First TP400 engines to ship by year-end

By: Julian Moxon

Dubai Air Show >> November 2007
Engines

Airbus Military will receive the first four flight test engines for the delayed A400M medium-lift transport by the end of the year, ending speculation that the TP400 engine program has run into serious difficulties.

Europrop International (EPI), the four-nation consortium developing the 11,000-shp TP400, will also deliver the first flight test TP400 to Marshall Aerospace at the end of this week following delays caused by oil contamination discovered during ground tests.

A source within MTU, which partners with Rolls-Royce, Snecma and ITP in developing the TP400, said the engine received approval over the weekend for flight testing aboard a converted C-130 Hercules, beginning in February. He disputes claims that EPI is entirely responsible for the six-month A400M delay. “Some of the delays were Airbus Military’s responsibility. It’s time the sniping stopped and we got on with the program,” he said.

Earlier, Airbus Military told AIN (issue 1, page 2) that it was unable to discuss availability of the A400M with potential Middle East customers at the Dubai Airshow “because we don’t know ourselves.” The first flight of the A400M will now take place in mid-2008, leading to the planned delivery of the first of 192 aircraft to nine customers, beginning in 2010.

The oil contamination apparently happened due to excessive wear on a roller bearing cage within the gearbox responsible for transmitting power to the eight-bladed, 17.5-foot-diameter composite propeller. “We had to make some simple modifications to the cage then re-assemble the engine and re-run the tests. We’re totally confident the engine will perform as planned during the test program,” said the MTU source.

Back

GE moves decisively into business aviation Monday 01. of March 2010 GE Aviation’s engine business has historically focused on military and airline applications, according to Shawn O’Day, manager of business... [more]
SIA Engineering Invests in PW1000G Geared Turbofan Monday 01. of March 2010 SIA Engineering (SIAEC) has signed an agreement to participate in Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower PW1000G engine risk-revenue sharing program (RRSP)... [more]
UConn Named P&W Engineering Center of Excellence Wednesday 24. of February 2010 Pratt & Whitney has established a Center of Excellence at the University of Connecticut (UConn) School of Engineering for research in the... [more]
Low Engine Use May Yield High Repair Costs Wednesday 24. of February 2010 Duncan Aviation advises that all operators of Honeywell engines that do not run them frequently and want to keep them off the Damaged Engine... [more]
Rolls-Royce BR725 Obtains FAA Approval Monday 01. of February 2010 In late December, the FAA granted type approval for Rolls-Royce’s BR725 turbofan, which powers the Gulfstream G650. The certification covers a... [more]