New Aviall and CFM distribution agreement takes root

Effective March 1, 2013, Aviall, Inc. became a distributor for certain new OEM spare parts on CFM56-3 and CFM56-5A engines. The agreement with CFM International also covers parts common to the CFM56-2 engine.

As a subsidiary of Boeing, Aviall’s extensive experience as an aviation parts distributor and its existing global customer base utilizes the most advanced award-winning technologies to support key elements in the spares process, such as end-customer requirement planning and advanced provisioning. For instance, Aviall already distributes selected parts for GE’s CF6-50/-80A/-80C2 and CF34-3 engine platforms.

Under the terms of this new agreement, CFM will continue to source and manufacture the genuine OEM spare parts for CFM56 engines, with Aviall selling the previously mentioned selected and common parts directly to customers. A new spare parts catalog is now available via the Customer Web Center (CWC).

Aviall, which proudly features best-in-class on-time delivery performance, will serve customers through a global network of regional customer service representatives as well as two global distribution sites in Dallas, Texas and Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Contact: Chris Gilmore chris.gilmore@ge.com

Study indicates higher residual value for engines maintained with OEM parts and authorized repairs

A recently concluded study performed by the International Bureau of Aviation (IBA)^† shows that engines maintained with original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts and repairs retain a 20—50% higher resale value than those maintained with Parts Manufacturing Authority (PMA) content and/or Designated Engineering Repairs (DERs).

The study, which was conducted from late 2011 to early 2012, examined asset resale prices for CF6-80C2,* CFM56-3/-5C* and CF34-3* engines. Data was collected and analyzed from actual engine trades as well as interviews with lessors and traders.

“What we found is that there is a significant negative financial impact on engine re-marketability and sale price when the engines contain PMA parts and DER repairs, especially within the engine core,” says Dr. Stuart Hatcher, who leads valuation and risk at IBA. “Evidence shows that OEM-certified maintenance protects engine asset value over the long-term."

“So if you’re buying, selling or leasing engines, consider this in your engine valuation,” he adds. “Leasing companies should enforce terms requiring use of OEM parts and repairs—as this will help protect your asset value and overall investment throughout the engine’s lifecycle.”

“It’s clear that the IBA study results are a significant indicator related to engine residual value, but it’s also important to note that the study did not include an evaluation of the impact of these influencing parts that were not maintained to OEM standards on LLP (life-limited parts) values,” says Tom Levin, General Manager of Material Services at GE Aviation. The list of critical parts that can influence the LLP parts in the engine are published in Chapter 5 of the GE and CFM Engine Manuals.

Levin adds that GE and CFM’s TRUEngine* designation offers a way to ensure operators that engines have been maintained in an OEM configuration and to OEM standards. It also provides optimal technical and product support for GE and CFM International* powerplants—with fully transferable status in the event of an engine sale or new lease.

The TRUEngine program is offered to operators of GEnx,* CF6 and CFM56 engines at no charge.

Visit www.geaviation.com/services/truengine for additional information on the TRUEngine program for GE engine lines. To find out more regarding the CFM TRUEngine program, visit www.cfmaeroengines.com/services#truengine.

Contact: Angela Jarczyk angela.jarczyk@ge.com

† Study commissioned by GE

China Airlines signs Fuel & Carbon Solutions agreement

China Airlines has signed a five-year Fuel & Carbon Solutions agreement with GE Aviation. Under this agreement, GE’s Fuel & Carbon Solutions team will use proprietary decision software and fuel consulting expertise to help China Airlines identify and track operational improvements that could reduce the airline’s fuel spend by an average of two to three percent.

“Fuel typically accounts for about 30 percent of an airline’s expenses,” said John Gough, GE Aviation's Fuel & Carbon Solutions leader. “With volatility in fuel prices over the last three years, airlines are looking for ways to manage this major portion of their cost base more effectively. Fuel & Carbon Solutions is one way for GE to work with its customers and develop the most effective fuel management solutions for their needs.”

Results are delivered through a three-step process:

• Operational evaluation: Identification and collection of data on current fuel and carbon reduction programs, which serves as a program benchmark
• Customized solution design: Analysis that isolates and prioritizes potential improvements
• Implementation support and verification: Working with customers to execute changes, measuring milestones and validating savings

A part of GE’s ecomagination portfolio, Fuel & Carbon Solutions goes beyond the powerplant to deliver actionable insights that enhance customers' environmental and operating performance.

