Honeywell Makes Old Engines Young Again Via Upgrade Kits

Claiming that it is committed to an ongoing program of lowering operator's ownership costs, Honeywell Engines & Systems has modernized more than 1,100 TFE731 turbofan engines in the last five years. Using kits made up of new parts, the engines were transformed from original-production Dash 2, 3, and 5 configuration to current-production status.

"We are introducing new technology into old engines," Honeywell Engines' director of aftermarket support Ralph Alberto told Show News. "The upgrade programs are in response to customers who said they wanted contemporary levels of reliability and performance in their older engines." Since the first (then Garrett Engines) TFE731 turbofans came off the Phoenix, AZ, production line in the early 1970s, the manufacturer has built 8,000 of the 2,900-5,000 pounds-thrust engines for 25 business jet applications. Some of the older engines in the field that have been brought up to current production-standard configuration have logged as many as 15,000 hours total time.

The parts that are replaced are targeted at improving durability and reliability and, in some cases, performance, Alberto said. Performance parameters enhanced include TSFC (thrust specific fuel consumption), "which translates to longer range," and thrust "which translates to balanced field length, time to climb, and hot-and-high performance." Not all of the conversions add all performance upgrades, but all are claimed to reduce cost of ownership.

Honeywell is marketing four distinct TFE731 upgrade programs:

• Dash 2 to 2C.
  For the Bombardier Learjet 31 and 35 and Dassault Falcon 10. Some of these engines date to 1972.
• Dash 3A/B to 3C.
  Cessna Citation III and VI, IAI Astra, and Learjet 55.
• Dash 3 to 3D.
  Falcon 50, IAI Westwind 1124, Hawker 400/600/700, Lockheed 731 JetStar, Sabreliner 65.
• Dash 5A to 5B. Falcon 20 (TFE731 retrofit) and Falcon 900.

In terms of cost-of-ownership advantages, operators who are not already on Honeywell's MSP (Maintenance Service Plan) coverage are enrolled without the usual sign-up fees. Honeywell claims that the addition of MSP to an engine raises its overall 'Blue Book' value.

"The 'Blue Book' value is increased for the particular aircraft as much as $100,000 per engine for the upgrade and another $150,000 for MSP," Alberto said. Also, if the upgrades are performed, then a lower MSP rate is available, too, varying between 10% and 30% per hour of operation, due to the increased reliability of the enhanced engine.

"In other words," Alberto said, "the MPI intervals are extended to more contemporary levels, or as much as 50%. For example, 1,400-hour MPIs (major periodic inspections-hot sections) are extended to 2,100 hours for the Dash 2C, 3C, and 3D. For the Dash 5B, they go from 2,100 hours to 2,500 hours. You wind up going to the service center less often, so there's less downtime."

As an example of pricing, Alberto cited the Dash 2C upgrade, which can be performed for as little as $80,000, if the customer is already enrolled in MSP, or $150,000, if the customer is not MSP-covered. In the latter case the upgrade is performed concurrently with a core zone inspection (CZI) and related service bulletins (SBs). "For non-MSP operators, we're seeing the entire package running about $350,000 per engine (parts kit, CZI, SBs)," Alberto said. "In addition, the non-MSP guy gets a free MSP walk-on and the value of the aircraft goes up significantly."

The upgrade kits can be installed by any Honeywell authorized service center capable of handling heavy engine maintenance, or CZIs, MPIs and overhauls. The manufacturer's 100 or so other authorized service centers serve as 'feeders' to the twelve depot-level centers.