Ground testing the CFM
LEAP-1B Engine
CFM International initiated ground testing of the first all-new LEAP-1B engine that will
exclusively power the Boeing 737 MAX, three days ahead of schedule. The LEAP-1B engine,
installed in a test cell at Snecma (Safran) facilities in Villaroche, France, successfully
completed a series of break-in runs before reaching full take-off thrust.
The engine was on test for several weeks, during which time CFM verified its mechanical
operation, operability (stall margin), and engine starts. Further validate tests covered the
advanced technologies incorporated in the engine, including the woven carbon fiber
composite fan, the Twin-Annular, Pre-Mixing Swirler (TAPS) combustor, ceramic matrix
composite shrouds in the high-pressure turbine and the titanium aluminide blades in the low-
pressure turbine. The LEAP-1B is specifically optimized for the 737 MAX with a smaller,
highly efficient core and benefits from these new technologies.
The LEAP-1B engine contributes significantly to the 737 MAX's fuel efficiency improvement.
The 737 MAX will be 14 percent more fuel efficient than today's most efficient Next-
Generation 737s – and 20 percent better than the original Next-Generation 737s when they
first entered service.
Aircraft engines
Daniel Linares / Safran
Advanced technologies allow billions of passengers to take to the air each
year for business or leisure travel. Military aircraft patrol our skies to
protect people, and to transport troops, equipment, food and other
humanitarian supplies, and more. Both civil and military users expect
maximum performance and dispatch reliability. These major challenges
facing both civil and military aviation are also an integral part of Safran's
strategy, as one of the world's leading aircraft engine manufacturers.
Safran designs, develops and produces a wide range of engines and propulsion
systems, plus associated support services, through our companies and
partnerships, by calling on our people's unexcelled skills, high-value-added
technologies and world-class production facilities. Our engines cover all market
segments, from commercial aircraft engines for mainline and regional airplanes,
to business jet powerplants and engines for militarytransport, training, combat,
surveillance and in-flight refueling missions.
At Safran, our strategy is built around a shared vision with customers and
partners. Back in 1974, Snecma (Safran) and General Electric (GE) created a
50/50 joint company, CFM International, to develop a revolutionary commercial
aircraft engine. This French-American partnership proved to be a textbook case
in cross-border collaboration, giving rise to the CFM56, the world's best-selling
aircraft engine, powerplant of the best-selling Boeing 737 and Airbus A320
single-aisle jet families.
The CFM success story at a glance: more than 33,100 engines delivered
worldwide to date, a CFM56-powered aircraft taking off somewhere in the world
every 2 seconds - with these aircraft carrying over 7 million passengers a day!
LEAP, the successor to the CFM56
Cyril Abad / CAPA Pictures / Safran
Building on this unprecedented success, Safran and GE renewed their CFM
partnership in 2008, also extending it to include services. The two partners
confirmed their commitment to jointly developing a new-generation engine that
would offer a significant improvement in terms of performance, fuel consumption
and environmental friendliness.
This new engine is the LEAP (Leading Edge Aviation Propulsion)! Successor to
the CFM56, the LEAP already powers Boeing 737 MAX, Airbus A320neo and
Comac C919 single-aisle jets for airlines and lessors from all over the world.
Safran Aircraft Engines also power some 20 types of military aircraft in 30
countries. Our engines for the Rafale and Mirage 2000 fighters have become
global benchmarks. Safran also supplies the TP400 engine for the Airbus
A400M military transport, via the European consortium Europrop International:
the TP400 is the most powerful turboprop engine in the West, developing some
11,600 shaft horsepower. We are also a partner in FCAS (Future Combat Air
System), a French-British program to develop a new-generation combat drone.
LEAP engine equipping the new generation aircraft
It succeeds the hugely successful CFM56 powerplant, on which we have
developed in-depth knowledge over a decade and more. We have also
demonstrated our adaptability when faced with the challenge of integrating
new engines such as the GEnx.
Ongoing industrialization
To develop our LEAP capability, we placed it on a "lean"
continuous improvement footing right from the outset. We
have worked on the LEAP with a dedicated team that was
involved right from the start of the offer development process.
We have injected a mix of skills into the team to encourage
knowledge sharing and to develop in-depth understanding of
the engine and cutting-edge know-how. Today, the LEAP
team is deploying very positive energy and concentrating on
continuously improving its skills. This is an important factor for
this still-young engine, which will potentially see many further
improvements and innovations.
CFM International LEAP-1B engine for a Boeing 737-8.
U.S. President Trump and China President Xi Jinping witnessed the signing of
an agreement between ICBC Financial Leasing Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), and CFM International for
the purchase of 80 LEAP-1B engines to power 40 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
Yi Huiman, chairman of ICBC and John Rice, vice chairman of CFM parent
company GE, signed the agreement. The engine order is valued at nearly
$1.1 billion at list price and ICBC Leasing is scheduled to begin taking delivery
in 2018. The airplanes were previously announced as part of a Chinese block
buy.
At the 2017 Paris Air Show, ICBC Leasing placed a $1.0 billion order for 80
LEAP-1A engines to power new A320neo aircraft.
ICBC Leasing, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ICBC Group, the largest
commercial bank in the world, is the largest Chinese lessor and top 5 lessor
worldwide. ICBC Leasing has a total of 555 aircraft in portfolio, with 326
aircraft delivered. ICBC Leasing has nearly 70 operators from 33 countries
and regions worldwide.
The LEAP engine is a product of CFM International, a 50/50 joint company
between GE and Safran Aircraft Engines.
Singapore Airlines’ SilkAir signs $1B LEAP-1B engine support
agreement
SilkAir officials signed a 15-year Rate Per Flight Hour (RPFH) maintenance
agreement with CFM International to support the LEAP-1B engines that will
power its new fleet of 37 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. The agreement is valued
at $1 billion at list price and includes a total of 80 engines.
Under the terms of the agreement, CFM guarantees maintenance costs for all
SilkAir’s LEAP-1B engines on a dollar per engine flight hour basis.
SilkAir, which is the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, took delivery of its
first Boeing 737 MAX 8 airplane on Sept. 27, 2017. Operations with the MAX
aircraft began on Oct. 5, 2017, with the first flight travelling to Penang,
Malaysia. Deliveries of the remaining aircraft are scheduled through 2024.
Leap Puts Woodward Ahead
by Thierry Dubois
- February 14, 2012, 8:30 AM
Fuel system specialist Woodward, here at the Singapore Airshow (Booth E35) for the
first time, is highlighting its contribution to the in-development CFM International
Leap engine family. Woodward is providing Leap’s fuel system, including (but not
limited to) actuators and air valves. The Fort Collins, Colorado-based company claims
to have displaced other suppliers, such as Honeywell and Arkwin, from the new
turbofan program.
“We have worked with GE for a number of years on specific enabling technologies
that will help the Leap-X engine meet market and customer demands for increased
fuel efficiency, lower emissions and reduced noise,” Woodward chairman and CEO
Tom Gendron said. Under the agreement, Woodward will be responsible for
specification, design, production and after-sales support. CFM International is a joint
venture between General Electric and Snecma.
The Leap win is a massive gain in market share, according to marketing manager
Scott Davis. Full-rate production, to begin mid-decade, should take Woodward’s
stake in the commercial market above 50 percent in three segments. This will consist
of a predicted 55 percent in main fuel pumps, 65 percent in fuel metering units and 80
percent in fuel-driven actuators.
The Leap family of engines has been selected to power the Airbus A320neo, the
Comac C919 and the Boeing 737MAX.
