Free Republic

The US Air Force is considering buying engine parts for some of its aircraft from third-party manufacturers, the service's top officials told the US Congress on 6 March. "We have taken a look at competing some aspects of engine components and have seen potential for significant [cost] reductions," said air force secretary Michael Donley, during his testimony before the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. "We forecast a saving of $40 million," he added. In recent years, several companies have received regulatory approval under the parts manufacturing approval (PMA) category to sell reverse-engineered parts for popular commercial engines, such as the CFM...

The continuing debate regarding the merits of an extra engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter surrounds a prime example of the waste that Defense Secretary Robert Gates is trying to eliminate. Support for an extra engine is another case of parochial interests trying to trump efficiency and military readiness. The F-35 second engine was not included in the Defense Department plan during or before my tenure as deputy secretary. Every military service vice chief testified with me to Congress that the second engine was too costly and not needed—or wanted. Regardless, each year funding was still added by Congress,...

The failure of the F136 engine in late September resulted from a “seal clearance” in the fan that was set too tight, causing friction. “The issue with engine 008 was unique to that engine,” GE spokesman Rick Kennedy said in an email. “No modification [will be] required to other engines.” Engines 05 and 07 continue to run well in tests. The program could ill afford any bad news at this time. The Air Force Chief of Staff, Gen Norton Schwartz, appeared to open the door to a compromise with GE and Rolls Royce over the F136 when he said they...

General Electric/Rolls-Royce is investigating manufacturing and assembly data on a single F136 engine after it was damaged during a checkout test on 23 September. The alternate engine for the Lockheed Martin F-35 was shut down "in a controlled manner" after an unknown anomaly at near maximum fan speed on the test stand damaged the front fan and compressor area, the company says. The GE/Rolls team is continuing to run two test engines after inspections revealed no signs of "similar distress". Five development engines have run for more than 1,000h since early 2009. As the cause for the anomaly on the...

Iceland Volcano Update: Europe Flight Delays Continue May 10, 2010 By: Meagan Drillinger TravelAgentCentral Sources are reporting continuing flight delays in Europe as a result of the Eyjafjallajokul volcano eruption in Iceland. According to Examiner.com, two Ryanair jets (Europe's low-cost airline) were found with ash in its engines. Four Ryanair flights were canceled on Sunday, May 9, leaving more passengers in the all-too familiar stranded predicament. British Airways and EasyJet are reporting minimal delays as of this morning, May 10. Eurocontrol told Examiner.com that an expected 28,500 flights were go forward today, around 2 percent below normal levels. As of...

Air traffic in Sweden and Europe is currently paralyzed due to a volcanic eruption in Iceland. How could a local event in the furthest reaches of Northern Europe paralyze an entire continent? The reason is that the ash that fills the air following a volcanic eruption has a much denser content than a normal dust or ash cloud. The ash affects air-traffic safety in a number of ways. The ash comprises minerals, which are extremely small and hard rock particles. They are so hard that they can have a blasting effect on the aircraft’s cockpit windowpanes when an aircraft meets...

Businessman and Small Jet Engine Pioneer Dr. Sam B. Williams, founder and Chairman of turbine engine maker Williams International, passed away June 22nd, 2009 at the age of 88. Dr. Williams is best known for his patented invention of the small fanjet engine that enabled the creation of small efficient business jets.