A fresh approach fromDown Under

2/2012

Customers + Partners Global

Growing businesswith accessories

MTU Aero Engines Holding AGDachauer Straße 66580995 Munich • GermanyTel. +49 89 1489-0Fax +49 89 1489-5500info@mtu.dewww.mtu.de

Technology + Science

A diagnostic tool to seeinside blades

On the horizon:Whispering jets

Noisy aircraft have a negative impact on the environment, humanhealth and airline costs. Technologies capable of reducing noise arehigh in demand—new engine technologies especially so. Pratt &Whitney and MTU have the solution: the geared turbofan.Pages 6 – 13

On the horizon: Whispering jets

A fresh approach from Down Under

GE Aviation and MTU are pleased that the GE38 has successfullycompleted its power turbine stress test in Munich. The test has spe-cial significance, because it is the first time that a German companyhas tested a U.S. military engine on the manufacturer’s behalf. Pages 44 – 47

Successful GE38 PT stress test

Latest-generation turbine blades have an intricate internal structure.In order to detect variations in these high-tech castings, MTU hasdeveloped a fully automated computed tomography method thatimproves the quality assurance process.Pages 30 – 33

A diagnostic tool to see inside bladesFrom modest beginnings, Virgin Australia has worked its way up tobecome the second-largest airline in Australia within a decade. MTUMaintenance Hannover in Langenhagen takes care of the maintenanceof the carrier’s GE90-115B engines powering its Boeing 777-300ERlong-haul aircraft. Pages 18 – 21

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Customers + Partners Another step forwardA fresh approach from Down UnderGlobal bestsellerIndia – boom despite barriers

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Technology + ScienceA diagnostic tool to see inside bladesKeeping a close eye on tolerances

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Products + ServicesTwo coats are more durable than oneSuccessful GE38 PT stress test atMTU facility

GlobalHigh-tech in the desertGrowing business with accessories

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In Brief Masthead

Contents

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The Sea Island Remote Terminal at Vancouver International Airportwas bustling with activity during the 2010 Winter Olympics. Now MTUMaintenance has moved into the building, equipped it with the latestin modern machinery and converted it into an accessory repair shop.Pages 52 – 55

Growing business with accessories

Cover Story On the horizon: Whispering jets

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More REPORT in digital formGet the eMagazine and iPadapp for more multimedia fea-tures from www.mtu.de/report.

Editorial

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Dear Readers:

Two of the world’s most important air shows took place this year—theFarnborough International Airshow on the outskirts of London, and the ILABerlin Air Show on the new exhibition grounds just outside Germany’s cap-ital. Both exhibitions were exceptionally important for MTU. Through thestakes we have in engine programs, the orders placed for new engines andmaintenance services at Farnborough have allowed us to rack up the biggestorder volume ever in terms of value in MTU’s history. At the ILA, Germany’slargest air show, we were one of the top exhibitors and presented ourselvesas a highly successful, innovative and ambitious company.

Once again, the geared turbofan (GTF) was the top crowd-puller, and not atall surprisingly so. Apart from delivering outstanding efficiency, the GTFtechnology offers yet another compelling advantage: it cuts noise levels inhalf. Aircraft noise is becoming an issue of increasing concern to the gen-eral public—both to noise-plagued residents living near airports and to thestakeholders in the industry. It makes me proud and happy to say that,together with our U.S. partner Pratt & Whitney, we have succeeded in spot-ting this trend early on, so that we anticipated the need for “whispering jets”and, with the GTF, have promptly come up with the answer to this pressingchallenge.

Our innovative ideas also reflect in other products: in the turbine centerframe for the GEnx engine, the first of which has recently been delivered andwill in future be onboard one of Cargolux’s freighters, the GE38 helicopterengine, for which we are supplying the power turbine and have carried outstress tests on behalf of the engine manufacturer General Electric for thefirst time, and our newly developed repair technique for air seals, to mentionjust a few examples of impressive recent developments. Given our strongtrack record, I’m firmly convinced that we will achieve our very ambitiousfinancial goal—that of doubling our revenues to six billion euros annually by2020.

Read this latest issue of Report to learn more about MTU’s broad range ofcapabilities and expertise—it certainly makes for interesting reading.

I hope you will enjoy reading it.

Sincerely yours,

Egon BehleChief Executive Officer

On the horizon:

Whispering jets

Noisy aircraft not only have a negative impact on the envi-ronment and human health, but increasingly also on airlinecosts. Technologies that significantly reduce aircraft noiseand help save hefty noise fees are in high demand, and newengine technologies especially so. The solution proposed byPratt & Whitney and MTU Aero Engines is the geared turbo-fan. In addition to its low fuel consumption and low level ofpollutant emissions, this propulsion system also produces50 percent less noise than today’s engines. Its entry intoservice is slated for 2013.

By Denis Dilba

mong the effects of air traffic that people com-plain about the most, noise has topped the listfor many years. It is a subject that has often given

rise to some highly emotional public debates, ranking inimportance even above the issue of air pollution. Aircraftnoise is a nuisance, and is increasingly becoming a majorfactor driving the costs of airlines and aircraft manufac-turers, because the majority of airports in the world nowpenalize operators of noisy aircraft by imposing additionalunit noise charges for take-offs and landings. In simplifiedterms, the higher the noise level generated by an aircraftduring take-off or landing, the higher the airport fees. “Atpresent rates, these charges can account for up to fivepercent of an aircraft’s total operating costs,” relatesPaul Traub, who is responsible for aero-acoustic design atMTU Aero Engines in Munich. Many airport authoritieshave banned night flights to protect local residents againstaircraft noise. Exceptions are granted only in special cir-cumstances (rescue flights or flights operated by couri-ers) and for aircraft equipped with low-noise engines.

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dynamic flows can be greater than that gen-erated by the engines, which are operating ata lower speed at this point. Says Traub: “Air-craft noise is the sum of all the noise pro-duced by aircraft and engine components.”Almost every stationary or rotating part caus-es pressure variations or turbulent flows, andhence noise.

“But there’s no doubt that the biggest sourcesof noise remain the fan and the exhaust jet,”says Dr. Dominik Broszat, an expert in aero-acoustics at MTU. For specialists like him,there is more than one category of noise. Hemakes a distinction between tonal noise com-ponents and broadband noise: “Tonal noiseoccurs at discrete frequencies produced byrotating parts. These are caused, for example,at the fan or in the turbine and also in thecompressor, where they are generated bypressure fluctuations between the alternat-ing rows of rotor blades and stator vanes.”These tonal noise components play a majorrole in noise assessment. Broadband noise,on the other hand, is perceived as a loudrushing sound. It arises from the airflowaround the fuselage and wings, and from tur-bulent mixing of the hot jet exhaust with theambient air.

The noise issue is exacerbated by the steadilyincreasing volume of commercial air trafficwhich, if it continues to grow at the currentaverage rate of around 4.5 percent per year,will double in the next 15 years. This is whythe combined objective of reducing noise le-vels and significantly increasing fuel efficien-cy is one of the greatest challenges the avia-tion industry is facing. This is nothing new tothe stakeholders. Back in 2000, the Europeanaviation industry made a voluntary commit-ment to cut fuel consumption and noiseemissions in half by 2020. Even if major im-provements have since been achieved, thisdoesn’t make things any easier for Traub andhis colleagues. Given that aircraft and theirengines remain in service for several decades,their designers need to anticipate futurechanges in allowable noise limits and devel-op solutions to meet the tightened standardsof the future.

While it is true that passenger jet engines areone of the major sources of noise, especiallyduring take-off, they are not the only one. Theaircraft itself is also responsible for creatingturbulence on the surfaces of the fuselage,wings and landing gear, which makes up amajor share of the noise. During the landingapproach, the noise generated by these aero-

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Sources of aircraft noise.

Fuselage

Engines and nacellesNose and main landing gear

Wings and tail section

Not cheap: Almost all airports impose unit noise charges for take-offs and landings. Considerable progress made: Aircraft noise has been drastically reduced since 1970. The GTF is yetanother huge step forward.

Flaps and control surfaces

The fan, compressor, combustion chamber, turbine and exhaust gas jet are all sources of noise in a turbofan engine.

Fan noise

Jet noiseCombustor noise

Turbine noise

Fan noise

Compressor noise

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Noise is loud, unwanted sound. Noise causessound waves, that is variations in pressure, totravel outward from the source through the air.These waves evoke an auditory sensation in thehuman ear—we hear a sound. Because the ear-drum, or tympanic membrane, responds to thisstimulus in much the same way as a sound pres-sure receiver, the perceived strength of thesound is best described in terms of sound pres-sure. The higher the pressure of the soundwaves, the louder the perceived sound. Thehuman ear is an extraordinarily sensitive organ.It can hear sounds of a wide range of intensities,which are measured using the logarithmic deci-bel (dB) scale, in which audibility grades varyfrom barely audible (0 dB) to very loud (130 dB,pain threshold). Each step of ten decibels repre-sents a doubling or halving of the perceivedsound intensity.

Some data for comparison: The noise of traffic ona busy highway typically reaches a level of 80 dB,a pneumatic drill 100 dB. In the near future, apassenger aircraft powered by first-generationGTF engines will produce a level of noise at take-off which is comparable to that of a truck travel-ling at 80 kph. The extent to which noise is per-ceived as a nuisance depends not only on objec-tive measurements of sound pressure but alsoon subjective or psychoacoustic factors such asloudness, tonality, and duration of exposure.The unit to measure aircraft noise used by air-worthiness authorities in the certification of air-craft, EPNdB or effective perceived noise in de-cibels, takes all of these factors into account.

What is noise?

Until now, one of the most effective weaponsin the battle against engine noise has beento maximize the bypass ratio (BPR). In by-pass or turbofan engines, the air flow throughthe engine is split into two parts. In the coreflow, the air is further compressed andenters the combustor, where it is mixed withfuel and ignited, releasing the energy neededto power the turbine. Because the turbine ismounted on the same shaft as the fan at theengine intake, it drives the fan, causing it torotate. This accelerates the bypass flow—the

reduced by no less than 75 percent in thetake-off phase.

However, there is a limit to the improvementsthat can be achieved through noise reductionmeasures with these conventional enginedesigns in future. Partly because any furtherincrease in the bypass ratio will require alarger turbofan engine, and hence an in-crease in engine weight to a point whereeconomic operation is no longer possible;and partly because attempts to limit noise by

portion of the air ducted around the coreengine which, in a high-BPR engine, providesthe larger part of the thrust. In the 50 yearsor so since the turbofan was first introduced,through successive generations of turbofanengines up to the present day, the bypassratio has increased to a value close to 10:1.In other words, the mass of air ducted aroundthe core engine has increased significantlyrelative to the core flow. These improvementshave had two beneficial effects: Fuel con-sumption was cut and aircraft noise was

The engines powering the A320neo will also incorporate geared-turbofan technology.

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Acute irreversible damage

Rock-concert

running the fan at a slower speed wouldautomatically increase the aerodynamic loadsacting on the low-pressure turbine. This inturn would result in poorer efficiency orincreased weight.