Through deep domain expertise and proprietary software and analytics, GE’s Fuel & Carbon Solutions services go beyond the jet engine to identify opportunities for airlines to not only significantly reduce fuel costs and emissions, but also increase efficiencies across the entire operation.

Contact: Eduardo Cocozza Eduardo.Cocozza@ge.com

Video: A look inside GE Aviation, Services’ Erlanger Global Distribution Center

With GE-engineered parts, you're assured world-class part quality, comprehensive global product support and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) warranty coverage. The video below provides a look inside GE Aviation Erlanger, a 400,000-square-foot global parts distribution center located adjacent to the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. With GE’s robust inventory stream, the parts you need are supported and ready for sale when you need them, helping to maximize your asset availability and increase your revenue potential.

MRO support and training services: a step beyond

GE’s Customer Technical Education Center (CTEC), located just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, is known for its traditional as well as newer digital methods of technical training on GE, CFM International and Engine Alliance* powerplants—offering a full range of courses focused on general familiarization and core engine maintenance.

And now, GE is taking customer technical training a step beyond, expanding services to include additional level IV and V heavy maintenance coursework as well as specialized customer support around facilities management, equipment and tooling integration and licensing.

“We’re excited to become the technical support focal point for facilities equipment, product integration and operational requirements for effective engine maintenance management,” says Eli Lessing, MRO senior product manager with GE Aviation. “We can now consult directly with the customer to assist in maintenance facility design and implementation, helping to identify and put into practice operational solutions to minimize their operating costs and boost their bottom line.”

Upon request, a CTEC team will visit customers on-site to provide facility assessments and overviews of existing training efforts and infrastructure to see where improvements can be made to enhance maintenance operations. The main goal is to review current layouts, processes, training, support equipment and tooling in an effort to improve turnaround times and quality, resulting in better shop performance and lower customer costs.

This new collaborative training and consultation approach is customizable to the customer’s specific needs, and shares best practices and lessons learned across GE’s global aircraft engine facilities.

“Our expanded training services are quite literally taking us further than ever before,” adds Lessing. “Given our current NPI programs, GE’s installed base is expected to grow beyond 40,000 engines by 2020, and our customers are looking to GE process excellence and expertise to help them build their MRO solutions, while growing their business in unprecedented ways.”

GE ATRC expands heavy maintenance training

In addition to expanding its customer facility support, GE is adding new coursework at the GE Advanced Technology and Research Center (GE ATRC) located in Doha, Qatar. Beginning in April 2013, ATRC will be offering a new 15-day heavy maintenance training course on the GE90-115B* Module Removal and Installation.

With six digital classrooms and 14 engine and tooling bays to support technical learning offerings, the GE ATRC will offer real-world experience in a hands-on setting to meet the needs of rapid industry growth in the Middle East and around the world.

A new GE Aviation Technical Training Course Catalog will be released soon. For more information on training products or to schedule training courses, customers can contact their Customer Support Manager (CSM) or send an inquiry to cts.scheduling@ae.ge.com.

Contact: Eli Lessing eli.lessing@ge.com

Department of State meets state-of-the-art

Last November, GE Aviation, Services was pleased to host former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and U.S. Ambassador David Adelman at its GE-ATI – Singapore component repair facility, as part of a regional economic development tour.

GE’s investment in Singapore ($6.5 million in 2012 for GE-ATI alone) is modeled to support that country’s economic development and job creation while supporting U.S. job creation and export growth. Secretary of State Clinton met with GE executives and toured the facility’s operations center, located near Singapore’s Changi International Airport.

“Having Secretary of State Clinton at one of our most important global engine repair facilities was a true pleasure,” said Stuart Dean, chief executive officer of GE Association of Southeast Asian Nations (GE ASEAN) Global Growth and Operations. “We appreciate the interest she showed in our ability to provide leading airline clients such as Singapore Airlines and Silk Air with high-quality, high-technology services for GE engines.”

The GE-ATI shop in Singapore repairs compressor airfoils for all GE commercial aviation, marine and industrial engines. The GE90-115B, the world’s most powerful engine and the powerplant for Singapore Airlines’ Boeing 777-300ER fleet, is one of many GE engines serviced at the facility.

In addition to this location, Singapore is home to a second engine services facility: GE Aviation, Services – Singapore repairs and refurbishes high- and low-pressure turbine blades and vanes, combustors, rotating parts and seals for more than 100 aircraft engine customers around the world.

