FARNBOROUGH – With the leadership and development team in place, and an agreement with Boeing identifying an engine definition, the innovative GE-P&W Engine Alliance is gearing up to deliver a superior high thrust engine for the proposed Boeing 747-500X/-600X.

Eugene F. Murphy, president of GE Aircraft Engines, and Karl Krapek, president of Pratt & Whitney, today announced details of the joint venture (first announced in May) at the Farnborough International Air Show outside London, England. The highlights include:

• Larry Scott of GE as president of GE-P&W Engine Alliance. Scott is a 34-year veteran of GE and most recently served as general manager of the CF6 program.
• GE’s Bruce Hughes and P&W’s Tom Harper as co-general managers. Both have extensive management experience in joint venture companies, and, like Scott, have managed engine programs for the 747. Harper most recently led P&W’s PW4000 program and is former director of International Aero Engines, a five-nation engine consortium. Hughes was most recently GE’s general manager for the CFM56-7 engine for CFM International, a 50/50 joint company of GE and Snecma of France. He is former program general manager for the CF6-80C2 engine.
• P&W’s Connecticut operations as home of the alliance headquarters and site for final engine assembly and test.
• Designation of the first engine as the GP7176, a high bypass turbofan rated at 76,000 pounds of takeoff thrust, with a 110-inch fan and a 7.8 bypass ratio.
• Signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Boeing which identifies specific engine characteristics and requirements and sets forth a development schedule to deliver a completely service-ready airplane/engine combination by the end of the year 2000.
• Signing of the definitive agreement between GE and P&W, specifying how the joint venture will be managed.
• Finalizing responsibility for design and production of most of the engine.

GE-P&W Engine Alliance, owned equally by the two companies, was formed to produce a superior engine for the Boeing 747 Growth and other potential super-wide-body aircraft. GE and P&W will share all development costs and revenues on an equal basis.

Development costs will be kept at reasonable levels by incorporating critical technologies recently developed by the competing parent companies for other engine programs. This will enable the alliance to meet a December 2000 entry-into-service target.

The alliance staff will be kept to fewer than 25 people. Engine design and development work will be handled by dedicated teams under Hughes and Harper at GE and P&W respectively. The alliance will take advantage of GE and P&W service and product support capability, including more than 325 people serving 300 airline customers, in order to provide unprecedented customer support. The alliance will have its own marketing staff, with the GP7176 engine sold independently from other GE and Pratt programs.

The GE team has overall responsibility for the GP7176 high pressure compressor, combustor, and high pressure turbine; Pratt has the fan, low pressure section, assembly, and test. Revenue-sharing participants are under consideration, though GE and P&W are sole partners in the alliance.

Since the joint venture was formed this spring, the GE-P&W team has worked closely with Boeing and its airline working group to develop the best possible engine configuration for the proposed Boeing 747 Growth aircraft. This led to a formal Memorandum of Understanding between GE and P&W, and the formation of the GE-P&W Engine Alliance-Boeing Working Together Team. In addition, the alliance has begun visiting several major airlines worldwide to ensure that the engine design will be customer driven.

Detailed design and initial procurement will begin in January 1997, with the first full engine to test scheduled for mid-1998. The alliance will complete certification requirements by the end of 1999.

FARNBOROUGH – The newly formed GE-P&W Engine Alliance today revealed the preliminary design details of the first member of its GP7000 family of engines, the GP7176. This engine will be developed for the proposed Boeing 747-500X/-600X series and other super-wide-body aircraft. Both companies believe that a derivative engine will not fully meet the fuel burn, operating economies, noise and payload/range requirements of the Boeing 747 Growth aircraft. By combining the expertise derived from placing in airline service 30,000 engines that have flown 1.2 billion hours, the alliance can deliver an engine to meet the requirements of Boeing and the world’s airlines for performance and operating economies decidedly better than the engines that power the current 747-400 series. The GP7000 engine family’s thrust range will be from 70,000 to 85,000 pounds (311 to 355.5 kN). The GP7176 will be rated at 76,000 pounds (338 kN) takeoff thrust. Pratt & Whitney is assuming responsibility for the fan, low pressure compressor, and low pressure turbine. GE will manage the high pressure compressor, combustor, and high pressure turbine. Each team will be responsible for its section’s design, development, certification, manufacture and service support. Pratt & Whitney will have final assembly and test responsibility. The GP7000 series is a completely new engine, but it builds directly on the well-established world-class technologies that GE and Pratt & Whitney bring to the program, including:

• Lightweight, titanium, hollow, shroudless fan blades
• High efficiency, three-dimensional compressor and turbine aerodynamics
• Low emissions double annular combustor
• High pressure ratio compressor technology
• Advanced environmental and thermal coatings
• State-of-the-art electronic controls

Application of these proven, advanced technologies will ensure an engine of unsurpassed reliability and lower operating costs that will be delivered on schedule. The alliance will create a comprehensive package of support services, using the extensive GE and P&W networks to minimize airline investment and maintenance costs. The alliance will offer long-term service agreements for both on- and off-wing maintenance, including spare engine support and full engine diagnostics. Engine configuration will be completed by the end of this year, with detail design and initial procurement beginning immediately. The first full engine will be run in mid-1998 with certification targeted for the end of 1999. Plans call for flight testing and engine/aircraft certification to be completed in 2000, with potential entry into service in December of that year.