The next decisive leap forward in noise re-duction technology is expected to come fromthe geared turbofan (GTF) engine, which isscheduled to enter service in 2013. A reduc-tion gearbox permits the fan and the turbineto run at their respective optimum speeds.This puts an end to the tradeoff between fan

and turbine speed requirements, allowing fuelconsumption and emissions to be signifi-cantly reduced. At the same time, the GTFsets new standards in terms of noise reduc-tion, thanks to its lower fan speed and a low-pressure turbine (LPT) that rotates threetimes as fast. Because it runs at higherspeeds, the MTU-developed LPT is not onlymarkedly more efficient but also generateshigh-frequency noise that is rapidly attenuat-ed by atmospheric absorption, and that isoften inaudible to humans. Initial noise testson the GTF have confirmed the theoretical

results obtained by the MTU engineers intheir computations and simulations: “Thenoise footprint of an aircraft powered bygeared turbofans is 70 percent smaller thanthat of the latest generation of turbofansused to power short-haul and medium-hauljets,” reports Dr. Klaus-Peter Rüd, Director,Advanced Product Design at MTU. And that’snot the end of it. The next GTF generation canbe expected to be even quieter, because by-pass ratios in excess of 10:1 can be achievedwith this technology, enabling the jet noise tobe reduced even further. Already today, the

Sources of noise and their sound pressure levels.

The noise contour of an aircraft with conventional turbofan engines. The noise contour of an aircraft powered by GTF engines is reduced approximately70 percent.

For additional information, contactDr. Dominik Broszat+49 89 1489-6097

For interesting multimedia services associated with this article, go towww.mtu.de/report

The geared turbofan: a success story

Dr. Rainer Martens has been Chief Operating Officer at MTU AeroEngines since 2006. It is under his tenure that a significant part ofthe development work took place on the geared turbofan—a productwhich has since become well established in the market, with ordersfor over 2,500 engines received to date.

engine of the future is a great success. MTUAero Engines currently holds stakes in fourof Pratt & Whitney’s GTF programs. ThePW1000G has been selected as the exclu-sive engine for the Mitsubishi Regional Jet(MRJ). Bombardier will equip its CSeries, dueto enter service in 2013, with the geared tur-bofan. Airbus has chosen the new propulsionsystem for its A320neo, as has Irkut for theMS-21 jet.

Traub, Broszat, and Rüd still have a few tricksup their sleeves when it comes to eliminatingengine noise. In the so-called cut-off design,the MTU engineers select blade-to-vaneratios such that as much of the noise as pos-sible is prevented from propagating in thedirection of the airflow. “But we always haveto keep an eye on aerodynamic performance,weight and costs,” says Traub, describing thechallenges of this meticulous work. “Forinstance, because rotor blades are very ex-pensive, we only have limited scope to vary

their number,” explains the engineer. The 3Dconfiguration of the individual blades alsoaffects the way they radiate sound. Noisecan be reduced by tilting them slightly in theradial or axial direction. But obviously, what-ever measures are taken to reduce noise,they must not result in degraded perform-ance. “As in almost every other aspect ofengine design, it is a question of finding thebest tradeoff between the various require-ments and design options available,” saysBroszat.

Another noise reduction technique consistsof lining the engine’s flow ducts with thin,perforated panels with hollow cavities of adefined depth behind them. These structures,known as Helmholtz resonators or lambda/4resonators, filter out disturbing sound fre-quencies. They are commonly used in the airintake system. “The technology is well estab-lished in the cold section of the engine,” saysBroszat. “At present, it is not very widely used

Dr. Martens, what was MTU’s formula for this success?A success like this doesn’t just come out of nowhere, it’s the resultof decades of preparatory work. We carried out the first preliminarystudies into a geared turbofan engine way back in the 1990s, butchose not to pursue the concept further at the time for lack of aviable business case. Now, market conditions are different: risingkerosene prices and more stringent environmental regulations havespurred the demand for quieter and fuel thriftier engines. It quicklybecame clear that there was definitely no way we could deliver theimprovements in specifications demanded by customers simply byimproving existing technologies. We had to take a different approach,so that’s what MTU did in collaboration with Pratt & Whitney. Ouranswer to the challenge was the geared turbofan.

What thrust range is the GTF designed for?The new engine family covers a thrust range of between 10,000 and33,000 pounds. What we do is scale the size of the individual com-ponents for them to match the various thrust categories; the newengine architecture and the turbomachinery assemblies remain thesame.

How do you envisage the future of the GTF?In the longer term, the technologies used in the GTF—the gearbox,the small core, the fan with a low pressure ratio, and the high-speedlow-pressure turbine—could form the basis of virtually any enginearchitecture, for long-haul aircraft and short- and medium-haul air-craft alike.

How can the GTF be further optimized in the future?The geared turbofan still has considerable potential for improvement.We’re already working on increasing the diameter of the fan and onoptimizing the core engine, and we’re continuing to look into optionsof increasing pressures and temperatures inside the engine. Anotherfocus is on introducing high-strength materials that are even lighterthan those we’re using today.

For the long term, we’re working on an intercooled compressor and aheat exchanger in the exhaust duct. Our experience with stationarygas turbines tells us that such configurations offer advantages. Butbefore this technology can be used on aircraft engines for theseadvantages to materialize, there are a few things we still need to opti-mize. For instance, we have to work out how to deal with the weight ofthe heat exchanger, which is an additional component.

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in the hot section, where the exhaust gasesflow, but it is an option that might be worthpursuing to make engines even quieter.”MTU’s aero-acoustics expert is keeping aclose eye on every kind of technological devel-opment that might help reduce engine noise.“If there’s anything that we can use, we willdo so one day,” comments Broszat, for as hesays: “Aircraft with quiet engines are not onlygood news for the environment and for peoplewho live near airports—they also sell better.”

The CSeries powered by the geared turbofan is expected to enter into service late next year.

The PW1500G is the exclusive powerplant for the BombardierCSeries.

Dr. Rainer Martens, Chief Operating Officer

Customers + Partners

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Another step forward

By Bernd Bundschu

In late May, Boeing delivered a 747-8 freighter to Cargolux. It was the fourth of 13of this aircraft type the airline has on order, but for MTU it marked a first: TheLuxembourg-based freighter is equipped with GEnx-2B67 engines incorporating thefirst turbine center frames (TCFs) to have been produced by MTU Aero Engines. TheTCF is positioned between the high-pressure turbine and low-pressure turbine of thisjet engine and is a highly engineered component. MTU has design responsibility forthis module in the new GEnx program.

r. Hans Penningsfeld, Technical ProgramManager, GEnx, says: “The delivery of theplane to Cargolux marks another important

milestone for MTU and a great success for its entireGEnx team.” Wolfgang Hiereth, Director, GE Programsat MTU in Munich, adds: “We are the sole supplier ofturbine center frames for GEnx engines—both for theBoeing 787 and the 747-8.”

Munich-based MTU is making great strides in recordtime: It wasn’t until early 2009 that Germany’s lead-ing engine manufacturer began to work on the TCF,which had originally been developed by GeneralElectric (GE). Following the handover to GE of thefirst production module on August 24, 2011, MTUtook on full design responsibility for the TCF. In May

D 2012—just nine months later—the Cargolux freighterwas handed over, and in September, MTU deliveredthe 100th TCF to GE.

The TCF poses a variety of challenges. “For a start, itsfunction is to direct the extremely hot gases exitingthe high-pressure turbine past structural componentsand the oil lines they contain toward the low-pres-sure turbine, while keeping aerodynamic losses to anabsolute minimum,” explains Dr. Penningsfeld. “At thesame time, it supports the rear roller bearing for thehigh-pressure turbine shaft and directs cooling air tothe high-pressure and low-pressure turbine rotors.”Its main components are the hub strut case and flow-path hardware. MTU has set up an innovative produc-tion line for each of these two components.

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consetetur sadipscing elitr, sed diam nonumy eirmod tempor invidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliquyam erat

Three turbine center frames are produced in Munich every week.

The GEnx turbine center frame is assembled by MTU Aero Engines in Munich.

For additional information, contactWolfgang Hiereth+49 89 1489-3501

The Boeing 747-8F is the latest freight version ofBoeing’s legendary jumbo jet. The four-enginefreighter’s design is based on that of its predeces-sor, the 747-400F, but with a fuselage that is 5.60meters longer. This new and improved version of theaircraft boasts the latest in technical equipment aswell as new engines: It is powered exclusively byGE’s GEnx-2B67, which delivers 299.8 kilonewtonsof thrust.

Despite their greater power, these engines are stillfuel efficient, giving the 747-8F a range of 8,130kilometers and a maximum payload capacity ofaround 140 metric tons—which is 20 tons more thanthat of the 747-400F. The 747-8F’s additional vol-ume of 120 cubic meters provides 16 percent morerevenue cargo volume than its predecessor andoffers space for seven additional standard pallets.The aircraft is loaded through both a nose door anda large side door.

The first 747-8F rolled out of the factory onNovember 12, 2009 and completed its first flight onFebruary 8, 2010 in Everett, Washington. The air-craft received certification from the Federal AviationAdministration (FAA) and the European AviationSafety Agency (EASA) on August 19, 2011.

There are currently 70 Boeing 747-8Fs on order, and16 aircraft have been delivered. The first 747-8Fwas handed over to the Luxembourg-based freightairline Cargolux on October 12, 2011.

Queen of thefreighter fleet

These new production and assembly concepts ensure thehighest levels of efficiency, process stability and componentquality, and keep turnaround times short. Josef Moosheimer,Senior Manager, Program Coordination, GE Programs, says:“There’s always a learning curve to climb when you launch anew program, but in this case we got through it quicker thanexpected.” This year, MTU will turn out an average of threeTCFs each week. Once production is fully up and running, MTUplans to manufacture close to 300 units per year to meet thedemand; for the GEnx is likely to become a real best-sellingengine. There are currently around 1,400 units on order, withthe total market estimated at some 4,400 engines.

The new GEnx-2B67 engines help the Boeing 747-8F achievedouble-digit percentage improvements in fuel consumptionover the 747-400F and substantially reduce emissions andoperating costs. “Compared to its predecessor, GE’s CF6, theoverall pressure ratio has increased from 35:1 to 43:1 andthe bypass ratio from 5.1:1 to 8.6:1,” says Dr. Penningsfeld.Optimizing the turbine center frame has also helped boostefficiency. “And pilots are full of praise for the engine,” Hierethis proud to report.

On June 14, 2012 the overall GEnx program entered a newphase when the Federal Aviation Authority approved the firstPerformance Improvement Package (PIP). “We’re currentlyworking on further upgrades and introducing them is our nextmajor milestone,” says program coordinator Sabine Ludwig,who has already begun to make the necessary preparationsfor maintenance. In her mind, the objective is clear: “We wantto keep up MTU’s excellent performance in the program forthe long term.”

The Boeing 747-8F is Boeing’s latest freighter variant.

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Customers + Partners

A freshapproach fromDown Under

he success story began in late 1999 when the Virgin Groupfounded by British billionaire Sir Richard Branson announcedits plans to launch an airline in Australia. All previous at-

tempts at running a successful carrier Down Under had failed,and so the beginnings of Virgin Blue were fairly low key. With justtwo Boeing 737s and 200 employees, the new airline began plyingthe route between its home base in Brisbane and the bright lightsof Sydney in late August 2000. In the months that followed, itsfleet and route network grew at such a rapid pace, that Virgin Bluewas celebrating its millionth passenger as early as June 2001.

