International Aero Engines has received certification of the improved V2500 SelectOne turbofan to power the Airbus A320 family.
Deliveries of the new build standard will begin in 2008 to launch customer IndiGo, and SelectOne engines are included in a US Airways order for V2500s to power up to 153 A320-family aircraft.
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© AirbusThe SelectOne is to enter service with IndiGo |
Launched 18 months ago, the SelectOne upgrade reduces the V2500's specific fuel consumption by 1% and extends time on wing by 20%, says IAE chief executive Jon Beatty.
Improvements include elliptical leading edges and "super-polish" finish on the high-pressure compressor blades, and cooling improvements in the HP turbine.
The engine met or exceeded performance predictions in testing, says Beatty, including eight flights on IAE partner Pratt & Whitney's Boeing 747SP engine testbed.
The first two production engines, one assembled by P&W and the other by IAE partner Rolls-Royce, have been delivered to Airbus for "first of model" flight testing on the A320 in the first quarter of 2008.
The SelectOne is to enter service in September 2008 with Indian low-cost carrier IndiGo. Beatty says the new build standard accounts for some 1,400 of IAE's backlog of around 1,600 engines. "We will build mixed models for the next several years, but SelectOne is a substantial portion of our orders and options," he says.
IAE will offer the upgrades as a retrofit to existing V2500-A5 customers under its Select aftermarket support programme. "For existing A5 aftermarket customers, at the next shop visit we will convert the engine to the SelectOne configuration, and they will get almost the same benefits," Beatty says.
Production of the V2500 is running at one a day and will reach 400 a year by the end of 2008, with a further increase planned for 2009, he says. The new US Airways order includes engines for 78 firm aircraft, valued at $1.3 billion, with deliveries to begin in November 2008.
IAE shareholders P&W, R-R, MTU and Japan Aero Engines have begun discussions on how to power the next generation of Airbus and Boeing single-aisle airliners. "We are in continual dialogue with the major airframers, as IAE and as the shareholders," says Beatty. "Lots of technology is being developed and, when the airframers are ready, we are confident we will be there."
Source: FlightGlobal.com