A third GE facility in Singapore hosts a 30,000-square-foot materials distribution and sales center, containing inventory of used serviceable aircraft engines spare parts and components to enhance material availability and support for customers in the Asia Pacific region from China to New Zealand.

These three global centers reflect GE Aviation's continuing efforts and commitment to deliver best-in-class customer support.

British Secretary of State Visits GE Aviation: Cheltenham, UK

The American Secretary of State was not the only high-level guest to visit GE Aviation in the past few months. Dr. Vince Cable, British Secretary of State for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, visited GE Aviation’s Cheltenham, UK, facility in February. He was joined by parliament member Laurence Robertson.

Cable visited Gloucestershire to show support for GE Aviation’s continued and future investment into advanced technology in the area and to look at the company’s graduate and apprenticeship scheme which supports vital skills training for young people.

"GE Aviation reminds us why manufacturing remains one of our national success stories and lies at the heart of the government's Industrial Strategy for making our economy stronger,” said Cable.

Cable toured GE Aviation’s Cheltenham campus and reviewed recent investments made in the Electrical Power Laboratory and the printed circuit board manufacturing lines. He also viewed a cockpit simulator and reviewed GE’s “Girls Get Set” program, which employs young female engineering apprentices.

Did you know? GE CF34-3 celebrates 20 years of service

In 1992, GE Aviation’s CF34-3 engines helped launch a new era in aviation when it entered service on Bombardier’s CRJ100 aircraft, spawning the beginning of regional jet segment in commercial aviation. Twenty years later, the CF34 family of engines continues to set the standard for performance, durability and reliability for regional jets around the world.

As the best-selling engine family in regional aviation history, milestones for the CF34 engine include:

• Dispatch reliability rate of 99.95%
• More than 80 million flight hours and 65 million cycles completed
• $2B+ investment in technologies and material in the program
• 5,600+ engines currently in service on regional jets today
• 200 operators
• 70+ countries around the globe
• 100+ orders in 2012 (with similar forecasts in 2013 and beyond!)

And the work hasn’t stopped: GE continues to develop new technologies that will benefit the CF34 program.

The NG34* technology program for the next-generation CF34 engine is using advanced technology from GE’s fuel-efficient, low-emission eCore, including advanced material, unique cooling technologies and 3-D aerodynamic design airfoils.

The advanced technologies and material will enable the next-gen CF34 engines that are 15-20% more fuel-efficient than current CF34-10E engines, with 35% margin on NOx emission to CAEP/6 and 15 EPNdb margin to Stage 4 noise regulations.

Component repair highlights

Development of new repairs has the dual goal of increasing engines’ time on wing while reducing customers’ cost of ownership. Following are a few of the recently released repairs and programs for CFM56, CF34 and CF6 engine platforms. For a complete list of new, industrialized repairs, please download the GE repair catalog via the Customer Web Center (CWC). Join the conversation on Twitter at #GE_Repair to learn about repairs as they are industrialized.

Parts: CFM56-5B/-BP/-C/-CP/-7 High-pressure Turbine (HPT) Nozzle
Repair: Platinum Aluminide Repair (Hot and Harsh Environment Operators)
Engines operating in a hot and harsh environment have seen increased lead edge oxidation distress. This repair applies platinum aluminide (PtAl) coating to the HPT nozzle made of N5 and N515 materials, thereby resulting in an improved durability for the HPT nozzle.

Parts: CF34-8C/-8E HPC Vanes, stages 5-9
Repair: Standard Repair
Stator vanes are often subjected to foreign object damage and erosion. The standard repair (consisting of cleaning, repair 1 and repair 3) performs a blend repair of leading and trailing edges of the airfoil along with aluminum bronze thermal spray coating to restore the part to OEM design intent. Also industrialized are shroud seal repair (repair 2), seal slot scrimp repair (repair 4) and rebraze repair (repair 5). A scrap rate reduction of +50% is now expected, as the parts were previously deemed un-repairable.

Parts: CF6-80C2/-80E HPC Vanes, stages 3-4
Repair: Thermal spray of outer trunnion and platform
Variable stator vanes (VSV) show significant wear on the outer trunnion and platform surfaces due to rubbing contact with the stator case. This repair restores the worn platform and trunnion surfaces to original design intent by machining, blending and wear resistant coating application. A 3-10% (dependent on stage) reduction in scrap rate is expected as a result of this new repair.

Contact: Bobby Sohi (Sr. Marketing Manager) bobby.sohi@ge.com