July 22, 2002

GE-Pratt & Whitney Engine Alliance Begins GP7000 Design

FARNBOROUGH, England – The GE-P&W Engine Alliance has begun preliminary engine design on the GP7200 engine family for the Airbus A380 and is on track to run the first full engine test in second quarter 2004.

The GP7200 engine family will be certified at 81,500 pounds (363 kN) of thrust and will be offered at two thrust ratings: the GP7270 at 70,000 pounds (311 kN), and the GP7277 at 76,500 pounds (340 kN), with potential for growth to more than 84,000 pounds (374 kN).

To date, Emirates Airlines has ordered GP7270 engines to power 20 firm A380 passenger aircraft and GP7277 engines to power two firm A380 freighter aircraft, which are scheduled to begin delivery in September 2006. Air France has ordered GP7270 engines to power 10 firm A380 passenger aircraft, which are scheduled to begin delivery in the fourth quarter of 2006.

The GP7200 engine features a 116-inch (295-cm) hollow titanium fan blade with “swept” aerodynamics, chosen primarily to comply with stringent noise requirements as well as for superior performance and durability. The GP7200 also incorporates a low-emissions single annular combustor that will ensure the engine meets, with substantial margin, the CAEP4 emissions standards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation, in anticipation of more stringent future regulations. The GP7000 will reduce engine specific fuel consumption by 10 percent versus current-technology four-engined aircraft powerplants, thereby decreasing overall operating costs by a significant margin.

The GP7200 offers the best combination of reliability and value, and is designed to deliver the lowest cost of ownership from service entry. Its performance will support the long-range missions of the A380, while substantially increasing time on wing. The Engine Alliance’s design strategy will provide A380 operators with an aircraft that surpasses requirements for lower emissions, noise and fuel burn.

The GP7200 benefits from the heritage of the GE90 and PW4000 families, which have accumulated more than five million hours in commercial service. The GP7200 has taken the base provided by these outstanding products and added technology for customer benefit. The Engine Alliance has already begun development and verification testing, including two development core engine tests that totaled approximately 400 hours. GP7200 component tests are ongoing, with the third development core engine slated to go to test next year as part of the GP7200 strategy to continually improve performance and mature technology.

The Engine Alliance successfully completed aerodynamic rig tests of the two-stage high-pressure turbine (HPT) in May 2002 and is currently conducting annular combustor sector rig tests to evaluate emissions and altitude relight characteristics. The Engine Alliance is also developing an increased temperature-capable powder metal alloy for the HPT disks and will conduct a technology demonstration of noise-reduction chevron nozzles. If successful, the Engine Alliance will incorporate further aero refinements from a third core test in early 2003.

The Engine Alliance will begin detailed engine design in December 2002 and will run the first full engine test in second quarter 2004. Current plans call for the type design to accumulate over 23,000 endurance cycles and 7,200 hours of operation on eight test engines prior to entry into service, exceeding normal standards for ETOPS-qualified engines. The Engine Alliance will run 9,000 cycles of testing beyond what is required for ETOPS engine certification.

The GP7200 is scheduled to be certified by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the Joint Aviation Authorities of the European Economic Community in mid-2005. First flight on the A380 is scheduled for January 2006, followed by entry into service later that year.

Within the GE-P&W Engine Alliance, Pratt & Whitney is responsible for the fan, low-pressure compressor, low-pressure turbine, and accessory gearbox modules, and GE Aircraft Engines is responsible for the engine core (high-pressure compressor, combustor, and high-pressure turbine) and full authority digital electronic control system.

Pratt & Whitney successfully tested a 42-percent-scale GP7200 swept fan blade design on Pratt & Whitney’s Advanced Technology Fan Integrator (ATFI) demonstrator engine earlier this year. Derived from three million hours of service experience on the PW4000-powered Boeing 777, the GP7200 hollow titanium fan blade with swept aerodynamics will have the same durability as the PW4000 fan blade. The new blade design allows the Engine Alliance to deliver the quietest and best performing engine for the A380.

GEAE and P&W engines have a combined record of over 250 million hours of experience on wide-body aircraft. The GP7000 family is derived from the GE90-115B and PW4000, two of the most successful wide-body engines in recent aviation history. The core, which features an advanced nine-stage high-pressure compressor, represents the latest configuration in GE’s strategic stall-free plan for compressor architecture that is common for the GP7200 and the GE90-115B.

In addition to GEAE and P&W, MTU of Germany, Snecma Moteurs of France and Techspace Aero of Belgium are revenue-sharing participants in the GP7200 engine program.

The GE-P&W Engine Alliance, a 50/50 joint venture between GE Aircraft Engines and Pratt & Whitney, was formed in August 1996 to develop, manufacture, sell, and support a family of modern-technology engines for new high-capacity, long-range aircraft.