Gregory Polek has spent his entire career in aviation journalism with AIN, starting as a proofreader and assistant to then-managing editor Mary Mahoney in 1995 after serving an internship with&nbsp;New Jersey Monthly&nbsp;magazine and completing his B.A. degree in English/Writing at New Jersey’s William Paterson College. By 1997 Polek accepted a position as an associate editor, covering the regional airline beat for&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;in place of retiring industry veteran Don Anderson. The assignment took Polek across North America and Europe to profile regional airlines varying in size and mission from the likes of floatplane operators Kenmore Air and Chalk’s Ocean Airways to regional jet operators such as SkyWest and American Eagle. Today, in his dual role as Air Transport Editor and International Airshow Editor, Polek writes, edits, and manages AIN’s commercial aviation content while overseeing each of the company’s daily international air show publications in Paris, Farnborough, Singapore, and Dubai. Most recently Polek has assumed oversight of daily coverage of the Helicopter Association International’s annual Heli-Expo convention.

Senior Editor

Gregory Polek

Production glitches and durability deficiencies have resulted in CFM International having to address a delivery delay for its Leap turbofan family of four to five weeks, a deficit&nbsp;CFM executive vice president and general manager François Bastin characterized as certainly surmountable by the end of the year as the company triples its weekly Leap output from 2017's rate. Speaking during a Thursday briefing to lay groundwork for CFM’s activities at the Singapore Airshow, Bastin noted that CFM’s production rate has reached more than 20 per week and that the company plans to build between 1,100 and 1,200 Leaps by the end of the year. It delivered 459 last year.

 


“It’s not a walk in the park, of course; it was never meant to be,” he said. “So we have some disruptions and we are working to address them. We are a handful of weeks behind demand, which is always too much. Anything but zero is too much. At the same time it is that much and only that much. If you look at the grand scheme of things...it’s a tremendous ramp-up that had been set years ago. So we are keeping pace I would say.”

 


CFM executive vice president and GE Aviation’s CFM program general manager Allen Paxson reported that the Leap-1A and Leap 1-B together have registered a 96-percent utilization rate despite the need to retrofit starter air valves and pull and inspect some 70 turbine disks in Airbus A320neos’ Leap-1As. Paxson said that CFM has completed the valve retrofits and more than half of the turbine disk inspections, which he said the company would finish in about three months. Finally, Paxson reported no fleet disruptions caused by an exhaust-gas temperature (EGT) margin degradation associated with peeling of ceramic matrix composite coatings on the shrouds of Leap-1As and the Boeing 737 Max jets’ Leap-1Bs.

 


“We’re still showing 96 percent or better utilization rates with this new product, which is outstanding,” he stressed. “There’s a lot of work going on behind the scenes to make sure that happens.

 


“We have capability for increased EGT margin in both the Leap-1A and -B engines, so we’re in process of taking advantage of that and releasing more capability in the engines to mitigate any EGT loss,” added Paxson. “At the same time obviously we’re improving the shrouds themselves, to provide coatings that have less EGT deterioration impact going forward.”

 


Paxson praised the company’s support team for its response to all the operators’ early problems, including those in North America that encountered frozen sensor lines resulting from lengthy cold soakings. “Again, our team got after that and within days had that managed, not only for those customers in North America but for the entire world, and put that issue, in terms of a disruption, behind us,” he said.

 


CFM’s support organization now employs more than 250 field service engineers and operates 10 overhaul shops, eight component repair shops, 15 on-site support locations, five customer training facilities, and four material distribution centers.

News and developments about aircraft engines, including turbofan, turboprop, turboshaft and piston.

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News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

News about environmental issues relating to aircraft operations, including noise issues, emissisions, and regulations. See Fuel for biofuel.

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

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News and issues about aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), covering all segments of the aviation industry; and modifications for aircraft and engines. Subjects include product support of aircraft, engines and avionics, MRO company mergers, acquisitions, announcements and personnel, Airworthiness Directives, Supplemental Type Certificate approvals and other topics.

News and information on safety procedures and concerns.

News and issues concerning general aviation, specifically airplanes and helicopters powered by piston and alternative engines (i.e., non-turbine powered aircraft). Subjects include aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

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