When Bombardier announced at the end of October it was working on the next-generation Learjet NXT, it took the wraps off one of many new business jets expected to be launched over the next year for service entry early next decade.
Demand for business jets is unabated and airframe manufacturers are looking to the engine developers for new powerplants for the next generation of aircraft. The trend towards larger business jets has created a market for 10,000lb (45kN) thrust-class turbofans - the so-called "10K" engines - with no fewer than five manufacturers active.
Only Rolls-Royce has a launch customer for a 10K engine, Dassault having selected its RB282-3 to power a new super mid-size twinjet to enter service in 2013. The RB282-3 is the first in a family of new two-shaft engines that R-R sees spanning a thrust range from 6,000lb to 25,000lb, and powering aircraft from mid-size business jets to single-aisle airliners.
Honeywell, meanwhile, is building a demonstrator for its 10K engine, the HTF10000, which it plans to run in 2008. The engine is a growth version of the HTF7000 powering Bombardier's super mid-size Challenger 300, incorporating technology from the TECH 7000 demonstrator. After losing the Dassault competition to the significantly lighter RB282, Honeywell is looking at incorporating additional composites to reduce weight.
Snecma is developing an all-new 10K engine, the Silvercrest, and rotation of the high-pressure core demonstrator was planned for the end of November. The core will run for several months before design of the engine begins. When work started in 2006 the Silvercrest was aimed at 9,000-11,000lb thrust, but Snecma says this has widened to 12,000lb-plus, as airframers refine their requirements.
Silvercrest © Snecma
The Silvercrest is the French manufacturer's first business jet engine, and Snecma says it has learned from the Dassault competition and is looking to see how it can better focus the benefits from its air-transport experience with the CFM56 engine on the business aviation market.
Sister Safran company Turbomeca is providing the impeller for the Silvercrest's centrifugal compressor, while Italy's Avio is developing the combustor. Avio also supplies the combustor for the SaM146 turbofan developed by Snecma and Russia's Saturn for the Sukhoi Superjet 100. Rated at 17,000lb the regional-jet engine can cover the 14,000-19,000lb thrust range, and Snecma believes there could be interest in the SaM146 to power large-cabin, longer-range and higher-speed business jets.
Market leader Pratt & Whitney Canada is also developing an all-new 10K engine, dubbed the PW-10X, which will be its biggest business jet engine, and General Electric is offering a development of its CF34-10 regional-jet engine. While the market seems crowded, there is no shortage of opportunities, with engine decisions and aircraft launches imminent from Cessna, Embraer and others.
Flight's engine directory
Source: Flight International