Things really took off when the veteran Ansett Australia airlineceased operations in September 2001. Virgin Blue was able to fillthis vacuum and take advantage of the growth opportunities thatsuddenly presented themselves in the form of available slots atAustralian airports, where capacity used to be notoriously tight.In 2004, the airline spread its wings beyond Australia’s shores,with its New Zealand-based subsidiary Pacific Blue offering flightson popular tourist routes between Australia, New Zealand andvarious Pacific islands. A year later Polynesian Blue was foundedin a joint venture with the government of Samoa.

From modest beginnings, Virgin Australia has worked its way up tobecome the second-largest airline in Australia within a decade.Whereas initially it only flew domestic routes in true low-cost style,today Virgin Australia operates intercontinental flights as well. TheGE90-115B engines that power its Boeing 777-300ER long-haul air-craft are repaired and overhauled by MTU Maintenance Hannover.The young airline has grown into a serious competitor for Qantas.

T

By Achim Figgen

While Virgin Blue started out as a low-cost carrier—with a uniformfleet, point-to-point services only, —it wasn’t long before it took afresh approach to air travel: In 2002 it started offering connectingflights; a frequent flyer program was introduced in 2005; it aban-doned its strategy of operating a Boeing-only fleet in 2006 andordered Embraer170 and190 aircraft; lounge access was introduced.When plans were announced in 2007 to create a new airline for long-haul routes, it was clear that the Australians had their sights set high.February 2009 saw the first flight of V Australia—as the new airlinewas named—when a Boeing 777-300ER destined for Los Angeles tookoff from Sydney.

The fleet now includes five A330-200 aircraft for Australian transcon-tinental routes, and partner carrier SkyWest Airlines operates ATR 72aircraft on regional routes. Thanks to a series of alliances and collab-orations with established airlines such as Air New Zealand, Delta AirLines, Etihad Airways and Singapore Airlines, the route network hasrecently been significantly expanded. The decision to incorporateAustralia in its name was a logical next step, and so in 2011 VirginBlue, V Australia and Pacific Blue were folded into the Virgin AustraliaAirline brand. Polynesian Blue was renamed Virgin Samoa.

The long-haul services division, operating routes between Sydney andAbu Dhabi and between Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne and LosAngeles, has remained a legally independent entity called “VirginAustralia International”, as Virgin Australia International Fleet EngineerJohn Weber explains. The team of seven engineers is responsible forall Boeing 777 maintenance and overhaul work. As they are unable tocope with the entire workload themselves, it was good news when inlate 2010 MTU Maintenance Hannover obtained the license to main-tain GE90-110B1 and -115B engines. In late summer 2011, VirginAustralia International—jointly with Air New Zealand—awarded theGermany-based engine specialists a twelve-year contract to maintainthe engines for the 777-300ER. The first GE90-115B arrived inHannover in August 2011 and was returned the following February.

To date MTU Maintenance has overhauled four of these large engines,including two under contract from Virgin Australia International.Experience has shown that the first maintenance jobs always take alittle bit longer, and yet the engines were always ready on schedule,as Weber confirms. In fact, expectations regarding turnaround timewere already exceeded with the fourth GE90, according to TobiasWensky from MTU Maintenance Hannover. Wensky attributes thisachievement due to the fact that the GE90 design is similar to that ofthe CF6 and CFM56 engines—with which MTU Maintenance hasextensive history and detailed experience—and the highly motivatedworkforce at MTU Maintenance Hannover. Wim van Beers, Director,Sales Asia/Pacific Rim in Hannover, identifies another advantage thatMTU offers: As an OEM-independent service provider, MTU can pro-vide customer service to meet individual needs, from one-stop serv-ice solutions to maintenance programs built around the specific re-quirements of an airline. Van Beers also highlights that MTU’s experi-ence in engine construction has given them the expertise to developits own repair procedures.

Whereas the timetable for scheduled engine maintenance is generallyplanned several months in advance, shop visits call for flexibility.

Customers + Partners

For additional information, contactWim van Beers+49 511 7806-2390

For interesting multimedia services associated with this article, go towww.mtu.de/report

20 21

Oliver Skop, who at MTU Maintenance is responsible for providingcustomer support to Virgin Australia International, Air New Zealandand other carriers, says the cooperation with the Australian airline isexcellent: “Virgin always notifies us promptly.” Skop also explainsthat MTU undertakes trend monitoring on the engines under its careand regularly evaluates their performance data and various engineparameters. “So we are aware early of any potential problems that mayarise.”

Holger Sindemann, Managing Director & Senior Vice President, MTUMaintenance Hannover, is very pleased to have Virgin AustraliaInternational as a customer: “The airline is a major player in the region.I’m proud that we were able to secure them as a customer with ourmaintenance expertise and the high level of quality we deliver.” TheGE90 is an important driver of growth for the Hannover shop, and the

Air New Zealand sends its GE90-115B engines to MTU Maintenance formaintenance, repair and overhaul.

Ready for the heavyweight: The test cell at MTU Maintenance Hannoveris being approved for certified GE90 test runs.

company goes the extra mile to keep it that way: Once the overhaulhas been completed, the engines are currently sent to Emirates inDubai for final testing—a temporary solution that will come to an endsoon, as the test facility in Hannover is presently undergoing accept-ance to perform GE90 test runs.

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Customers + Partners

Globalbestseller

ack in the 1980s, when IAE International Aero Engines AGwas founded, the idea of bringing together five shareholdersfrom three continents to jointly develop and build a new air-

craft engine met with a great deal of skepticism. How could suchan undertaking possibly succeed, especially given that the newengine would be competing against a well-established rival, theCFM56? A glance at the recent statistics confirms the wisdom ofthe decision taken almost thirty years ago: To date, more than5,000 IAE V2500 engines have been delivered, 2,000 are on firmorder. And yet, shortly before the engine’s first run in December1985, the partners—Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce, MTU AeroEngines, Japanese Aero Engines Corporation (JAEC, composed ofIshikawajima-Harima, Kawasaki and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries)and FiatAVIO (who switched later to a supplier role)—had opti-mistically estimated future sales of the engine at a mere 3,500units.

Just under four years later, the newcomer entered into revenueservice, powering aircraft for Adria Airways, Cyprus Airways andIndian Airlines. More customers from all around the world soonfollowed, from China to the U.S. to New Zealand. In 1998, Luft-hansa took delivery of the thousandth V2500. Increasing salessuccesses saw the milestones begin to pile up; for example, IAEdelivered V2500 number 2,000 in 2002 and number 5,000 fol-lowed early this year. Today the V2500 is in service with approx-imately 190 customers from 70 countries, and there is no end tothe success story in sight: “Long-term prospects we think areextremely bright,” said David Hess, President of Pratt & Whitneyand new IAE Chairman of the Board of Directors, at this year’sFarnborough Airshow.

Almost 30 years after the IAE consortium was founded, theV2500—with its various upgrades and improvements—remains areal bestseller. The engine powers the Airbus A320 family and theMcDonnell Douglas MD-90 and has clocked up over100 million flighthours in service with airlines based in 70 countries. It is set toremain one of the most important engine programs for many yearsto come.

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By Patrick Hoeveler

The V2500 also continues to be the most important engineprogram for MTU, which is responsible for the engine’s low-pressure turbine. “Production will be running at a peak overthe next two years,” confirms Leo Müllenholz, Director, IAEPrograms at MTU in Munich. The engine remains a big hit withcustomers: “We get very good feedback from operators aboutits excellent reliability and its fuel consumption, which is lowerthan its rival engine’s fuel burn.” Thanks to these advantages,airlines and leasing companies are continuing to opt for theV2500, whose production rate of almost two engines perworking day has reached its highest-ever levels since the pro-gram began.

Customers + Partners

Improvements to the bestseller have comehot on each other’s heels: With theSelectOne™ configuration, which enteredservice in 2008, fuel consumption wasreduced by roughly one percent comparedto the original V2500. The partners chalkedup sale number 1,000 of this new versionless than three years later. By then work wasalready underway on SelectTwo™, which con-tains a software upgrade for the electronicengine control system in order to reducespeeds when taxiing and during landingapproaches. This allows consumption to bebrought down roughly by a further 0.5 per-cent. This figure may not seem significant atfirst glance, but for an A320 fleet flying2,300 flights a year, the upgrade equates tosavings of 4.3 million dollars over ten yearsfor the airline.

With the latest V2500 SelectTwo™ configu-ration due to enter into service next year,engineers are working flat out on approvaltests. For example, water ingestion testswere conducted at MTU in Munich. Hereengineers demonstrated, by spraying waterinto the compressor on the test rig, that theengine works perfectly even in heavy rainconditions. At the same time, the IAE mem-bers are planning further improvements thatcan be retrofitted to the existing fleet andwhich are designed to reduce operating costseven further.

SelectTwo™: thelatest V2500configuration

At MTU, production is due to be raised from 470 turbine mod-ules this year to around 530 starting from 2013. The Germancompany’s revenue will also go up sharply as a result of Pratt& Whitney’s purchase of Rolls-Royce’s program share in IAE:“Rolls-Royce’s exit from the IAE consortium gave us theopportunity to increase our share in the program from 11 to16 percent.” This move has resulted in MTU taking on respon-sibility for more than 500 accessory parts. Over the coming25 years, the company is anticipating additional revenue ofthree to four billion euros. “Furthermore, the V2500 is veryimportant for its successor program, the PW1100G-JM gearedturbofan engine (GTF), in which MTU also has a share,” says

24 25

For additional information, contactLeo Müllenholz+49 89 1489-3173

For interesting multimedia services associated withthis article, go to www.mtu.de/report

A winning combination for decades: the A320 and the V2500.

Müllenholz. “A lot of customers want to purchase both theV2500 and the GTF.” Müllenholz estimates that the V2500will continue to be manufactured for the Airbus A320 familythrough the end of the decade, by which time more than7,000 of the propulsion systems will have been deliveredworldwide. In the military sector, moreover, V2500-E5 pro-duction for the Embraer KC-390 transport aircraft will contin-ue for many years to come.

On top of this, the V2500 is also a mainstay of MTU’s mainte-nance business. “At almost all MTU Maintenance locations itaccounts for around 60 percent of revenue,” explains AndreaLübke, Director, Engine Programs at MTU Maintenance. “Theprogram will be our main driver of growth over the next tenyears.” Around 250 engines undergo maintenance every year.“Thanks to our wealth of experience, we can cater to the spe-cific needs of our customers and define the optimum scopeof work required for each individual engine.” In July of thisyear the maintenance shop in Hannover received its 3,000thV2500. With the bestseller to remain a fixture across theglobe for many years to come, it comes as scant surprise thatthe IAE shareholders have extended their cooperation up to2045.

190 customers from 70 countries operate V2500 engines.

Brazilian airline TAM has its V2500 engines maintained by MTU Maintenance.

