Innovation for Generations
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Innovation for Generations
MTU Aero Engines stands for innovation. MTU designs, develops, manufactures,
markets and supports engines for commercial and military aircraft. The company is Germany’s leading engine manufacturer, boasting a comprehensive product portfolio that also includes industrial gas turbines. Having carved out a leadership role in engine technologies, MTU produces low-pressure turbines and high-pressure compressors that are among the best on the market.
MTU Aero Engines fly generations.
The roots of MTU’s rich history can be traced back to the dawn of powered flight nearly one century ago. The companies that would later form MTU were pioneers, playing leading roles in the early days of aviation. Today, almost every third com-mercial aircraft has MTU technologies onboard. Because of their durability and reliability, MTU’s products remain in service for as long as 40 years: An aircraft engine can accompany people on their travels for a lifetime. As the world’s largest independent provider of commercial engine maintenance services, MTU helps ensure long on-wing times.
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From zero to 100,000: From development to recycling, an aircraft engine completes about 100,000 flight hours; this corresponds to about 40 years or an entire human generation. It is quite possible, therefore, that a traveller repeatedly comes across the same engine in the course of his life.
0 Flight Hours
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When an engine takes off for the first time on the wing of an airliner, it has already been subjected to everything it might encounter in the air – extreme heat and cold, monsoonlike rain, freezing rain, pounding hail and bird strikes. Aircraft engines are put to the acid test early on in the development phase. To prove their airworthiness they must be able to withstand every conceivable stress.
The development of new engine types is generally triggered by the aircraft manufacturers. They design and develop new aircraft and then need new engines to power them. Engine manufacturers often form consortia or joint ventures to address a new project. They split development costs and activities among them and share the program risks and future revenues. MTU cooperates closely with the world’s leading engine manufacturers, contributing innovative technologies and manufacturing processes.
Once the individual components are manufactured, the engine is assembled and put to the test. After the engine has successfully passed all stress tests it obtains type certification; approval authorities are the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). This clears the way: Now that the new engine is deemed airworthy, production can begin. The engine’s hour meter is set to zero – about 100,000 flight hours now lie ahead of it.
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15,000 Flight Hours
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By the time an engine reaches 15,000 hours, it has covered a distance equivalent to the Frankfurt-Sydney-Frankfurt route about 250 times. In the life of a modern aircraft engine, that is not much. Routine maintenance work is enough to keep the engine in good shape; as a rule, it is not yet necessary to
overhaul the engine. Before every take-off, the co-pilot inspects the aircraft and engine – among other things, checking for bent fan blades and oil leaks.
The airlines’ technicians also check the engine regularly. They use boroscopes to look into its interior, diagnose hairline cracks or damage, and initiate minor repairs. Due to the high safety standards in aviation, the life of an aircraft and its engines is documented in minute detail: Every technical characteristic and even the smallest anomaly are reported to the flight control center, and the data is recorded there.
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25,000 Flight Hours
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An engine usually requires its first overhaul after five to seven years in service, or after 20,000 to 25,000 flight hours. The overhaul may become necessary for safety concerns identified, such as a defect, but often also for economic considerations: An increase in fuel consumption may be attributable to worn blades. An overhaul will bring the amount of fuel burnt to the original level.
The engine in need of repair or overhaul is removed from the wing and hauled to one of MTU’s maintenance facilities for a shop visit. To assure uninterrupted revenue service, airlines can be provided with MTU lease or spare engines. Upon arrival at the shop, the engine is stripped into its more than 50,000 detail parts. Each part is cleaned to remove contamination and corrosion, and is then inspected for damage. Depending on the result of inspection, parts may be reinstalled, repaired or replaced. The cost of repairs is often substantially lower than the price of a new part. Some parts can be repaired up to three or four times. At the end of the shop visit, the engine is tested on the test stand. If the engine passes the acceptance run, it is returned for reinstallation. After each overhaul, the technicians reset the engine’s hour meter to zero, since the overhauled engine parts are now as good as new, their remaining life being up to 100% the life of a brand-new part.
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50,000 Flight Hours
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50,000 flight hours: at this point an engine has reached middle age and usually has two or three overhauls behind it. Parts that have been subjected to extremely high temperatures must be replaced – such as parts of the turbines and combustion chambers. The way how an aircraft is operated has a direct effect on the engine. Engines for longhaul aircraft such as the Boeing 747 require fewer repairs than those for short-haul aircraft.
The reason: different stress levels caused by frequent or less frequent take-offs and landings. Aircraft engines that are flown a great deal over water – such as on the Amsterdam-New York route – also require more frequent repair, since salty sea air ingested accelerates corrosion. The pilots’ flying style also has a direct effect: Airlines who urge their pilots to fly smoothly have to spend less money on maintenance and replacement parts.
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100,000 Flight Hours
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An aircraft engine approaches retirement at about 100,000 flight hours. At that point the repair costs usually begin to outweigh the procurement costs for a new engine. Most engines are taken out of service, disassembled, and disposed of. Since modern engines are made of highly valuable materials, such as nickel, tungsten, or titanium, they are recycled almost 100%. These materials are
characterized by low weight, high reliability, heat resistance, and durability. That makes them the materials of choice for aviation. The parts are melted down to make new, more modern engines that burn less fuel and are quieter – engines made by MTU.
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