CFM LEAP-1A achieve FAA and EASA certification

CFM Photo CFM International’s advanced LEAP-1A engine was today simultaneously awarded Type Certificates by both the European Aviation ...

CFM Photo

CFM International’s advanced LEAP-1A engine was today simultaneously awarded Type Certificates by both the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), paving the way for entry into commercial service in 2016.

The LEAP-1A flew for the first time on the Airbus A320neo on May 19, 2015. A second aircraft added to the test program in September and, to date, the two airplanes have logged a combined total of more than 140 flights and 360 hours of flight testing.

A total of 34 engines have been tested to date, logging more than 6,500 hours and 13,450 cycles. Test highlights include fan blade-out; bird ingestion tests, including medium, large, and flocking bird; ice slab ingestion; hail stone and hail storm ingestion; cross wind; icing; acoustics; emissions; triple-redline (maximum fan speed, maximum core speed, and maximum exhaust gas temperature) endurance test; and more than 700 hours of flight testing on modified 747 flying testbeds.

The 24,500-32,900 pounds thrust LEAP-1A, will power the Airbus A319neo, A320neo, and the A321neo aircraft and features some of the industry’s most advanced technology, including 3-D woven carbon fiber composite fan blades and fan case; a unique debris rejection system; 4th generation three dimensional aerodynamic designs; the Twin-Annular, Pre-Swirl (TAPS) combustor featuring additively manufactured fuel nozzles; ceramics matrix composite shrouds in the high-pressure turbine; and titanium alumide (Ti-Al) blades in the low-pressure turbine.

The engine will provide operators with double-digit improvements in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions compared to today’s best CFM CF56.

The LEAP engine is a product of CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran) and GE. This engine has experienced the fastest order ramp up in commercial aviation history and the LEAP-1A had been selected to power 1,327 A320neo aircraft through October 2015.

These orders represent 53 percent of the total aircraft orders for which an engine selection has been made. Overall, CFM has received orders for a total of 9,660 LEAP engines across all three models.

The LEAP-1B is the exclusive powerplant for the Boeing 737 MAX; and the LEAP-1C is the sole Western powerplant for the COMAC C919.