Aircraft
CFM Steps Up Efforts to Maximize the 737’s Power
CFM International is busy developing the Boeing 737 MAX’s version of its Leap turbofan and is zeroing in on specifications.
CFM is developing a version of its Leap-1B powerplant for Boeing’s 737 MAX.
CFM is developing a version of its Leap-1B powerplant for Boeing’s 737 MAX.

CFM International is busy developing the Boeing 737 MAX’s version of its Leap turbofan and is zeroing in on specifications. Critically, the Leap-1B will have a fan diameter somewhere between the current CFM56-7’s 61 inches and the Leap-1A’s (for the Airbus A320neo) 78 inches.

As Jean-Paul Ebanga, CEO of the Snecma/General Electric joint venture, told AIN, the fan will be scaled down from that of the -1A. As a result, the bypass ratio will be smaller, which is usually not favorable to low specific fuel consumption (SFC, measured at the engine level). But this should be partially offset. “A smaller-diameter engine will cause less drag and will be lighter,” Ebanga said, pointing to the fuel burn benefits that this will bring.

Loading…