PARIS, France - The progress of GE's (USA)* CF34 turbofan engine family growth continues with marked success.
The CF34-8C1 powers Bombardier's new 70-passenger Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) 700 Series airliner, currently in flight testing. The CF34-8D series has been selected to power Fairchild Aerospace's new 70-passenger 728JET and 55-passenger 528JET regional airliners, and the CF34-10D will power Fairchild Aerospace's new 90- to 98-passenger 928JET regional airliner.
The CF34-8C1 and CF34-8D3 are in the 14,000-pound thrust class and share common turbomachinery and 87 percent parts commonality. The CF34-8C1 is a side-mount configuration while the CF34-8D3 mounts under the wing. Both are more powerful derivatives of GE's CF34-1/ -3 series engines, which have compiled an outstanding record of reliability and performance during more than 3.5 million flight hours, powering Bombardier's highly successful CRJ 100/200 Series regional airliners at 18 airlines worldwide. The CF34-10D, a growth derivative of the CF34-8D3, will be rated in the 18,000-pound thrust class.
The CF34-8C1 recently completed a series of 29 engine test flights with outstanding results, installed as an auxiliary engine under the port wing of GE's Boeing 747 flying testbed. During the three months of testing, 160 flight hours were devoted to gathering performance assurance data in compliance with the engine certification requirements of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Testing at Mojave, California, included evaluation of altitude performance, air start surveys, operability transients, performance of the full authority dual electronic control (FADEC), acceleration time demonstrations, and performance during maneuvers to FAA aircraft certification requirements. High altitude lapse rate takeoff evaluations were completed at Casper, Wyoming, and cold starting and acceleration tests, at Anchorage, Alaska.
FAA certification of the CF34-8C1 engine is targeted for the fourth quarter of this year. The first delivery of the CRJ 700 Series will be to Brit Air of France in the first quarter of 2001.
The first CF34-8D3 is scheduled to go to test in June 2000, followed by first flight of the 728JET scheduled for the second quarter of 2001. Engine certification by the FAA is targeted for September 2001. The first of 60 728JET aircraft is scheduled for delivery in May 2002 to launch customer Lufthansa CityLine GmbH, which has also taken options on an additional 60 aircraft.
The success of all CF34 engine programs last year accounted for firm and option engine orders valued at more than $1.5 billion.