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Customers + Partners

India – boom despitebarriers

he Indian subcontinent is a booming economy with a population of onebillion people. Its steadily growing middle class represents a purchas-ing power that has incited many foreign companies to join in the rush

for a stake in the market. But the national passenger airlines have been un-able to keep pace with these developments. In February 2012, India recordeddomestic air traffic growth of over 12 percent—the second-highest rate in theworld after Brazil. As a result, the six large Indian domestic airlines were ableto fill over 75 percent of their seats. These statistics are indicative of India’shuge potential in the aviation sector. Whereas, in statistical terms, the aver-age U.S. citizen takes 1.8 flights each year, the corresponding figure for Indiais merely 0.1 flights per year; or, seen from a different angle, on average eachIndian citizen flies only once every ten years. “If Indians would fly only a thirdas much as Americans do per capita, that would be an air travel market of700 to 800 million passengers per annum, rivaling that of the U.S.,” com-ments IATA’s Director General and Chief Executive Officer Tony Tyler.

The aviation market in India is one of the most promising in the world in terms of growth potential. Itsdomestic airlines currently carry a total of around 60 million passengers per year—a figure that repre-sents only six percent of the population—but in the long term the size of the market could increase to800 million Indian air travelers. The chief factors inhibiting the subcontinent’s development are bureau-cracy and inefficiency. In the aviation sector, low-cost carrier IndiGo is the only profitable Indian airline;it moreover is now one of MTU’s major customers.

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By Andreas Spaeth

In August 2006, an Airbus A320 operated by the privatelyowned low-cost Indian airline IndiGo took off for the firsttime. Since the airline was launched with the support of U.S.investors, it has developed into one of the fastest-growingbudget carriers in the world and the only profitable domes-tic airline in India.

The airline’s present fleet of 60 Airbus A320s equipped withV2500 engines, for which MTU supplies the low-pressureturbines, carries over twelve million passengers each year.Between now and 2015, another 65 A320 aircraft are sched-uled to join the fleet. 30 of them were purchased in 2011 aspart of one of the largest orders ever to be placed in aviationhistory, when IndiGo signed a contract with Airbus for 150A320neo aircraft. At the Farnborough International Airshowin July 2012, IndiGo placed firm orders for 300 PurePower®

PW1100G-JM engines, plus additional options, to power theA320neo jets. MTU supplies the high-speed low-pressureturbine for these geared turbofan engines, as well as half ofthe high-pressure compressor. The IndiGo order thus alsorepresents one of the largest-ever in the engine manufac-turers’ annals.

“With this choice of engine, IndiGo hopes to gain a compet-itive advantage from the outset,” says Klaus Müller, SeniorVice President, Corporate Development at MTU Aero Engines.Dr. Anton Binder, Executive Vice President, Commercial Pro-grams, adds: “The economic aspect played a major role in thisdecision, as for instance a reduction of around 15 percent infuel burn compared with the V2500.” Aditya Ghosh, Presi-dent of IndiGo Airlines, confirms this rationale: “As a result

of the lower engine operating cost, we are confident that wecan maintain our competitive low fares while simultaneouslyoffering our customers the most environmentally friendlyway to fly.” IndiGo currently flies to 32 destinations in India,operates six international routes, and is rapidly growing tobecome India’s leading airline. In June 2012, it held 26 per-cent of the market, only slightly behind Jet Airways (27.4percent).

“IndiGo is very strongly positioned in the market,” commentsMüller, citing the one-type fleet and strict adherence to thelow-cost model as the main reasons for its success. Or inthe words of Aditya Ghosh: “Our only big objective is to provethat low cost is not low quality.”

The Indian exception

IndiGo has ordered 150 A320neo aircraft powered by gearedturbofan engines.

IndiGo also operates conventional A320s.

Many of the present problems can only be solved by the Indian gov-ernment, for instance by reducing the extremely high levels of taxa-tion that add to operators’ costs: over eight percent on aviation fueland often up to 30 percent in local taxes levied on domestic flights bythe various federal states. The situation could also be improved bylifting the ban on foreign direct investments in Indian airlines. Anotherserious obstacle to progress is the poor infrastructure. Nearly all ofthe country’s major airports suffer from capacity problems and havelimited aircraft parking space. Delhi is the only major hub to have under-gone expansion so far. And the lack of airports in many of the highlypopulated urban regions is an obstacle to the expansion of thedomestic air network and deprives a large part of the Indian popula-tion of access to air travel. Despite the liberalization of the Indian avi-ation sector in 2005, which briefly revived the market and led to amassive increase in aircraft orders and the creation of new air carri-ers, the results show that the business models pursued by the major-ity of airlines are ineffective in this operating environment. The onlyexception is low-cost carrier IndiGo.

“India has not been able to develop its economy at the same rate asChina because of its poorly developed infrastructure and bureaucrat-ic hurdles,” says Klaus Müller, Senior Vice President, CorporateDevelopment at MTU Aero Engines in Munich. “Whereas in China, wewere able to establish a presence in Zhuhai more than ten years ago,it will be at least another five years before MTU is ready to invest inIndia. But all the same, MTU sees the outlook for India as verystrong,” he confirms, referring in particular to the availability of ahighly skilled Indian workforce.

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Customers + Partners

The present market situation is less encouraging: In the financial year2011/12, India’s domestic airlines together generated losses of around2.5 billion U.S. dollars; they are moreover burdened by debts totaling20 billion U.S. dollars. The national flag carrier Air India is in a partic-ularly precarious position, and owes no less than 3.6 billion U.S. dol-lars to its creditors. Only recently, the Indian government had to stepin to save Air India from bankruptcy by granting another 5.8 billionU.S. dollars in government aid to cover the airline’s costs through to2020. Thanks to these subsidies, the state-owned airline is able tooffer cut-price ticket rates that oblige its competitors to similarlyreduce their fares, reducing profit margins to zero. “The current aver-age ticket price in India is 95 U.S. dollars. To break even, 106 U.S.dollars would be necessary on average,” says Boeing India PresidentDinesh Keskar. Privately owned Kingfisher Airlines is also on the vergeof bankruptcy. In six years of operation, the company has not gener-ated a single cent in profit and was recently forced to radically reduceits route network.

For additional information, contactDr. Anton Binder+49 89 1489-2884

For interesting multimedia services associated with this article, go towww.mtu.de/report

India’s aviation industry has huge potential for growth.

Eleven million people live in the metropolis of Delhi alone.

Technology + Science

A diagnostictool to see

inside blades Latest-generation turbine blades have an intricate internal struc-ture made up of countless very fine cooling ducts and coolingair holes. This complexity pushes conventional inspection tech-nology beyond its limits. In order to reliably detect variations inthese high-tech castings, MTU Aero Engines has developed afully automated computed tomography method that signifi-cantly improves the quality assurance process and helps savecosts.

By Denis Dilba

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t all started with an engine component that was par-ticularly hard to inspect, recalls Stefan Neuhäusler,an expert in digital radioscopy and X-ray inspection

at MTU in Munich who came up with the idea of chang-ing over to a new inspection technique. The componentexhibited flaws that were extremely difficult to detectand locate using the test equipment available at thetime. To get to grips with the problem, they had to resortto the conventional time-consuming and costly methodof cutting up the component, taking a good look inside,and optimizing the manufacturing process on the basisof their findings. “There’s got to be a faster and simplerway to do this,” thought Neuhäusler, and had tests per-formed to see if it was possible to recognize the defec-tive area using a computed tomography (CT) scanner.His intuitive idea was spot-on: “We were able to preciselylocate the defect with the aid of the three-dimensionalCT images.” That was seven years ago.

The CT scanner reproduces the internal struc-tures of the blade as two-dimensional cross-sectional images, hundreds of which are cre-ated and then used to visualize and analyzethe overshots. The digital image data is sentto a cluster computer that reconstructs theslices into a 3D image. This is similar to imageprocessing techniques employed in hospitals.But whereas in a medical CT scanner the X-raysource and X-ray detectors rotate around thepatient, in this industrial application theobject under examination, in this case theHPT blade, is rotated in the X-ray path be-tween the tube and the detector. Becausenickel-based alloys have a higher density thanthe human body, which consists mostly ofwater, the industrial CT scanner also requiresharder X-ray beams. “The majority of medicalimaging applications employ soft X-rays andan exposure time of just a few milliseconds,whereas our CT system requires a hardenedX-ray beam and an exposure time of around600 milliseconds per image,” explainsChristof Piede-Weber, who helped maturethe new CT scanner from a functional proto-type into a production system. It was built incollaboration with one of the world-marketleaders in industrial X-ray technology, and ishoused in a lead-shielded enclosure. SaysPiede-Weber: “Apart from the blades, nothingcan get in and nothing can get out.”

The CT system allows images to be obtainedwith a high resolution, which permit safe in-spection of the specified characteristics. “Theoutstanding feature of this solution—and thereal challenge in terms of know-how, is itsspeed, which is achieved by a high degree ofautomation. These, basically, are the factorsthat make it so cost-effective,” says theexpert. And this is how the system works inthe production environment: The HPT bladesare delivered to the inspection station on atransport system, and a robot then transfersthem to the radiation-shielded test chamber.The CT scanner produces close to 1,000images and processes them to create a 3Dreconstruction of the component’s geometry,which is then analyzed for nonconformitiesentirely automatically. Then, the blades aresorted into separate containers dependingon the inspection results. “Because there isno need for manual intervention, we havebeen able to significantly speed up the pro-cess,” says Dr. Bertram Kopperger, SeniorManager, Manufacturing and MRO Technolo-gies at MTU. “In the past 18 months, we havecut the average time required to inspect eachblade in half.”

Technology + Science

It took five years from the launch of the flawdetection technology project to reach thepoint where the process was sufficiently sta-ble to be used in MTU’s standard productionprocesses and turbine blade inspectiontimes could be cut. “We knew immediatelythat we were onto something that had thepotential for use in inspection on the shopfloor,” says Neuhäusler. But after havingsolved the original problem and given thatproduction engineering was able to detect allother defects using the conventional meth-

For additional information, contactStefan Neuhäusler+49 89 1489-6620

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ods, Neuhäusler and his colleagues were ini-tially unable to justify the relatively high costsof the new technology, despite its ability todeliver exceptionally precise results. It wasn’tuntil the company started producing the com-plex blades for the high-pressure turbine(HPT) of the GP7000 engine powering theAirbus A380 that the CT-based method foundits way into production. “For the first time,standard technologies were inadequate for usto be able to properly assess the parts in fulldetail.” reports the MTU expert. “The reasonwas that the design was too complex for usto be able to recognize and evaluate defectsin turbine blades on two-dimensional X-rayimages alone.”

Unlike other HPT blades, those used in theGP7000 engine have a more swept design,to optimize their aerodynamic efficiency, anda more complex internal structure with a fargreater number of cooling ducts and laser-drilled cooling air holes. Neuhäusler explains:“For example, it can sometimes happen thatthe laser penetrates too far into the material.This is acceptable, but only down to a certaindepth and on condition that a certain mini-mum wall thickness is maintained.” Other-wise this phenomenon, known as “backwallovershot” in technical parlance, has the sameeffect as a notch and can reduce the servicelife of the blade.

