Engine Selected For 82 A380s So Far
The GP7200-powered Airbus A380 flight test aircraft recently
returned to Toulouse, after completing high altitude and hot
weather testing in Africa and the Middle East.
MSN009 landed October 16 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the
airport is 7,627 feet above sea level. The aircraft performed five
test flights to evaluate engine performance at high altitude
conditions, including engine takeoff performance characteristics,
ground starting and transient operations.
Following the successful test series in Ethiopia, MSN009
traveled to Al Ain in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. In
temperatures reaching 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees F), the
GP7200 engines ran at up to 82,000 pounds of thrust in powering
eight test flights to gather data under elevated ambient
temperature conditions.
"We continue to be very pleased with the GP7200's in-flight
performance," said Bruce Hughes, president of the Engine Alliance.
"The engine's fuel burn performance continues to track at or better
than our specification to Airbus, and all other parameters are
performing just as we expected, even in the punishing high and hot
conditions of Addis Ababa and Al Ain."
The GP7200 flight test program has
now completed 31 flights and over 110 hours of total testing on the
A380. Since the first GP7200 engine went to test in early 2004, the
program has accumulated nearly 13,000 cycles and more than 4,400
test hours, with additional maturation testing to continue through
2008. The next set of flight certification tests will include cold
weather testing in January 2007.
The GP7200 is derived from two wide-body engine programs,
the GE90 and the PW4000. Certified at 76,500 pounds (340 kN)
of thrust, the engine has the capability to produce more than
81,500 pounds (363 kN) of thrust for the A380. The GP7200 will
ensure the A380 meets stringent Stage 4 noise regulations and QC2
departure noise rules, and its emissions are well below current and
anticipated regulations.
The GP7200 engine has been selected for 82 of the 140 A380
aircraft ordered where engines have been specified, for a 59
percent share of A380 engine orders. Air France, Emirates, FedEx,
International Lease Finance Corporation, Korean Air and UPS have
selected the GP7200 engine for their A380 fleets, resulting in firm
orders for 360 engines valued at more than $5 billion.