Owners and operators of Dassault Falcon 50 business jets are being offered an engine retrofit option that is claimed to substantially reduce time-to-climb and cruise speeds.
AlliedSignal Aerospace is offering to retrofit TFE731-40 engines on an exchange basis for the existing TFE731-3 powerplants currently found on around 250 of the three-engined jets in service worldwide.
"An upgrade to our new TFE731-40 engine will give Falcon 50 operators faster time-to-climb and cruise speeds, improved engine reliability and durability and reduced cost of ownership," says Steve Loranger, president of AlliedSignal Aerospace Engine & Systems.
"Operators that upgrade to our -40 engines may see as much as a 24% increase in cruise thrust."
Fitted with the new engines, the Falcon 50 will climb to 41,000ft (12,500m) in approximately 23min, compared with a current climb performance that takes the aircraft 39min to reach 39,000ft (11,900m), says AlliedSignal.
The -40 version of the engine gives Falcon 50s a flat-rated, hot-day performance of 16.5kN (3,700lb) thrust at sea level.
Further benefits include improved fuel economy at altitude and extended inspection intervals at engine introduction.
The upgrade will also bring maintenance benefits, says AlliedSignal. Maintenance service plan hourly rates will drop from more than $120 per hour to a first term contract rate of $79.62, a saving of more than 30% in hourly cost of operation.
The 731-40 engine carries maintenance intervals of 2,500h for major periodic inspections and 5,000h for compressor zone inspections - a 16% improvement over existing engines.
Source: Flight Daily News
