First LEAP Engine Begins Ground Testing

CFM Int’l has initiated testing of the first full LEAP engine, launching an extensive ground and flight test certification program that will encompass 60 engine builds over the next three years. The program will culminate in engine certification in 2015 and first entry into commercial service on the Airbus A320neo in 2016. 

 

The LEAP-1A engine fired for the first time on Sept. 4, two days ahead of the schedule. After a series of break-in runs, the engine was operating smoothly and has reached full take-off thrust.

 

“In the past five years, we have completed thousands of hours of component testing leading up to this day,” says Chaker Chahrour, executive vice president of CFM Int’l. “Now, we get to put it through its paces in the most comprehensive test program we have ever undertaken.”

 

The engine, which shares common turbomachinery with the LEAP-1C, is installed at Site 3B at GE’s Peebles, Ohio, outdoor test facility, where it will be on test for the next several weeks. The overall certification program, which encompasses all three LEAP engine variants, includes 28 ground and CFM flight test engines, along with a total of 32 flight test engines for Airbus, Boeing, and COMAC. Over the next three years, these engines will accumulate approximately 40,000 hours (18,000 engine cycles) leading up to entry into service.

 

CFM officially launched the LEAP engine, which is the company’s first all-new centerline engine in nearly 40 years, in 2008. The engine was being designed to bring double-digit improvements in fuel efficiency, emissions and noise, while maintaining the reliability and low cost of ownership of its predecessor, the CFM56 engine family. 

 

CFM Int’l, a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran) and GE, has delivered more than 25,000 engines to date. The LEAP-1A engine has been selected to power more than 800 A320neo aircraft, which represents more than 50% of the orders announced to date for which an engine selection has been made.