AlliedSignal says that it is aiming for 99.95% LF507 dispatch reliability on the Avro RJ100 by the end of 1997 as the main target of an aggressive support campaign.
The engine's reliability was criticised recently by Crossair president Moritz Suter (Flight Inter- national, 16-22 October). Allied- Signal Engines president Greg Summe says that investment in the engine has been tripled to $30 million over the past two years, to boost reliability. "Engine reliability had not been up to our standards, and we knew that when we bought it from Textron Lycoming. Now we have developed a series of enhancements and upgrades. By the first quarter of 1997, 80% of all the fixes will be available to the field," he says.
Crossair's problems centred on bearing failures, but a cure is expected by December when a redesigned high-pressure (HP) turbine bearing and seal will be put on full-scale release.
Current LF507 reliability is running at 99.8% on the RJ fleet, and the engine maker hopes that a modified fuel-controller design will provide a sudden improvement in levels when the fleet is fully retrofitted by the end of 1996. "Around 80% of the reason we're not at 99.95% is because of the fuel control," says LF502/507 programme director Jon Beatty.
Another improvement to cut down maintenance costs on the engine involves a redesigned, more durable, second engine nozzle. Theses are being dispatched at around 20 a month. "We've identified 24 areas where we'd like to spend on improvements, but, of those, the top six are what will give you 80% of the performance improvements," adds Beatty.
Source: Flight International
