CFM International shipped the 1,700th set of its newest high-pressure turbine blade on 14 October, introduced in late 2023 for durability in harsh environments.
Production volume of the newest blades at GE Aerospace’s Greenville facility increased 2.5 times year-over-year.
CFM projects PIP-standard engines will account for 75 per cent of shop visits, with volume peaking in one or two years.
GE Aerospace uses its Flight Deck process to balance CFM56 blade output with CFM Leap production commitments.
CFM developed over 1,000 repairs for CFM56-5B and -7B series since entry into service more than 30 years ago, with 400 industrialisations since 2023.
Jacey Welsh shared “We’re meeting rate on the Tech Insertion blade at the same time as we’re significantly ramping the PIP blade. The majority of our shop visits are on the PIP configuration, so that ramp rate has been key for us, and Flight Deck has really been able to break that free.”
We’ve seen significant improvements utilizing Flight Deck on HPT blade supply. We have even more enhancements coming that have been broken free with Flight Deck fundamentals to really help us satisfy the total demand for HPT blades.”
That’s going to give us more throughput, reduced turn time, as well as make it easier for operators to do the repairs. If we’re thinking about delivering value for our customers, cost of ownership is always a key one that comes to the forefront for them. Continuing investment in the repairs is key. Our customers obviously would choose repair over new if available, and at every overhaul, we’re really having that dialogue.”
Gaël Méheust shared “The more parts we can repair, the fewer spare parts customers need. This lowers overhaul cost and lessens demand for new material in the supply chain. The new repairs are also helping build an inventory of used serviceable material, another tool customers can use to ensure competitive cost of ownership.”
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