CINCINNATI, Ohio - CF6-80C2 engines powered the newly modernized Lockheed Martin C-5M Super Galaxy on its initial flight at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia, on June 19, launching an 18-month flight-test program that is expected to deliver enhanced airlift capability to the United States Air Force (USAF) in 2010.
"We are proud to support Lockheed Martin in its effort to preserve the United States Air Force's global reach through 2040," said Al DiLibero, manager of GE Turbofan/Turbojet programs. Plans call for more than 450 CF6-80C2 propulsion systems for 111 aircraft.
The CF6-80C2 will provide the C-5M with higher fuel savings and aircraft availability, plus lower operating and maintenance costs. Other features include a new Full Authority Digital Electronic Control (FADEC) III system for better fuel consumption and improved diagnostics, plus a thrust reverser that can be deployed in flight for rapid descent.
These improvements, coupled with benefits recognized during more than 120 million hours of commercial service, will deliver a 22 percent increase in thrust, a 30 percent shorter takeoff roll, 58 percent faster climb rate and will allow significantly more cargo to be carried over longer distances.
Initial engines were delivered to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company for flight-testing on the four-engine C-5 Galaxy aircraft in 2004, following a Federal Aviation Administration certification that validated engine-aircraft integration and the new FADEC III control system. Lockheed Martin awarded GE a contract to provide CF6-80C2 propulsion systems for the System Design and Development phase in 2002.
The CF6 will replace GE's TF39 engine, which logged more than two million flight-hours and provided strategic lift in every military engagement for more than 40 years.
GE's CF6-80C2 turbofan, the best-selling commercial engine in its thrust class, is assuming an increasingly prominent role in military aviation. Multimillion-dollar orders have already been placed for CF6-80C2 engines for a wide variety of military applications, including: the USAF's new Boeing airborne laser (ABL) aircraft--the YAL-1A Attack Laser; the Japan Defense Agency's C-X military cargo aircraft; and the Italian Air Force's Boeing KC-767 tanker transport aircraft.
GE - Aviation, a part of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), is one of the world's leading manufacturers of jet engines for civil and military aircraft.