BOEING HAS short-listed three competing turbofan engines to power its proposed 90- to 108-seat New Small Aeroplane (NSA), due to enter service early in the next century.
The three candidate engines are the BMW Rolls Royce BR.715, CFM International CFM56 Lite and the planned standard version of the Pratt & Whitney/MTU Thrust family (MTFE). The twin-engine NSA will require an 82kN (18,500lb)-thrust-class power plant.
According to industry sources, the three engines were selected solely on the basis of offering the lowest direct-operating costs. Boeing plans to narrow the selection to two engines by September, after a more extensive technical and commercial evaluation.
Three engines failed to make the initial Boeing NSA shortlist - the CFM56-7, the P&W JT8D-200 reduced-noise derivative and the geared advanced ducted-propulsion version of the MTFE.
The BR.715 has already been selected for the similar-sized McDonnell Douglas MD-95, while the CFM56-7 variant is being developed for the new Boeing 737-600/-700/-800 family of twinjets. The MTFE is the least developed of the three engines and still requires a launch platform.
Source: Flight International