To enable the system to automatically detectflaws in a blade, Neuhäusler, Piede-Weber andtheir inspection department colleagues firsthad to teach the image-processing softwareto recognize deviations. To do this, they“trained” the system using HPT blades ex-hibiting defined artificial defects. Kopperger:“With the CT system, we apply a conservativeapproach to ensure maximum reliability.” Ifthere is even the slightest doubt, suspectednonconforming blades will always be rejectedas scrap first and then re-inspected one byone. “The non-destructive CT-based processnot only benefits the GP7000 program butwill also help reduce time and costs in otherprograms, for instance, the MTR390 for theEurocopter Tiger and smaller engines for re-

Inspection of coil locations after thermal shock testing.

CT scan of a reconstructed airfoil segment from aGP7000 low-pressure turbine blade.

CT cross-section of a GP7000 low-pressure turbine blade. Inspection for casting core residues, wallthickness measurement, inspection for pores.

gional jets,” adds Kopperger. LPT blades andelectronic components, too, are inspectedby means of CT scans, to verify that the pro-duction processes are capable of turning outparts that comply with the requirements.“The new inspection technology constitutesa unique selling proposition that places MTUin an excellent position for the future.”

Another area in which Kopperger envisagesapplications for the CT scanning technology isthe inspection of components produced usingadditive manufacturing processes.

Technology + Science

Keeping aclose eye ontolerances

The development of aircraft engines and their components is an in-creasingly complex task, and the time available for the job is constantlygetting shorter. To ensure that its new products are innovative andalways meet the latest requirements, MTU Aero Engines has for manyyears been cooperating with university professors, research scientists,and engineering students in dedicated centers of competence. TheTolerant Airfoils technology development project, which is about to beconcluded, is a textbook example of this successful approach to coop-eration between industry, science, and academe.

By Daniel Hautmann

he Tolerant Airfoils project was launched in 2009 and is oneof the most ambitious but also one of the most promisingtechnology development projects currently being pursued by

Germany’s leading engine manufacturer. Its aim is to optimize thecosts and functionality of MTU’s next-generation high-pressure com-pressors, with special emphasis on analyzing solutions geared towardsbringing down the costs of blisk manufacturing. A blisk—the acronymstands for “blade-integrated disk”—is a high-tech component that ismanufactured in one piece and increasingly used in advanced enginecompressors. Heading up the project is Dr. Gerhard Kahl, who isresponsible for coordinating all compressor technology projects atMTU. He works in close collaboration with the Center of Competence“Compressors”, which has been established at the Institute of JetPropulsion and Turbomachinery (IST) and the Laboratory of MachineTools and Production Engineering (WZL) at RWTH Aachen University.

“Blisks are highly engineered, integral components, usually made ofa titanium alloy,” explains Kahl. They are the technology of the future,because they are key to building lighter, more fuel-efficient engines.Blisks can already be found in an increasing number of engine types,including the engines selected to power the new Airbus A320neo.MTU is a specialist in the design and manufacture of these compo-nents, and is ramping up its production capacity. The current outputrate of around 500 blisks a year will be increased to several thousandunits before long. To meet the demand, MTU is currently building anew shop in Munich, where all of the company’s blisk manufacturingactivities will be accommodated.

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Each blisk has up to 100 individual blades, which are milled from thesolid. Small wonder that these parts are very costly. “The manufac-turing teams cannot afford to produce anything less than zero scrap,”says Prof. Peter Jeschke of the IST, who bears a large part of theresponsibility for the Tolerant Airfoils project. “There are two thingsto do: We have to develop more robust blades and at the same timeadapt the manufacturing specifications.” In the end it is a question ofmanufacturing tolerances. “We study the aerodynamics and structuralmechanics to determine where tolerances must be strictly observedand where it might be possible to relax them. We identify the crucialpoints in collaboration with MTU.” Dr. Rainer Walther, Senior Manager,Technology Networks at MTU in Munich, sums up the essence of thischallenge: “The basic objective is to reconcile costs and technicalrequirements.”

Tolerance is an all-essential issue, regardless of which phase the projectis in—be it development, manufacturing or maintenance—, becauseavoidable costs are incurred if there is a disparity between the workthat needs to be put in and the benefit that results. Kahl cites anexample: “If I have to spend a huge amount of money to produce ablade with a specially shaped trailing edge that only improves effi-ciency by less than a tenth of a percent, I have gained nothing overall.”

There must be a better way, decided the steering committee that re-presents all partners in the Center of Competence “Compressors”,which consequently launched the Tolerant Airfoils technology projectand obtained government funding under Germany’s aeronauticalresearch program.

Frank von Czerniewicz, Project Manager, Compressor Technologies atMTU in Munich, describes the different phases of the project. Theprocess starts with the definition phase, in which the engine’s per-formance characteristics are defined. These include thrust, weight,fuel consumption, operating temperatures, and pressure ratios. “Thisdata is used to put together the basic design, which is then brokendown into the individual modules.” In the conceptual design phase,the engineers produce a general arrangement drawing from the

Technology + Science

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CAD view of a linear cascade wind tunnel.Measurement section of the IST’s linear cascade wind tunnel, partially instrumented with pressure sensors.

MTU Aero Engines has six centers of com-petence (CoCs) in Germany, five based atuniversities and one at the German Aero-space Center (DLR). The work of these CoCsis coordinated by Dr. Rainer Walther, MTU’sSenior Manager, Technology Networks. Thecenters provide a research platform that en-ables some of Germany’s leading scientistsand engineers to work together with industrypartners on the development of new tech-nologies. This collaborative approach to re-search offers two-way benefits: The univer-sities have access to the latest informationon interesting current engine design chal-lenges, and MTU in turn benefits from thescientific rigor of an academic researchenvironment. Moreover, MTU gains accessto IT resources, design tools, measuringinstruments, and test facilities that enablethe company to conduct tests and experi-ments that its own research and develop-ment departments are generally too busy tobe able to devote much time to. And for theyoung engineering students who workalongside the experts in these centers ofcompetence, it is a golden opportunity tocomplete scientific post-graduate studies(PhD) with a strong practical focus.

Each of the centers specializes in a corearea of engine technology: The CoC atRWTH Aachen University conducts researchon compressors, the CoC at the Universityof Stuttgart focuses on turbines, the CoC atthe Bundeswehr University in Munich isdedicated to the More Electric Engine, theCoC at Munich Technical University dealswith construction and production, while theCoC hosted by Leibniz University Hannoverand Laser Zentrum Hannover e.V. concen-trates on maintenance, repair and overhaul(MRO). And finally these areas of technolo-gy all come together in the CoC Engine2020 plus, which is run by MTU in partner-ship with the German Aerospace Center(DLR) in Cologne.

Centers ofcompetence

Settling chamber Test section Exhaust

Jeschke describes the work required to design the per-fect blade: “We take a blade that has been manufacturedto the exact specifications of the CAD model and test itin a cascade wind tunnel. Then we manufacture moreblades with defined deviations from the specified dimen-sions, and repeat the same tests. In this way, we can pre-cisely analyze the effect of these deviations on the blades’aerodynamic performance, and pinpoint the areas of theblade where it is particularly important to adhere strictlyto the specified geometry.” The wind tunnel tests areused to analyze the behavior of single blades, not theentire blisk. The flow of air is directed onto the blades in

For additional information, contactFrank von Czerniewicz+49 89 1489-4307

For interesting multimedia services associated withthis article, go towww.mtu.de/report

exactly the same way as in an engine. The scientists usehighly sensitive, pneumatic measuring instruments toanalyze pressures, angles of incidence, and speeds.

The project owes much of its success to the specialistsat the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPTin Aachen, who manufactured the blades for the windtunnel tests, including those with the defined deviations.To obtain reliable test results, the blades had to be man-ufactured with utmost precision. The IPT in turn is work-ing closely with the Laboratory of Machine Tools and Pro-duction Engineering (WZL) at RWTH Aachen University,where Dr. Drazen Veselovac is the designated contact forthe MTU development team: “We deal with every aspect ofairfoil manufacturing.” This also includes new materialssuch as titanium and nickel alloys. “Our objective is to findout how to introduce these materials on the productionfloor,” explains Veselovac. “From the manufacturer’s pointof view, there are obvious advantages to be gained byusing these materials in their engines. But on the otherhand, there is the question of machinability, which placesnew demands on the tools used to machine the metals.”And that’s not the end of it: “We are also investigating theimpact of design parameters on the manufacturing tech-nology, for instance what extra effort is required to imple-ment improvements to the leading edge, and how theseimprovements affect overall engine efficiency.” The colla-boration even extends to the programming of MTU’s five-axis machining centers, for which the software is beingcoded by the WZL and IPT specialists, according toVeselovac.

The complexity of blisk manufacturing is illustrated by themilling of the fillet radius between the blade and the rotordisk. The blades are delicate and the spacing betweenthem is narrow, which requires a milling tool capable ofoperating to close tolerances so as to ensure a perfectlyshaped profile and perfect surface quality. “The morecomplex the shape of the fillet radius, the higher theefforts involved in manufacturing,” says Veselovac. Thescientists therefore investigate what influence can in factbe attributed to the fillet profile and what solution couldbe the best tradeoff for manufacturing and operation.Aerodynamic behavior and structural mechanics are ob-viously important, but not the only things that need to betaken into consideration.

The Tolerant Airfoils project is already in its final phase.The participating partners have learnt how to find theideal tradeoff that satisfies all cost and functionalrequirements, all things considered. Von Czerniewicz willshortly be delivering the results of the three-year projectto the design team: “We have revised many of the draw-ings, which will make it easier to automate componenttesting. And we can do away with some of the require-ments altogether because they are functionally irrelevant,which in turn will help reduce the cost of testing and non-conformity correction. Without the meticulous data fromthe wind-tunnel tests, it would not have been possible to

Technology + Science

design documents which, as von Czerniewicz explains,“shows the number of stages in each module and pro-vides a relatively accurate estimate of the weight anddimensions of each component. Then it is the turn of theairfoil designers to define the desired nominal shape ofthe blades.” In the subsequent design phase, the detailsof the components are established and the permissibletolerances defined. The drawings produced in the con-ceptual design phase represent the theoretical ideal,which cannot be achieved in practice. “This is where themanufacturing specialists come in, to tell us what is pos-sible using the available production techniques.”

Blade for cascade wind tunnel testing. The manufacturing precision of wind tunnel blades is ten times that of engineblades.

RWTH Aachen University—a competent partner of industry.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology IPT in Aachen.

reach these conclusions,” he says, appreciative of theexcellent collaboration with RWTH Aachen University andFraunhofer IPT.

The researchers at RWTH Aachen University are happytoo: “MTU passes on the tasks to us that have more of ascientific bias and require more time to complete. Thiskind of collaboration is extremely valuable to us, becausewe gain a tremendous amount of know-how,” saysJeschke. There is certain to be a follow-on project, forthere is still further work to be done: “We don’t yet knowwith hundred-percent accuracy what effect individualparameters can have on the blisk system as a whole whenblades deviate from the ideal shape, and especially howthe engine will behave when individual blades in differentstages exhibit deviations that differ from one blade toanother,” says von Czerniewicz.

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Products + Services

Two coatsare moredurable

than oneOnly 1.2 millimeters separate the rotor blades of the high-pressure turbine from the air seals in the engine casing—when the engine is idle. This gap is known as the tip clear-ance. During full-load operation, at a speed of around14,000 revolutions per minute, the centrifugal force pushesthe blades outward and the tip clearance tends to zero. Torepair the air seals, MTU employs a technique that wasdeveloped in-house and has been in use on the V2500 forten years. Now that MTU has obtained FAA approval forapplication of the repair procedure also on the PW2000, thesuccess story can continue.

