Page 22 - AAA NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2013 Online Magazine

FEATURE ENGINE DESIGN

Power Up: It’s propulsion,

Jim, but not as we knew it

Power plants for commercial aircraft have seen massive changes over the past
couple of decades. Faster, leaner, bigger and lighter, they have ushered in a whole
new breed of commercially viable aircraft. Both long and short-haul operators now
rely on engines that bring cost efficiency undreamed of in the early days of jet flight.
But what is next? Jeremy Torr checks the toolbox.

ACCORDING TO ENGINE MAkER Rolls- “We [have to] continuously evolve our
Royce, the cost of fuel is likely to continue products and services. Customers demand
to be the single biggest cost driver of the technical and business solutions that bring
aviation industry. “Since the 1980s, the reliable and cost effective products and
price of aviation fuel has increased by a services to their operations,” he says. For
factor of 10,” says Ian Doherty, Stategic example just weeks after receiving our third
Marketing Manager – Roll’s Royce Future improvement for the Airbus performance
Programmes. “When the Rolls-Royce handbook, we announced a new suite of
RB211 engine entered service in 1972, a performance and durability enhancements
gallon of kerosene cost around 30cents. being developed to make the engine even
Today, we live in a world where a single better.” Things move that quickly.
gallon of aviation fuel costs US$3 and fuel Indeed, the pressing demands of
accounts for 50% of a long-haul flight’s operators to keep the aircraft in the air
operating costs.” and running efficiently are probably the
So engine efficiency – and the designs biggest impetus to the designers currently
that produce that efficiency – is as crucial working on new designs. This means that
to making a profit for the operators as the days of the aircraft being in the hangar
the cost of buying or leasing the aircraft for maintenance almost as much time as
in the first place. As Sam Descoteaux, it was in the air are well and truly gone.
VP, Marketing & Sales at Engine Alliance Apart from attractive “pay per flight hour”
Sam Descoteaux, Engine Alliance notes, “innovation is critical.” deals being offered by makers, the accent
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