- CFM International has reached an agreement with Airbus Industrie to develop an advanced version of the CFM56-5C4 engine to power the new Airbus A340-300 Enhanced.
CFM International, a 50/50 joint company between Snecma Moteurs (Safran Group) of France and General Electric of the United States, provides the sole powerplant for the Airbus A340-200 and A340-300 aircraft.
The CFM56-5C Enhanced will incorporate the 3-D aero compressor and high pressure turbine originally developed for the CFM56-5B/P core, which has logged more than six million hours in service, including more than 2.4 million hours powering the Airbus A320 family. A new stage one low pressure turbine nozzle is being developed to transition into the engines current low pressure turbine.
Design objectives for the engine include a 1 percent improvement in specific fuel consumption compared to the -5C4, in addition to a reduction of about 10( centigrade in exhaust gas temperature (EGT). This lower temperature is projected to result in maintenance cost reductions of up to 10 percent. The engine will maintain the current CFM56-5C noise signature, which is the quietest in its class. The current CFM56-5C-powered A340 meets all current noise regulations with a cumulative margin of 23 EPNdB (effective, perceived noise in decibels). CFM is scheduled to take the first engine to test by late 2001 with aircraft certification and entry into service by mid 2003.
In addition to offering the CFM56-5C Enhanced for the new A340-300 Enhanced, CFM is also planning to offer an upgrade kit incorporating this new hardware to current A340 customers with availability forecasted for late 2003.
The CFM56-5C-powered A340 fleet grew 15 percent in 1999, with 31 new A340s ordered. Overall, more than 230 CFM56-powered A340s have been ordered; of that total, 180 are currently in service.