LEAP-1B engine under ground testing photo: CFM CFM International has begun ground testing of the all-new LEAP-1B engine for the first t...
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| LEAP-1B engine under ground testing photo: CFM |
The LEAP-1B engine, installed at Snecma (Safran) facilities in Villaroche,France, successfully completed a series of break-in runs before reaching full take-off thrust.
The LEAP-1B engine will exclusively power the 737 MAX family.The testing launches a two-year program, with engine certification targeted for 2016 and entry into commercial service on the Boeing 737 MAX airplane in 2017.
During the upcoming tests, CFM will verify its mechanical operation, operability (stall margin), engine starts and further validate 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 engine contributes significantly to the 737 MAX's fuel efficiency improvement, with a 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.
In 2011, Boeing selected the LEAP-1B as the sole powerplant for MAX, extending a more than 30-year relationship. CFM has been the only engine provider for the 737 aircraft family since the 737 Classic entered service in 1984.
Later this month CFM will deliver the 10,000th CFM56-7B engine for the Next-Generation 737.
Boeing claims that the 737 MAX will have an 8 percent operating cost per seat advantage over the A320neo- the rengined A320, which has a choice of Pratt & Whitney PW1000 series or CFM LEAP-1A engine.
