LE BOURGET, June 13, 2005 CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran Group) and General Electric and one of the most successful aircraft engine suppliers in history, has delivered the 15,000th CFM56 engine.
Two engines actually share the honor of being the 15,000th engine. A CFM56-7B and a CFM56-5B completed final assembly at GE and Snecma (Safran Group) facilities, respectively, on April 8, 2005; they were delivered to Boeing and Airbus later that month. CFM has long-standing relationships with the two airplane manufacturers and each has made tremendous contributions to the company's long-term success The first CFM56 engine, a CFM56-2, was delivered in 1982 to power a re-engined DC-8-71 airplane.
"Fifteen thousand engines in 23 years is quite an achievement," said Pierre Fabre, president and CEO of CFM International. "We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Airbus and Boeing, as well as our 400 plus customers around the world, for the great success that CFM has achieved. Both manufacturers were willing to work with us in the early days of our product development. As a result of those relationships, we have a product line that we believe is the best in the industry today."
The CFM56 product line includes six engine models spanning the thrust range from 18,500 to 34,000 pounds (82 to 151 kN) thrust. Commercial applications include Airbus Industrie A318, A319, A320, and A321 single-aisle aircraft, the long-range A340-200/-300, and the A319 Corporate Jet; and Boeing Classic 737-300/-400/-500, Next-Generation 737-600/-700/-800/-900, the Boeing Business Jet, and re-engined DC-8 Super 70 series aircraft. CFM56 engines power seveal military applications, including the Boeing 737 Airborne Early Warning & Control aircraft, the U.S. Navy C-40 transport, and the Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft (MMA), as well as re-engined KC-135R and C-135FR tanker, E-3 Airborne Warning and Contral System surveillance aicraft, and the E-6 submarine communications aircraft.
The CFM56 fleet has logged more than 285 million flight hours in service powering more than 5,900 commercial and military aircraft worldwide as the most reliable engines in the air.