Evendale, OH - GE Aircraft Engines (GEAE) has received the U.S. Army's 2003 Aviation Materiel Readiness Award for a Contribution by a Major Contractor. The award was presented at last week's 2004 Army Aviation Association of America Annual Product Support Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama.
In the nomination, the U.S. Army cited GE's decision to produce spare parts for its T700 helicopter engines in advance of Army requirements. This action enabled GEAE to quickly respond to the Army's significant increase in spare part orders to support its global operations. Over the last 12 months, GE has shipped in a timely manner more than 2.2 million parts in support of the U.S. Army's efforts.
"By working closely with the U.S. Army, we were able to accurately forecast the future requirements for manufactured components before they were ordered," says Russ Sparks, vice president and general manager of GEAE's Military Engine Operation. "This allowed us to meet all of the T700 requirements for new engines and spare parts without a single work stoppage."
The U.S. Army also recognized GE's extensive support of the T700 engine. Through a Depot Teaming Agreement, GE assisted the Corpus Christi Army Depot (CCAD) in developing and applying best practices to its repair operation. CCAD improved the T700’s overhaul turnaround time by 40 percent and improved production by 95 percent over a three-year period. The shaft horsepower and specific fuel consumption margins of the overhauled engines have also greatly improved.
GE Engine Services (GEES) Strother, Kansas, facility was a key contributor to the success. "GEES Strother personnel worked openly with CCAD people, sharing commercial best practices that led to improvements at the Army depot," says Ed Birtwell, general manager of GE Aircraft Engines' Turboshaft Engines Project.
The T700/CT7 engine family is the most widely used in its class and powers more than 25 types of rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft. With an installed base exceeding 12,000 engines and more than 50 million flight-hours experience, the T700 has earned a reputation for combat ruggedness and reliability, which was most recently demonstrated during the Iraqi Freedom campaign.
GEAE, a division of GE Transportation of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), is one of the world's leading manufacturers of jet engines for civil and military aircraft, including engines produced by CFM International, a 50/50 joint company of Snecma Moteurs and GE. GEAE also manufactures gas turbines, derived from its highly successful jet engine programs, for marine and industrial applications. In addition, GEAE provides comprehensive maintenance support, through its GE Engine Services operation, for GE and non-GE jet engines in service throughout the world.