By Daniel Hautmann

40 41

he air seals have a tremendous impact on engineperformance and fuel consumption, so it is notsurprising that they are given so much atten-

tion. The huge variations in temperature to which theair seals are exposed give rise to cracking, and some-times even cause fragments of the seal to break off.Such damage degrades the engine’s performanceand increases fuel burn. “The narrower the tip clear-ance, the higher the efficiency,” explains StefanZantopp, Senior Manager, V2500 Engineering at MTUMaintenance Hannover. MTU’s special repair tech-nique has been in use on the V2500 for ten years.And very successfully so, because the repaired airseals are more robust than OEM parts.

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The MTU engineers have dubbed their process MTUPlus Multi-ply Plasma Coating. “We started by looking at the weak points,and immediately realized there was a better way to go aboutthe problem,” relates Dr. Frank Seidel, Senior Manager, RepairDevelopment at MTU Maintenance Hannover, where the repairprocedure was developed and has been used ever since. “Nowthe air seals can be repaired and remain in service for muchlonger.” The MTU specialists have succeeded in extending theservice life of the overhauled seals beyond that of OEM parts.“Our reconditioned air seals are more robust, and thereforestand up better to wear and tear,” concludes Zantopp.

The MTU development engineers invented and patented aprocess in which a novel coating system is applied by meansof plasma spraying. Unlike the OEM parts, the air seals re-conditioned by MTU—in the case of the V2500 low-pressureturbine 38 segments per stage—are protected by an additionalcoating layer. Seidel: “We had seen that the behavior of thesingle-layer OEM coating was not really satisfactory. It some-times chipped off, and thus degraded the protective action ofthe coating. To increase its mechanical strength, we decidedto add a second layer.”

The process comprises the following steps: First, the supportpanels made from a superalloy are visually inspected. Thecoating is stripped, and the parts are subjected to crackinspection. If the inspection reveals damage that can berepaired, the parts are welded or brazed as required. Then ametallic bond coat made of a high-temperature MCrAlY alloyis deposited using vacuum plasma spraying. The bond coat isdiffusion heat treated to relieve stresses in the material andensure that it adheres perfectly to the substrate.

In the next processing step, the two uppermost ceramic lay-ers are applied using atmospheric plasma spraying. Theceramic material deposited is yttrium-stabilized zirconiumoxide. The result: The lower ceramic layer is very dense andhighly resistant to erosion. The second layer is more porous,which further improves the coating’s thermal insulation prop-erties and improves running-in of the rotor blades. Seidelsays: “Our two-layer coating withstands thermal cycling muchbetter than the single-layer coatings used on OEM air seals.”Before the reconditioned air seals are reinstalled in the engineor delivered to the customer, they have to be provided withcooling holes. In the case of the V2500, 70 holes are drilledin each segment. These holes have a conical profile and asurface diameter of around 0.4 millimeters, and are drilled atdifferent angles. “Such drilling can only be done with a laser,”says Process Engineer Uwe Schulze.

The idea of developing a new air seal coating was originallyput forward jointly by MTU and a customer in Saudi Arabia.Hardly surprising, given that aircraft engines operated indesert regions are exposed to extreme thermal loads, espe-cially during take-off and landing. Not to mention the particlesof sand ingested into the engine, which have the same abra-sive effect as sandpaper. “These airlines fly under the toughestconditions in the world,” notes Matthias Wagner, Chief Engi-neer at MTU Maintenance Hannover. “Whereas a customer inthe north of Europe can expect a time on wing of 15,000 ormore flight hours, the maximum limit in the desert is 6,000hours.” It is here that MTU’s reconditioned air seals have

For additional information, contactDr. Frank Seidel+49 511 7806-4212

For comparison: Outer air seal segment of a high-pressure turbine with MTUPlus coating and the same part showing an advanced state of wear and tear.

MTUPlus vacuum plasma spraying of high-pressure turbine outer air seals. Over 25,000 V2500 air seals have been repaired in Hannover to date.

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proved their remarkable resistance. To date, the maintenanceshop in Hannover has repaired over 25,000 air seals for theV2500. And the seal segments have also proved their worthin “rainbow” engines operated by different airlines, includingUS Airways: “After flight operations, they were in significantlybetter condition than air seals with a single-layer coating,” saysWagner.

Last year, MTU obtained FAA approval to use the repair pro-cedure also on the PW2000. This engine’s air seals are not ofthe same design as those of the V2500. They have internalcooling ducts instead of drilled cooling holes, and the seal ismade up of 40 segments, rather than 38. But the biggest dif-ference of all lies in the material, as Schulze explains: “Thesingle-crystal superalloy used here is one of the mostadvanced materials in existence today. It took a lot of hardwork to develop a suitable repair technique and obtain thenecessary regulatory approval.” But the efforts have paid off:To date, more than 1,000 PW2000 air seals have been over-hauled, and this number is expected to increase significantlyin future—because two coats are more durable than one.

MTUOEM

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Products + Services

Successful GE38PT stress test at

MTU facility

General Electric (GE) Aviation Division and MTU Aero Engines are verypleased that the GE38 has successfully completed the power turbinestress test at the MTU test facility in Munich. This test has special signif-icance, because it is the first time that a German company has tested aU.S. military engine on the manufacturer’s behalf. The GE38 is destinedto power the U.S. Marine Corps’ CH-53K heavy lift helicopters. It is alsosuitable for the future European transport aircraft, other heavy-lift turbo-shaft applications as well as for marine and turboprop applications. MTUowns an 18-percent stake in the engine program and is responsible forthe development and production of the power turbine.

By Bernd Bundschu

he successful completion of the power turbine stress test isan important event both for MTU and the GE38: “The suc-cessful completion of this test satisfies a significant mile-

stone in the engine’s certification program,” points out Dr. RobertBader, GE38 Chief Engineer at MTU. The GE38 is the first-evermilitary program that MTU has participated with GE (Lynn, MA)involving the design, development and production of a significantportion of the engine. So it is all the more remarkable that theMunich company was entrusted with this critical test. “Apparently,GE has built-up a lot of confidence in MTU’s overall abilities,” com-ments Bader.

The power turbine stress test began on July 12 and ended onAugust 3. During this period, the engine completed five test runs,each lasting between four and five hours. “Engine data wasrecorded at no fewer than 100 rotating measuring points andtransmitted to the test bed via a wireless transmission link,”explains Wolfgang Duling, responsible for military engine testingat MTU. “The purpose of the tests was to demonstrate that themechanical strength and the vibration behavior of the turbinecomponents and blades correspond to our predictions—whenunder load.” Duling also said that “another purpose of the testwas to measure the temperature of the components which wasalso successfully completed and is now under review.”

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nance, final assembly, and testing of the GE38 models for apossible European heavy-lift transport helicopter. In any case,even as a pilot project, the GE38 could potentially open thedoor to further cooperation between Germany’s leading aeroengine manufacturer and the giant U.S. group in the militaryaviation sector. GE Program Director Acquaviva said: “We’revery happy to have MTU working alongside of us. They areexcellent partners, very professional, and their collaborationis outstanding.” MTU Program Director Becker adds: “We wantto intensify our cooperation with GE in all areas of activity.The GE38 program underpins this strategic objective.”

Numerous GE Aviation representatives were present inMunich on the first day of the test, including GE38 ProgramDirector Paul Acquaviva, who complimented MTU on the effi-cient way the tests were being conducted and noted that theresults far exceeded GE’s expectations. MTU’s GE38 ProgramDirector Rainer Becker was equally enthusiastic: “Everythingwent according to plan. We met all our test objectives anddelivered high-quality data.

Preparations for the power turbine stress test in MTU’s testcell took approximately twelve months and involved theefforts of numerous specialists in a wide range of disciplinesincluding data recording, test bed design, assembly tech-niques, and analysis. The test engine arrived from GE in mid-March of this year. MTU installed the engine in the test bedand was ready for testing within two weeks from the arrivaldate. MTU thanks for the hands-on support of the GE engi-neers. “Their knowledge and experience were invaluable dur-ing both the setup phase and the actual tests,” says ChiefEngineer Bader.

MTU’s test cell, which also ran the GE38 water ingestion andice ingestion tests, is currently being reconfigured. Thesetests will be followed by hailstone ingestion and bird striketests at the end of the year, before the engine is sent back toGE. Another test engine will be used for the planned sandingestion tests that are set to conclude the test program in

A CH-53K helicopter was fitted with a GE38 engine for thevery first time in June 2012 at the Sikorsky facility in WestPalm Beach, Florida. The helicopter is the first of seven proto-types that will be used for ground testing. The official rolloutof the first aircraft, the Ground Test Vehicle, is planned for

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the final quarter of 2012. Joe Bussichella, GE’s GE38 ChiefEngineer, is delighted with the progress: “The tests are run-ning entirely to schedule.” Planning for the final tests is welladvanced; the bird strike tests alone require around sixmonths of preparation. “The special equipment required forthese ingestion tests—from the measurement sensors to theguns—was developed by MTU and being utilized for the GE38tests,” adds MTU’s Program Director Becker.

The U.S. Department of Defense plans to order over 700GE38 engines for the U.S. Marine Corps. Both GE and MTUare hoping to find other customers. Bussichella said: “In addi-tion to the CH-53K helicopter, we can envision many otherapplications for the GE38 in aircraft requiring GE38’s powerlevel.” MTU has already obtained licenses for the mainte-

CH-53K Status this fall. Two of the aircraft will be used for structural integrityand fatigue testing. Flight testing will be carried out usingthe remaining four aircraft—referred to as the EngineeringDemonstration Models—from September 2013 onwards. GEhas been asked to supply a total of 20 flight test engines(FTEs) to Sikorsky—three per helicopter plus one spare engineeach. Six FTEs have been delivered so far, with the rest tofollow between now and mid-2013.

A visitor to MTU in Munich: the GE38 test engine.

Big effort: It took nearly a year to prepare the engine for the power turbine stress tests.

For additional information, contact Rainer Becker+49 89 1489-6986

“© S

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Global

High-techoasis in

the desertThere is excitement in the air at King KhalidInternational Airport (KKIA) in Riyadh, where MiddleEast Propulsion Company (MEPC), the region’sspecialist maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO)provider for military aircraft engines in the Gulfregion, has set up a new facility at KKIA industrialpark. The ultramodern hangars offer ample spacefor providing support for all types of engine oper-ated by the Saudi armed forces. MTU Aero Enginesowns a share in the company and is doing every-thing it can to lend a helping hand.

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By Silke Hansen

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he new building complex, covering a sur-face area of 18,000 square meters, wasofficially inaugurated in June 2012. The

event was celebrated in the presence of repre-sentatives of the five MEPC shareholders fromGermany, the United States and Saudi Arabia,various high-ranking government officials andsenior military officers. “With this new mainte-nance facility, MEPC will be able to pursue itsplans to become the national MRO provider forthe Saudi armed forces, create new highlyskilled jobs, and build up its technologicalknow-how,” says Karl-Josef Bader, MTU’s VicePresident Business Development Defense Pro-grams.

