreign-built regional jets into Russian fleets, the Superjet 100 and SaM146 programme is viewed as the best chance for the domestic commercial aircraft industry to regain its shaky footing.
But co-operating with Snecma has required a "change of mentality", says Fyodorov, to "turn our company into a Western company". Saturn recruited consultant McKinsey to assess its production processes and advise on lean manufacturing strategies to prepare the manufacture for meeting ramp-up demands.

"As soon as Russia starts working in the Soviet way it's a disaster for the company. The Russian system was disintegrated and now we have to integrate it again," Fyodorov says.
Sukhoi conceded late last year that its chances of delivering the first Superjets to Armavia and Aeroflot by the end of 2009 were slim, as production issues had a knock-on effect on the certification flight tests.
The airframer admitted earlier this year that the bottleneck in SaM146 engine supply meant it was having to make the most of a pool of test powerplants, to the extent of removing engines from one flight-test Superjet prototype to allow another to fly. Even the first serial production aircraft, it said, would have to be fitted with pre-production engines for ground tests.
But with the successful certification by the European Aviation Safety Agency on 23 June, and Russian approval set to follow, Fyodorov is optimistic that the situation is back under control. Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin toured the Saturn facility a few days earlier, following completion of the crucial blade-out and bird-ingestion tests on the SaM146.

"His estimation of progress is very high," says Fyodorov. "He is very happy that we did not let him down on the certification timeframe."
Approval from the government is crucial. Saturn, which is 88%-owned by the industrial holding Oboronprom, has laid out a need for Rb8.4 billion ($270 million) in funding to support increased production.
PowerJet is intending to deliver 13 serial production SaM146s to Sukhoi this year - one of which will be a spare - but Snecma's Petitcolin says that, in 2011, the venture is aiming to manufacture 30-50. "We hope for 50," he adds.
Fyodorov says: "Next year we hope to approach that level. We need only one thing - to get the money. There's a full explanation [to the state] for why we need it. We treat state financing very seriously and account for every penny."
Saturn's financial plan requires funding of Rb3.5 billion in the first year, Rb3.9 billion in the second and Rb1.9 billion in the third, he says: "After three years we're going to be a completely new company."
The company is forecasting a production output of up to 84 engines in 2011, increasing to 120 and then 150 in the following two years.
Saturn put a new training centre into operation in March, designed to turn out skilled workers in manufacturing as well as SaM146 maintenance activity - although Fyodorov also says that the firm is overstaffed by 15-20% and wants to cut its top management and retire its older personnel. "The company has to become younger," he says. "The average age is 43, we want to make it less than 40."
He says the cuts are necessary for the company's long-term survival but admits that while, in Moscow, "you can fire people and it's no problem", heavy job losses would amount to a "very serious social explosion" in a relatively small city such as Rybinsk, where SaM146 parts are machined and the engine has undergone testing.
PowerJet chief Jean-Paul Ebanga says that, following the "long and demanding journey" to EASA approval of the SaM146, production ramp-up is one of two areas on which the venture is focusing. The other is the preparation of entry into service and the establishment of a solid support network for the aircraft and its engines.
"It's a work in progress," he says, adding that the joint activities with airlines have already been initiated. The company is also finalising a spares warehouse in the Moscow area.
Deliveries of the first production engines to Sukhoi are to take place by the end of July.

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