Engines
Leap-X to power Chinese airliner
The recent selection of CFM International’s LEAP-X1C engine to power the 150- to 190-seat C919 airliner family being developed by Commercial Aircraft of Co

The recent selection of CFM International’s LEAP-X1C engine to power the 150- to 190-seat C919 airliner family being developed by Commercial Aircraft of Corp. of China (Comac) marks the start of one of the most significant aerospace collaborations between China and the West. It is also represents a major boost in credibility for the program and must remove any doubt by Airbus and Boeing that the Chinese do not intend to wait for them to decide about future narrowbody airliner developments beyond the A320 and 737 families.

Comac has opted to take the first available version of the new LEAP-X engine with the aim of certifying it by the end of 2014 and getting the C919 into commercial service in 2016. The -1C will incorporate the LEAP-X technology that CFM can make available in that time frame, with further technology to be developed in later versions of LEAP-X that are expected to be ready for certification around 2016-17.