CFM Engine Will be First to Power 'Baby' Airbus

CFM International disclosed here that its CFM56-5B will be the first engine to enter service aboard the smallest of the Airbus range, the super-shortened, twin-engine A318. The powerplant is on schedule for certification in the second quarter of this year and will begin flight tests on an A318 soon afterwards. Deliveries of the aircraft to Air France start in the third quarter of 2003.

A further variant, the CFM56-5C/P, has recently begun ground testing with a view to achieving certification at the end of this year. Installation will begin on the four-engined Airbus A340-300 Enhanced early in 2003.

CFM also has announced the 11 millionth flight hour achieved by its CFM56-7 aboard the Boeing 737 twin. The tally was generated in little more than four years of service, and is reported to have been accompanied by a level of reliability normally attained only by more mature engines.

By Paul Jackson