What future do you envisage for MEPC?“MEPC is one of the largest providers of military engine maintenance,repair and overhaul services in the Middle East and one of the leadingemployers of highly qualified engineers and technicians in SaudiArabia. We want to evolve into a world-class MRO facility for militaryengines and establish a local center of excellence for advanced tech-nologies and technical know-how that will enable us to serve ourcustomers even more efficiently. This includes offering more servicesin the field of engine component repairs and testing. In the long term,we also want to penetrate the market for commercial maintenance.”

Global

MEPC started out in the maintenance busi-ness with the Pratt & Whitney F100-220engine for the Boeing F-15, which togetherwith the Tornado form the backbone of thefleet operated by the Royal Saudi Air Force(RSAF). After MTU’s acquisition of a 19-per-cent share in 2009, the company was able tobroaden its capabilities thanks to Pratt &Whitney’s and MTU’s generous support.Today, barely three years later, its productportfolio has been expanded to include mod-ules of the RB199 that equips the Saudi fleetof 84 Tornados, the T56 that powers the fleetof C-130 Hercules transport aircraft, and thePT6A used in the RSAF’s Pilatus PC-9 andPC-21 training aircraft. The newly added PT6and T56 programs are currently awaitingapproval, expected sometime later this year.MEPC will then be in a position to offer fulloverhaul services for the two turboprops. Tosupport this activity, the company is con-structing one of the region’s most up-to-datetest cells for turboshaft engines delivering upto 5,000 shaft horsepower. The test cell,which was designed by a team of MTU andPratt & Whitney specialists, is due to go intooperation around the end of 2013.

The cooperation between the Saudi Arabian,American and German partners could not bebetter: MEPC is creating highly skilled jobsand developing into a center of high-techexpertise in the bustling capital of the desertkingdom. Michael Schreyögg, MTU SeniorVice President, Defense Programs, is opti-mistic about the company’s future: “MEPChas a highly motivated, excellently trained

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workforce and a management team thatknows how to deliver results. These are thebest prerequisites for becoming the leadingmilitary maintenance provider in the MiddleEast and making our shared vision a reality.”In clear and specific terms, the company aimsto quadruple its revenues over the next tenyears. At present, with a workforce of 105 em-ployees, MEPC generates annual revenues of50 million U.S. dollars.

Through its stake in MEPC, MTU gains accessto an attractive, growing sales market for itstechnologies. And the customer benefits too.Bader: “Through its local direct investment,MTU has closer contact to the market andcan tailor its services to the customer’s needsand specific requirements.” A strategy thatpays, as the Saudi Minister of Economy and

An expanding business

Abdulahad S. Al-Turkistani, CEO

How important is the new building?“The new company headquarters and maintenance shop give us suf-ficient space and top-quality equipment to spur our future growth formany years to come. At present, our facilities occupy 18,000 squaremeters of a site that comprises a total area of some 136,000 squaremeters, so we have plenty of room for expansion.”

As your business grows, do you also intend to increase the workforce?“Sure. The number of permanent employees will grow in line with theneeds of our growing portfolio. We start recruiting long before a newproject is officially launched, to allow us sufficient time to train thenew employees and make the necessary preparations.”

Are you modifying your training and development program to preparefor the new challenges?“The majority of new recruits are university graduates or qualifiedtechnicians. They learn their product-specific knowledge on the job,with us or one of our OEM partners. But it is true that in future wewill maintain a strong focus on the training of our employees. They willhave to deal with new technologies and a wider range of products,which means we will need to build up a workforce qualified to workon diverse products to run our operations efficiently. MTU has pro-vided us with valuable support in this respect, and we hope that wecan continue to rely on MTU’s and other partners’ expertise in thefield of advanced repair techniques.”

We asked CEO Abdulahad S. Al-Turkistani to elucidate his plans for the future of the Middle EastPropulsion Company (MEPC).

MEPC’s new base is located near King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. At the inauguration ceremony: Dr. Muhammad Bin Sulaiman Al-Jasser (left) and Prince Khalid binSultan bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud (middle).

High-tech shop: MEPC is offering highly skilled jobs.

For additional information, contactKarl-Josef Bader+49 89 1489-3220

For interesting multimedia services associated with this article, go towww.mtu.de/report

Planning, Dr. Muhammad Bin Sulaiman Al-Jasser, confirms: “MEPC is an important ele-ment in our offset program for the defenseindustry, and is making remarkable progresswith its plans to expand capacity and acquirenew expertise.”

Indeed, the company has ambitious goals:“We want to add even more programs to ourportfolio,” says Bader. These plans includeobtaining a maintenance contract for theRSAF’s EJ200 fighter jet engines. Saudi Arabiahas ordered 72 Eurofighter Typhoons, 24 ofwhich have already been delivered, andprospects are good for a follow-on tranche oforders. MTU contributes the low-pressure andhigh-pressure compressors and the digitalengine control unit (FADEC) to the EJ200 pro-gram. Other targeted engines include theGeneral Electric T700 for the UH-60 BlackHawk and AH-64 Apache helicopters operat-ed by the RSAF, and the AGT1500 tank enginebuilt by Honeywell. The scope of work on theRB199 keeps increasing too. Until now, MEPCcarried out maintenance on two MTU mod-ules, the high-pressure compressor and theintermediate-pressure turbine rotor. Now theintermediate casing has been added to theportfolio. Schreyögg: “We will continue to sup-port MEPC with our technologies and know-how. Our ultimate aim is to obtain contractsfor every single aero engine flown from basesin Saudi Arabia.”

Global

Growing business withaccessories

Two-and-a-half years ago, the Sea Island Remote Terminal at Vancouver International Airport wasbustling with activity, as thousands of visitors passed through the building on their way to sport-ing venues in and around the city for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Nowadays things look very differ-ent. MTU Maintenance has moved into the building and converted it into a repair shop for engineaccessories, equipped with the latest in modern machinery.

By Dr. Nina McDonagh

MTU Maintenance Canada in Vancouverhas formed part of the MTU Mainte-nance network since 1998, and was the

first overseas location to be established by Ger-many’s leading engine manufacturer. The MTUsubsidiary specializes in the maintenance ofCF6-50 and CFM56-3 engines and is the group’scenter of excellence for accessory repairs. Thecompany’s business is growing rapidly: “In thepast five years, we have achieved growth rates of25 percent per annum,” reports ManagingDirector Ralf Schmidt. “The work we do on ac-cessories meanwhile accounts for some 20 per-cent of our total revenues.” The company intendsto expand this area of activity even further. “Wehave set ourselves the goal of continuing to sig-nificantly grow our business over the next fiveyears,” adds Schmidt.

The start of operations in the new building, whichwill increase the company’s capacity to meet thegrowing demand for accessory repairs, repre-sents the first step on the road to accomplishingthis ambitious plan. Covering a surface area of35,000 square feet, the new Accessory RepairCentre, or A.R.C. for short, is more than threetimes as spacious as the old repair facility and isequipped with the latest in modern machinery.Repairs will be carried out here mainly on fuelcomponents, actuators and harnesses. “We re-cently put a new test cell for fuel control systemsinto operation,” relates Helmut Neuper, Director,Accessory Repair Centre. “It’s a great addition tothe existing equipment, because now we can testa much wider range of complex components ofcritical importance to flight safety, includingmain engine controls (MECs), hydro-mechanical

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Global

units (HMUs) and fuel metering units (FMUs). This in turnenables us to process a significantly higher number of parts.”

Given that the former check-in building is conveniently locatedclose to MTU Maintenance Canada’s headquarters inVancouver, and remained unused after the Olympic Games,MTU soon recognized its potential as a means of expandingcapacity without having to invest huge sums of money in awhole new construction project. The company took advan-tage of this unique opportunity and signed a ten-year leasingcontract with the Vancouver Airport Authority. Schmidt com-ments: “This is not a temporary solution. We are confidentthat orders will continue to increase and that we will certainlybe renewing the contract when the initial term expires.”

For MTU Maintenance, the expansion of its core business toinclude accessory repairs is a logical decision, not only in thelight of increasing demand. In the more than 30 years sinceMTU entered the maintenance business, the company hasbuilt up an unrivaled store of expertise in the maintenance,repair and overhaul of large and medium-sized commercialaircraft engines. Moreover, the parent company, MTU Aero

The new Accessory Repair Centre also carries out repairs on electrical harnesses.

Formerly used to welcome visitors, the building is now a high-tech repair shop.

The test cell for fuel control systems is brand new.

Engines, has been responsible for supporting all enginesoperated by the German armed forces ever since the companywas founded, this being work that also involves accessoryrepairs.

The advantage of concentrating the group’s accessory repairactivities in Vancouver is that the site is equipped with thelatest technologies and brand-new machinery to perform allrepair procedures and support functions, such as cleaning,incoming and outgoing goods inspection, and a spare partsstore all under one roof. This allows the company to offercustomers increased accessory repair capabilities and a widerproduct portfolio. Today, MTU Maintenance Canada is in abetter position to respond to all customer requirements andcapable of providing flexible, tailored solutions to the highquality standards customers expect. Karen Barwegen, LRURepair Manager at GE Aviation Materials, is just one of manyenthusiastic customers: “Your shop in Vancouver is amaz-ingly efficient and extremely well organized. I have confidencein sending my harnesses and line replaceable units to you—the results exceed our expectations every time.”

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Dan Watson, Chief Commercial Officer at MTU MaintenanceCanada, is optimistic about the future: “Our business withthe CF6-50 engine, which powers such aircraft as the U.S. AirForce’s KC-10 refueling tanker and transport aircraft, is run-ning very well. And we are working hard to develop morebusiness for our second program, the CFM56-3.” A majorcontract signed with Southwest Airlines has already helpedto ensure that the shop is operating at full capacity, and isexpected to have a positive effect on the accessories busi-ness as of 2013. Watson adds: “One of the major trends intoday’s aviation industry is supply chain consolidation. Thiswill contribute to further growing our business with the main-tenance of line replaceable units (LRUs).”

And that’s not all. More and more customers are demandingone-stop solutions—packages that bundle together a full,scheduled engine maintenance service and unscheduled ac-cessory repairs. “We are now in a position to meet all of ourcustomers’ requirements—from essential engine repairs tothe repair of individual components,” says Watson, under-standably pleased by the developments, adding: “This willhave a positive impact on the Accessory Repair Centre, andmoreover create a competitive advantage for our core busi-ness, engine MRO.”

For additional information, contactHelmut Neuper+001 778 296-3818

For interesting multimedia services associated with this article, go towww.mtu.de/report

Report

Test passed successfully

“I’m glad that, if things get serious, these lads are on my side,” explained Colonel Andreas Pfeifferof the German Air Force, just after he had been downed several times—in simulation—as a pas-senger aboard an F-16. “These lads” are the pilots of Fighter Wing 74, of which Colonel Pfeiffer iscommander. Ten airmen and eight Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from FW 74, based in the Bavariantown of Neuburg on the Danube, took part last May and June in the Red Flag-Alaska aerial combatoperations exercise.

