| GE Aviation Expects its CF34 engine to double in 10 years |
With more than 4,000 CF34 engines powering regional aircraft, GE Aviation expects the engine fleet to exceed 8,600 by 2018 - based on the strong demand being forecast for GE-powered regional aircraft.
In 2008, GE will deliver nearly 500 CF34 engines for regional aircraft, with the delivery rate growing more than 20% annually. Based on today’s order book, CF34 deliveries for regional aircraft will exceed 700 engines in 2010.
CF34 engines power regional aircraft in the 50-to-120-passenger range, with an airline customer base that has grown from 24 airlines to 82 airlines in seven years.
“The growing CF34 installed base in service fuels our aggressive technology investments to further enhance this fleet’s high reliability and low operating costs,” said Chuck Nugent, general manager for CF34 programs. “GE is not taking its leadership role in regional aircraft for granted.”
GE has already invested more than $2 billion in development programs to establish its CF34 engine family, comprised of 6 basic engine models and 13 variants to power an array of Bombardier, Embraer, and AVIC1 regional aircraft.
As GE develops CF34 variants, the company feeds these improvements into earlier models. As an example, since the first CF34-8 engine entered service on 70-passenger Bombardier jets in 2001, several CF34-8 technology improvements have been incorporated into existing models, and also led to new engine models, such as the CF34-8C5A2 to be introduced in 2009 for the CRJ1000. It will feature a new first-stage, high-pressure turbine nozzle and other enhancements for durability targeted to deliver up to 12% lower engine maintenance costs.
Also, GE is involved in technology development for a new centerline CF34 engine to power next-generation regional aircraft. This future engine will derive advanced materials and designs from the highly popular GEnx engine for the Boeing 787 and 747-8, as well as engine core durability advances being developed by GE for CFM International* to meet the same high-cycle operation of next-generation narrow-body aircraft. GE is developing and maturing technologies to meet these requirements for a time frame of 2015 and beyond.
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