Advertising does work! CFM Internationals' campaign touting its
abilities in the roof of the world got rival International Aero
Engines president Steve Heath so hot-and-high that he is ordering
the V2500 to show its stuff in Tibet-soon. Hence IAE's slogan
for Le Bourget of "Is your engine as old as the hills? Or
tough enough to tackle the Himalayas?"
Heath says the CFM ads got him going, especially after the V2500
demonstration in Tibet was delayed by SARS.
"The ads had an affect on me," he admits. "I
don't know about anyone else."
At stake is the ability to power Chinese narrowbody service into
Lhasa (it means 'Land of the Gods'), and Bangda, which many airlines
in China see as growing tourist destinations.
The 11,700-foot-elevation Lhasa was recently visited by Boeing
on a sales tour of its new-generation 737-700. The pilots simulated
one engine out on takeoff and landing for China Southwest Airlines
and the Civil Aviation Administration of China. Tests also were
conducted at the 14,200-foot-elevation Bangda airport, 460 miles
west of Chengdu in central China, which is reportedly the world's
highest commercial airport and is used mainly by military aircraft.
The 737-700 carried a payload of 7.5 tons of rice and operated
at the weight, altitude and temperature maximums permitted with
FAA/JAA regulations.
China Southwest has taken delivery of three Next Generation 737s
and is to receive nine more beginning next summer.
"Only CFM has gone to such lengths, and heights, to test
its beliefs," says CFM's advertising, which features a contemplative
Buddhist monk showing "How to Reach a Higher Plane."
IAE has already tested modified software that will allow the V2500
engines on the Airbus A319 to operate at the same maximum continuous
thrust as those on an A321. Its hot-and-high trials, which will
simulate not only single-engine takeoffs but the ability to operate
at maximum power long enough to clear the surrounding mountains,
will likely be conducted with an Air China A319.
IAE cracked Air China, a CFM stronghold, after the airline switched
its order for eight PW6000-powered A318s to A319s powered by IAE
(in which Pratt is a partner) following certification delays with
the new Pratt engine.
