The debate about the design of future commercial aircraft engines broadened this year as concerns mounted over the effect aircraft engines may be having on global warming, while the cost of aviation fuel rocketed and noise became ever more of an issue.
Emergency AD 2003-08-52 was issued last month for the GE CT7-9B turboprop in response to 12 compressor-stall events in Saab 340Bs over a six-month period. The stalls occurred when pilots throttled back from takeoff power to climb power. Nine of the events involved engines that had the compressor variable geometry (VG) rigged to N1, one of two allowable rigging options that affords slightly higher performance at the expense of stall margin.
Miami-based Quiet Technologies Aerospace in late January received FAA approval of its Stage 3 translating-ejector hush kit for Gulfstream IIs, IIBs and IIIs.
AvAero, a maker of Learjet hush kits, has received an STC for a fuel-saving aerodynamic modification of the Boeing 737-200/300. The company claims the mod will decrease the twinjet’s fuel burn by an average of 4 percent, equating to about a 230-pph fuel-burn reduction. By repositioning the trailing-edge flaps, AvAero said it increases aft wing camber, which lets the airfoil generate the same lift at a lower angle of attack.
Pratt & Whitney Canada’s new PW535E turbofan engine for the Embraer Phenom 300 has reached its full takeoff thrust of 3,360 pounds at the company’s Longueuil, Quebec test facility. Embraer chose the PW535E turbofan in May 2005 to power the Phenom 300.
Raisbeck Engineering and Analytical Methods Inc. (AMI) have formalized a two-decade-long business relationship by signing a multi-year design and consulting contract. Raiseck Engineering produces aftermarket kits aimed at improving the performance of business and commercial aircraft.
The NTSB this week finally released initial factual information about the Flight Options Beechjet 400A that experienced a dual engine flameout on Nov. 28, 2005. Both of the airplane’s Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-5 turbofans, which had been inspected 31 hours earlier, failed on a positioning flight to Marcos Island, Fla., when power was reduced after the fractional jet was cleared to descend to FL330 from FL380.
Despite having lost out to Rolls-Royce in the competition to power Dassault’s still-under-wraps super-midsize Falcon, Snecma is moving ahead with development its Silvercrest engine for business jets. The French manufacturer (Booth No. 824) is here exhibiting a full-size mockup of the 10,000-pound-thrust-class turbofan.
Snecma plans to unveil a mock-up of its 9,500- to 12,000-pound-thrust Silvercrest engine, as well as divulge more details about the project, at the NBAA Convention in Atlanta next week. The French engine manufacturer also confirmed that it will run a Silvercrest core engine in the fourth quarter.
Airfoil Services of Malaysia, a joint venture between MTU Aero Engines and Lufthansa Technik, has moved into a new production facility about four times the size of its original location. The new facility, located in Kota Damansara, near Kuala Lumpur, represents an investment of about $14 million. There are currently 350 employees, and that number is expected to increase by about 150 over the next few years.