GE needed an engine in this market class, and Snecma had previous experience of working with them, collaborating on the production of the CF6-50 turbofan for the Airbus A300. Īt the time, Pratt & Whitney dominated the commercial market. The two companies saw mutual benefit in the collaboration and met several more times, fleshing out the basics of the joint project. They considered Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce, and GE Aviation as potential partners, and after two company executives, Gerhard Neumann from GE and René Ravaud from Snecma, introduced themselves at the 1971 Paris Air Show a decision was made. Snecma (now Safran), who had mostly built military engines previously, was the first company to seek entrance into the market by searching for a partner with commercial experience to design and build an engine in this class. Research into the next generation of commercial jet engines, high-bypass ratio turbofans in the "10-ton" (20,000 lbf 89 kN) thrust class, began in the late 1960s. Both of these issues were resolved with engine modifications. Several fan blade failure incidents were experienced during the CFM56's early service, including one failure that was a cause of the Kegworth air disaster, and some engine variants experienced problems caused by flight through rain and hail. The first engines entered service in 1982. The program was saved when Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and Flying Tigers chose the CFM56 to re-engine their DC-8s and shortly thereafter it was chosen to re-engine the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker fleet of the U.S. By April 1979, the joint venture had not received a single order in five years and was two weeks away from being dissolved. Despite initial export restrictions, it is the most used turbofan aircraft engine in the world, in four major variants. The completed engines are marketed by CFMI. The engines are assembled by GE in Evendale, Ohio, and by Safran in Villaroche, France. GE produces the high-pressure compressor, combustor, and high-pressure turbine, Safran manufactures the fan, gearbox, exhaust and the low-pressure turbine, and some components are made by Avio of Italy and Honeywell from the US. Both companies are responsible for producing components and each has its own final assembly line. CFMI is a 50–50 joint-owned company of Safran Aircraft Engines (formerly known as Snecma) of France, and GE Aerospace (GE) of the United States. military designation F108) series is a Franco-American family of high-bypass turbofan aircraft engines made by CFM International (CFMI), with a thrust range of 18,500 to 34,000 lbf (82 to 150 kN).
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