RENO, Nevada - GE's global fleet of production turboprop and turbofan engines reached a milestone 15,000,000 flight hours during April of this year.

GE's CT7, CF34, and the CFE738, produced jointly with AlliedSignal Aerospace, are accumulating an average monthly total of more than 220,000 engine flight hours.

Since the 1,900-shaft-horsepower-class CT7 turboprop entered service in 1984 on the Saab 340, more than 1,300 engines have been delivered. Today, in addition to the Saab 340, the CT7 powers the CASA and IPTN CN-235s and will soon be in service on the Let L610G and Sukhoi S-80. Engine dispatch reliability continues at 99.99 percent across a 550-aircraft fleet operated by 66 commercial, government and military customers worldwide.

GE's CF34 engine family, rated in the 9,000 pound thrust class, began service in 1983 on the Canadair Challenger 601 corporate aircraft. In 1992, the CF34-powered 50-passenger Regional Jet entered revenue service, and in 1995, the Challenger 604 corporate aircraft further expanded the CF34-powered fleet. Today, the CF34 corporate fleet totals more than 270 aircraft operating in 25 countries, while 14 airlines operate more than 150 CF34-powered regional aircraft in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. Engine reliability has been exceptional in both corporate and regional airline service.

The 6,000-pound-thrust-class GE/AlliedSignal CFE738 turbofan entered service on the Dassault Falcon 2000 in 1994, and more than 40 aircraft and 100 engines have now been delivered to 27 operators in 9 countries.

Combining GE's current production engine flight hours with those of its first- generation fleet of turboshaft, turbojet, and aft-turbofan engines brings GE's total small commercial engine service experience to more than 44,000,000 hours.