Engine makers gear up

摘要

All of the aero engine giants, General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce and Snecma, have acquired new engine programs and are feverishly preparing for a brighter future. Engineers on both sides of the Adantic are working on next generation powerplants for the upcoming Airbus A380; the US GE/P&W Alliance with its new GP7200 and the UK's Rolls-Royce with its Trent 900. Each has around half of the market for engines for the super-jumbo. Rolls-Royce is in talks with Boeing about engines for the projected B7E7. Completion of development of an engine in the second quarter of 2007, says Mike Terrett, president civil aerospace, would dovetail with Boeing's mid-2008 schedule for commercial operations of the new aircraft. The new Trent variant for the Dreamliner would be designed for thrust of 60-70,000 pounds. "Discussions with Boeing are continuing through the preliminary design phase and subject to a satisfactory business case being established, we believe we will be able to define specific engine requirements by the end of this year," Terrett says.