An Aircraft Engine Testing, Research And Development Center In
Winnipeg, Canada
GE Aviation and StandardAero have cut the ribbon on a new $50
million aircraft engine testing, research and development center
(TRDC) in Winnipeg. The announcement caps off a 12-month
developmental partnership launched in February 2011 between the two
companies. The new center will perform icing certification testing
on GE’s jet engines, as well as develop advanced testing
methodologies and equipment for GE Aviation's commercial and
military aircraft engines.
The 122,500 square foot facility, located at the James A.
Richardson International Airport in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is a
partnership between GE and StandardAero. Under the 10-year
contractual agreement, GE designed and built the new facility and
StandardAero will maintain and operate the certification test
center which was designed to test gas turbine engines up to 150
inches in diameter and up to 150,000 lbs of thrust, as well as
capabilities to accommodate high performance military engines.
"GE Aviation is in the midst of record new engine product
development programs,” explained Kevin Kanter, engineering
executive of GE Aviation’s Design & Integration Systems
Engineering. “The new icing testing, research and development
center will expand GE’s testing capacity and allow us to meet
our commitments to customers.”
“Today’s event marks a significant milestone in the
partnership between StandardAero and GE,” said Rob Mionis,
President & CEO, StandardAero. “We’ve enjoyed a
long standing relationship in the MRO of the GE CF34 engine and
just over two years ago stepped up to the large fan market by
becoming a GE-Designated Fulfillment Center for CFM56-7B engine.
And now today, with the dedication of this new engine testing and
R&D facility, we have become a key GE support partner in the
testing and maintenance of their line of future, state-of-the-art,
fuel efficient engines. We’re proud to work with GE and even
more proud knowing that our reputation for quality and service
reputation has positioned us to be the partner of choice for a
global leader in commercial aircraft engines.”
The center will initially employ 10 StandardAero employees, with
the potential to grow to 50 employees over the next five years.
The facility utilizes a state-of-the-art noise reduction system
with 50-foot high noise attenuation walls, 16-foot diameter
augmentor tube, and 51 foot high exhaust stack. In addition, the
facility incorporates a translating wind tunnel to enable future
expansion of the facility for year-round testing in other areas,
such as performance and endurance testing, bird ingestion, ice
crystal and mixed phase testing. Other advantages to the Winnipeg
Airport location include a highly secured location as well as
immediate proximity to StandardAero and a skilled workforce heavily
involved and familiar with GE engine testing and test cell
design.
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