Snecma launched the Silvercrest core-engine demonstrator program in 2006, built the engine in 2007 and successfully completed testing of it in March 2008. Now the company is continuing its talks with airframers to find a first application for the 9,500- to 12,000-pound-thrust engine. “The Silvercrest is being considered for many programs,” said Laurence Finet, general manager of the Silvercrest program.
The French engine builder (Booth No. 1143) targeted the Silvercrest at large-cabin and long-range business jets, as well as 40- to 60-seat regional jets. Although the Silvercrest engine was considered but not selected, by Cessna for the now-suspended Columbus 850, Snecma believes the engine is well-placed for business jets entering service starting in 2013. “The Columbus required a thrust of only about 8,800 pounds, so the Silvercrest was not a good fit for it,” Finet explained. (Cessna selected the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW810 for the Columbus.) However, she said, the current economic situation has caused airframers to focus more on the question of “How can we sell more of our present airplanes?” than “What should we build next?”
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