It was a good year for engine manufacturers. Pratt & Whitney gained 2000 orders for its Geared Turbofan, while Rolls-Royce received new approval for its Trent 1000. GE’s GEnx powered first Boeing 787 Dreamliner on speed and distance flights. The CFM Leap 1B was selected for 737 MAX.

In an announcement on Dec. 5, 2011, Pratt & Whitney reported orders for more than 2000 PurePower Geared Turbofan engines while completing more than 1250 hours and 2800 cycles of full engine testing for its first two applications. Their order book has commitments from 25 airline and lessor customers. The engine will be powering some Airbus A320neo aircraft and the future Bombardier CSeries. The engine will power the Mitsubishi Regional Jet as well as the Irkut MC-21 narrow-body jet.

The PurePower engine family targets the next generation of passenger aircraft. The combination of its gear system and advanced core allows PurePower engines to deliver double-digit improvements in fuel efficiency and emissions with a 50-percent reduction in noise over today’s engines, according to Pratt & Whitney.

In September, the PW1524G engine for the Bombardier CSeries aircraft completed its first flight test program on board Pratt & Whitney’s Flying Test Bed, logging 25 flights with 115 flight hours. Pratt & Whitney Canada’s PurePower PW800 engine is targeting the next generation of large business jets. This summer, Pratt & Whitney also concluded the initial phase of ground testing of the PW1217G engine for the Mitsubishi Regional Jet. The engine completed more than 300 hours and 1100 cycles.

(Source: www.purepowerengines.com)

General Electric’s GEnx engine powered the Boeing 787’s record flight for speed and distance on December 6, 2011. The 787 departed Boeing Field in Seattle at 11:02 am on December 6 and set the distance record for its class (440,000-550,000 lb) with a 10,710 nautical mile (nmi) flight to Dhaka, Bangladesh, with credit for 10,337 nmi (19,144 km).

The GEnx-1B engine recently received its 330-minute extended-range, twin-operations (ETOPS) approval on its engine type certificate from the FAA. To receive this, the engine completed all requirements, including a 3000-cycle ground endurance test.

Based on the GE90 architecture, the GEnx engine succeeds GE’s CF6 engine. Compared to the CF6 engine, the GEnx will offer up to 15% improved fuel efficiency, according to GE. The GEnx’s twin-annular pre-swirl (TAPS) combustor reduces NOx gases as much as 55% below today’s regulatory limits – other regulated gases as much as 90%. Based on the ratio of decibels to pounds of thrust, the GEnx is the quietest engine GE has produced due to the large, more efficient fan blades that operate at slower tip speed, resulting in about 30% lower noise levels.

(Source: GE Aviation)

Rolls-Royce announced on December 7, 2011 receiving approval from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for an enhanced “Package B” version of the Trent 1000 engine. The engine powers the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The Trent 1000 powered the 787 Dreamliner entry-into-service with All Nippon Airways (ANA) on October 26. The engine has been selected in eight of the last nine 787 Dreamliner engine competitions and now has 23 customers, according to Rolls-Royce.

(Source: Rolls-Royce)

CFM International, a joint venture of Snecma and GE Aviation, will power Boeing’s new 737 MAX, a fuel-efficient re-engining of its aging but popular 737. CFM’s LEAP-1B with a 68-inch fan is the choice, and the launch customer, Southwest Airlines, placed a firm order of 150 airplanes according to CFM. As of December, Boeing received commitments for more than 900 LEAP-1B-powered 737 MAX airplanes from 13 customers worldwide.

(Source: CFM International Press Release)