"Choosing the engine is nearly as important as choosing the
airplane," says Lloyd Thompson, president of the GE-Pratt &
Whitney Engine Alliance developing the GP7200 for the superjumbo
Airbus A380. "You are signing up for a 25-year relationship."
That
realization helped Emirates choose the Engine Alliance over Rolls-Royce
last December for its second order of A380s (GE and Pratt also won
the first round). The $1.5 billion deal, for 92 installed and nine
spare engines for 23 A380s, followed an earlier Engine Alliance
win to power Emirates' first 22 giant airliners.
The victory at Emirates propelled the Engine Alliance into
the lead in the A380 sweepstakes with selection on 67 of the 110
aircraft on firm order where the powerplant has been specified.
Engines have yet to be chosen for another 19 aircraft, and even
if Rolls won them all the Alliance would still have a market share
of 52%. Current orders are roughly 300 for the Engine Alliance,
200 for Rolls-Royce.
Emirates will pay the Engine Alliance some $3 billion to power
its fleet of 45 A380s—and the two companies will be inextricably
linked for the next quarter of a century.
"The goal is to have a mature engine when it enters service with
Emirates in 2006," Thompson told Show News. To achieve that the
Engine Alliance plans extensive testing to shake out any bugs. One
problem uncovered so far: vibration in a blade in the second stage
of the high-pressure turbine. "We understand that now and know how
to fix it," Thompson said. "This is why we have validation tests."
With the first two test engines running, the Engine Alliance is
now confident in its guarantees to Airbus and the airlines, Thompson
noted. The first engine has been run up to 88,000 pounds thrust
(it will be certificated at 81,500 pounds), and performance has
proven better than expected. "Both engines are about one percent
better on specific fuel consumption than we anticipated," he said.
That could translate into major savings for the airlines: every
one-half percent improvement in fuel burn on a four-engined airplane
could be worth $4 million over 20 years with jet fuel at 80 cents
a gallon. At 90 cents it could be worth $5 million.
The engine is running 10ºC cooler on EGT (exhaust gas temperature)
than predicted, and the fan is proving one-half to one percent more
efficient than forecast. "We have run core compressor No. 7, and
found a little more performance that gives us about a 1-1/2 points
installed margin," Thompson added. This adds up to a powerplant
that so far is running more efficiently than expected, with lower
temperatures that will translate into longer life and less maintenance.
Next milestones will be a triple redline endurance test of 750
cycles in early August, a blade-off test in mid September, and first
flight in late October on GE's Boeing 747 testbed. Certification
is targeted for mid-2005, and first flight on the A380 in November
that year.
GE and Pratt teamed up to form the Engine Alliance in 1996 to develop
an engine for the proposed Boeing 747-500/600, but that program
withered away as Airbus gained momentum with the rival A380. By
entry into service the GP7200 will have had a decade of development,
"harvesting all the technologies from both companies," Thompson
pointed out.
Technology has also been contributed by revenue-sharing partners
Snecma Moteurs of France, MTU of Germany, and Techspace of Belgium.
The GP7200 engine family will be certified at 81,500 pounds thrust
(363 kN), with potential for growth up to 84,000 pounds thrust (374
kN). Two thrust ratings will be offered: the GP7270 at 70,000 pounds
thrust (311 kN) for the A380-800, and the GP7277 at 76,500 pounds
thrust (340 kN) for the A380-800F. The engine is regarded as a technological
derivative of the GE90 core and the PW4000 low-pressure system with
an infusion of new, proven technologies, Thompson said.
That
realization helped Emirates choose the Engine Alliance over Rolls-Royce
last December for its second order of A380s (GE and Pratt also won
the first round). The $1.5 billion deal, for 92 installed and nine
spare engines for 23 A380s, followed an earlier Engine Alliance
win to power Emirates' first 22 giant airliners.