By Achim Figgen

his was the first time the Luftwaffe had opted totest the capabilities of its most advanced fighterunder realistic conditions and in cooperation with

the jets and pilots of international partners as part of RedFlag-Alaska. In the process, the Luftwaffe’s state-of-the-art combat aircraft demonstrated its characteristics inimpressive style and proved absolutely geared up to facethe challenges of modern aerial warfare.

Since 1975, these exercises have allowed air crews fromthe U.S. Air Force and other U.S. services, as well asthose of allied nations, to improve their skills in aerialwarfare in order to fully prepare themselves for futureoperations. The exercises are held several times a yeareither at the Ellis Air Force Base in Nevada or at theEielson Air Force Base in Alaska. There, coalition forces(the Blue Force) fly air-to-air and air-to-ground attack mis-

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sions against the Red Force, which was provided by the18th Aggressor Squadron, home-based at Eielson, whichalongside a wide variety of air defense systems, also flewF-16Cs.

A good 173,000 square kilometers of air space in theJoint Pacific Range Complex is available for Red Flag-Alaska (called Cope Thunder until 2005 and held at theClark Air Base in the Philippines until 1991). Given the areais equal to about half the size of Germany, it is a dreamcome true for the German pilots, since they are facedwith all sorts of restrictions in their home skies. A warm-up phase (called Distant Frontier) was held from May 21to June 6 as a precursor to the actual Red Flag-Alaskaexercise, during which the airmen of FW 74 and otherguest units could get accustomed to the conditions inAlaska.

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For additional information, contactKlaus Günther+49 89 1489-3308

Together with Polish F-16 aircraft that were taking part forthe very first time in an exercise of this kind, initial small-scale simulated sorties were flown against the “enemy” jetsof the Aggressor Squadron. This gave the German pilots theirfirst encounter with the F-22 Raptor, currently the U.S. AirForce’s most advanced fighter. In one-on-one combat theEuropean jets showed what they were made of, as ColonelPfeiffer sums up: “Without doubt the F-22 has some uniqueand formidable qualities. But in close combat, we need notnecessarily fear the Raptor in all aspects.”

Following directly on from Distant Frontier, the participantsgot down to business with the actual Red Flag-Alaska exer-cise—the second of three planned for this year—in the periodfrom June 7 to 22. Nearly 100 aircraft were involved, withGermany providing not just the eight Eurofighter Typhoonjets but also an Airbus A310 MRTT (Multi Role TankerTransport) that was deployed at the neighboring Joint BaseElmendorf-Richardson and responsible for air-to-air refuelingduring operations. A second A310 MRTT had previously sup-ported the eight Eurofighter Typhoons as they made their wayfrom Neuburg to Eielson—a trip of some 8,000 kilometersthat they completed in two stages.

In the course of the two-week exercise, the EurofighterTyphoon pilots were confronted with a variety of scenarios,including deployment alongside Japanese F-15s and the F-22Raptors of the U.S. Air Force. Each day two extensive mis-sions, or waves, were staged, and FW 74 was twice respon-sible for the entire planning and execution of a wave. Of atotal of 102 planned sorties, 98 were actually flown; thisunderlines the reliability of the Eurofighter Typhoon—and of

its engines. “No missions failed due to engine problems, andneither were there any significant issues with the engines,”observes Klaus Günther, EJ200/RB199 Program Director atMTU Aero Engines in Munich. He concludes: “The EJ200 hasfully met the expectations of pilots and ground crew.”

Participants on site were equally positive about the nearlyseven weeks they spent in the northwest of the U.S. “Fighter

Eight Eurofighter jets from Germany’s Fighter Wing 74 took part in the Red Flag-Alaska exercises.

Some 100 fighter jets flew sorties.

Eielson Air Force Base• 8 F-16C/D Block 52s,

6. Eskadra Lotnictwa Taktycznego (Poland)• 12 F-16C+s, 18th AGRS (U.S.)• 10 A-10 Thunderbolt IIs,

25th Fighter Squadron (U.S.)• 12 F-16CMs, 36th Fighter Squadron (U.S.)• 16 F-16CMs, 77th Fighter Squadron (U.S.)• 8 Eurofighter Typhoons,

Fighter Wing 74 (Germany)• 3 F-15Js, 303 Hikotai (Japan)• 3 F-15Js, 306 Hikotai (Japan)• 2 UH-60s, 16th Combat Aviation Brigade (U.S.)• 6 KC-135Rs, 22nd Air Refueling Wing (U.S.)• 1 HH-60G, 210 Rescue Squadron (U.S.)

Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson• 4 F-22A Raptors, 525th Fighter Squadron (U.S.)• 1 C-130E,

14. Eskadra Lotnictwa Transportowego (Poland)• 3 C-130Hs, 401 Hikotai (Japan)• 2 KC-767s, 404 Hikotai (Japan)• 1 C-17A, 535th Airlift Squadron (U.S.)• 1 C-130H, 537th Airlift Squadron (U.S.)• 1 E-3 AWACS,

962nd Airborne Air Control Squadron (U.S.)• 1 A310 MRTT, Special Air Mission Wing,

Federal Ministry of Defense (Germany)• 1 E-767, Hiko Keikai Kanseita (Japan)• 1 E-3A AWACS, NATO E-3A Component• 1 E-7A, No. 2 Squadron (Australia)• C-130H/Js, No. 37 Squadron (Australia)

Participants in Red Flag-Alaska

Wing 74’s participation in the high-level Red Flag-Alaskatraining exercise was a great success,” said CommanderColonel Pfeiffer. “Taking all factors into account, this is prob-ably the best-quality training you can possibly get in modernair combat.” The timing of this realistic training opportunitycould hardly have been any better, as FW 74 forms part of theNATO Response Force this year.

MTU goes multimedia: Germany’s leading engine manufacturer has made its bro-chures available electronically, as well as in paper form. Brochures can be down-loaded in e-paper format from www.mtu.de or via the MTU Aero Engines MEDIA iPadapp, which features multimedia content such as video and photo galleries and can bedownloaded from the App store for free.

Regular updates will also be posted on Facebook, Xing and YouTube. All it takes is aquick glance at one of the three pages on social networking site Facebook, dedicatedto the company, careers and apprentices, to stay up-to-date with the latest companydevelopments.

South Korean carrier Asiana Airlines has selectedMTU Maintenance Hannover to provide mainte-nance, repair and overhaul services for its CF6-80C2 engines. “By winning the contract fromthis major airline, we’ve added the first carrierfrom South Korea to our MRO customer base,”said Dr. Stefan Weingartner, President, Commer-cial Maintenance at MTU Aero Engines. The agree-ment will run for five years. Asiana, headquar-tered in Seoul, is among the leading airlines inAsia and operates a mixed fleet of 72 Boeing andAirbus aircraft.

MTU enters the South-Korean market

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MTU Maintenance Hannover has won German expresscargo company AeroLogic as a customer for the mainte-nance of its GE90-110B engines. Under the exclusive con-tract, the Langenhagen engine specialists are responsiblefor maintenance services for all of the engines poweringAeroLogic’s fleet of 777Fs, including spare engines. Thecontract is worth more than 200 million U.S. dollars (morethan 160 million euros).

In Brief

Printed byEBERL PRINT GmbHKirchplatz 687509 Immenstadt • Germany

Contributions credited to authors do not neces-sarily reflect the opinion of the editors. We willnot be held responsible for unsolicited material.Reprinting of contributions is subject to the editors’ approval.

Masthead

EditorMTU Aero Engines Holding AGEckhard ZangerSenior Vice President Corporate Communications andPublic Affairs

Managing editorTorunn SieglerTel. +49 89 1489-6626Fax +49 89 1489-4303torunn.siegler@mtu.de

Editor in chiefMartina VollmuthTel. +49 89 1489-5333Fax +49 89 1489-8757martina.vollmuth@mtu.de

AddressMTU Aero Engines Holding AG Dachauer Straße 66580995 Munich • Germanywww.mtu.de

RealizationHeidrun Moll

Editorial staffBernd Bundschu, Denis Dilba, Achim Figgen, Silke Hansen,Daniel Hautmann, Patrick Hoeveler, Dr. Nina McDonagh,Andreas Spaeth, Martina Vollmuth

LayoutManfred Deckert Sollnerstraße 73 81479 Munich • Germany

MTU Aero EnginesLufthansa AG; Virgin AustraliaInternational; MTU Aero EnginesPratt & Whitney; MTU Aero EnginesLufthansa AG; Continental Airlines;Airbus; Whyle; Pratt & Whitney;Bombardier; MTU Aero EnginesCargolux Airlines International S.A.;Boeing; MTU Aero EnginesVirgin Australia International; Air NewZealand; MTU Aero EnginesIAE International Aero Engines AG;Airbus; Lufthansa AGAndreas Spaeth; Thinkstock; AirbusMTU Aero EnginesPeter Winandy; RWTH Aachen Univer-sity, Institute of Jet Propulsion andTurbomachinery (IST); FraunhoferInstitute for Production Technology IPTAirbus; MTU Aero Engines„© Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation2012. All rights reserved.“; MTU AeroEnginesMEPC; MTU Aero EnginesMTU Aero EnginesLuftwaffe JG 74Airbus; AeroLogic; Asiana Airlines;MTU Aero Engines

Photo creditsCover Page:Pages 2–3

Pages 4–5Pages 6–13

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Pages 26–29Pages 30–33Pages 34–39

Pages 40–43Pages 44–47

Pages 48–51Pages 52–55Pages 56–59Pages 60–61

New GE90customer

Sagem (Safran Group) and MTU have set up a joint venture for the develop-ment of safety-critical software and hardware for military and civil aviationapplications. AES Aerospace Embedded Solutions GmbH will employ about200 engineers and will be headquartered in Munich, on MTU’s company prem-ises. Its main products will include control systems for engines such as theTP400-D6 turboprop powering the Airbus A400M military transport, as wellas other safety-critical hardware and software solutions such as controls forlanding gear, braking, monitoring and information systems.

Joint venturewith Sagem

Another milestone reached in Ludwigsfelde: MTU Maintenance Berlin-Bran-denburg has overhauled the 1,000th industrial gas turbine (IGT). The engine—an LM6000—was returned to its operator, Rojana Power Co., Ltd., one ofThailand’s leading power corporations. The company has been sending IGTsto the Ludwigsfelde shop for repair and overhaul since 2004. Last year, theGerman IGT specialists stepped in to lend the customer a helping hand whenseveral of its IGTs had been badly damaged by the devastating flooding thathit Thailand in 2011.

1,000th industrial gasturbine overhauled

This year’s Farnborough International Airshow in July turned out to be verysuccessful for MTU: Germany’s leading engine manufacturer reported ordersworth around 1.3 billion euros. “This marks an all-time high in MTU’s history.In terms of value, it’s the biggest order volume we’ve ever secured at a tradeshow,” said MTU CEO Egon Behle. MTU benefited from orders and mainte-nance agreements for engines in which MTU has a stake. New orders for thegeared turbofan (GTF) engine accounted for the lion’s share of these con-tracts. Orders were placed also for V2500 and GEnx engines.

New multimedia offerings

The A320neo.

The A400M.

A Boeing 747 from Asiana Airlines’ fleet.

A Boeing 777 from AeroLogic’s fleet.An LM6000 industrial gas turbine undergoing inspection.

Record orders at Farnborough Airshow