The new CFM56-5C4 is set to enter revenue service on the new, higher gross weight Airbus Industrie A340 following delivery last week to Kuwait Airways.
CFM56 engines are produced by CFM International, a 50/50 joint company of General Electric of the United States and Snecma (Safran Group) of France.
Kuwait Airways is scheduled to take delivery of three more A340s this year and holds options for four additional aircraft. If the options are exercised, the planes will be delivered in 1997 and 1998. Kuwait currently operates a fleet of three CFM56-5A-powered A320s and has options for two A321 aircraft with CFM56 engines.
The CFM56-5C4 engine was certified last November at 34,000 pounds takeoff thrust. On March 20, it was certified on the 257-tonne A340 following an extensive flight test program that encompassed 106 flights over more than 273 hours. CFM56-5C4 operation was trouble-free throughout the flight test campaign, with no engine-caused in-flight shutdowns or delays. The A340/CFM56-5C4 flight test program defined overall aircraft/engine performance while verifying engine operability features and aircraft system operation.
A CFM56-5C4-powered, 271-tonne A340 is scheduled to begin flight testing in August, paving the way for certification in early 1996 and entry into service with Singapore Airlines later that year.