Lightweight champ goesinto production

Winter 2006/Spring 2007

■ Technology + Science ■ Customers + Partners ■ Anecdotes

New sound in the skies over Neuburg

Aviator glasses – from eyeprotector to cult object

MTU Aero Engines Holding AGDachauer Straße 66580995 Munich • GermanyTel. +49 89 1489-0Fax +49 89 1489-5500www.mtu.de

Big contract forLudwigsfelde

REPORT 32 REPORT

Dear Readers:

Unlike some other industries, aerospace is along-horizon business reckoning not so muchin terms of days and months but rather yearsand decades. Aircraft and engines remain inservice for decades before they need replac-ing. Success and the fruits of labor are simi-larly slow to mature. That is typical also ofMTU. Yet the last six months have seen anumber of welcome exceptions to the rule.

For one, MTU Maintenance Berlin-Branden-burg at Ludwigsfelde has scored the largestCF34 deal in its history when the respectedU.S. carrier Air Wisconsin awarded it a sole-source contract to repair and overhaul the en-gines of its entire 70-unit fleet of BombardierCRJ200 regional twinjets.

Next, MTU has managed to contract withGeneral Electric for a stake in the F414engine. For us, that is a strategically momen-tous event marking the company’s entry intothe lucrative U.S. defense business. Beyondthat, we are presently examining our optionsto expand our foothold in the U.S. militarymarket.

There is good news for the GP7000 engine topower the A380, too. After several programslips, the Airbus mega-transport has madeits first GP7000-powered flight. For the en-gine and for MTU, that marks a landmarkmilestone on its path to entry into service.

Last but not least, MTU MaintenanceHannover in Langenhagen has delivered thefirst PW6000 production engine. It washanded over in end-August to representa-tives of our long-standing partner Pratt &Whitney.

All of this witnesses that we are now har-vesting the fruits of strategic decisions wemade in the past several years. Those fruitsbenefit not only the group’s Munich head-quarters but equally its affiliates elsewhere.

EditorialCover Story

Technology + Science

MTU Global

Customers + Partners

Products

Reports

Anecdotes

Big contract for Ludwigsfelde 4 - 7

Promising flight control computer

Lightweight champ goes into production

8 - 9

10 - 11

German content 12 - 13

New sound in the skies over Neuburg

Atlas Air – Call sign: Giant

14 - 17

18 - 19

Passing grades

Repair on a rough sea

Jigsaw puzzle of a thousand pieces

Retired engine, a gold mine

20 - 23

24 - 25

26 - 29

30 - 31

Aviator glasses – from eye protector to cult object 32 - 35

News

Masthead

36 - 39

39

Contents

The fascination of flying:How aviation pioneerstriggered new fashiontrends and aviator glassesbecame everyday acces-sories.Page 32

Big contract for Ludwigsfelde

Lightweight champgoes into production

Massive order for MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg: Air Wisconsin has the CF34 engines of its CRJ200 fleetrepaired by MTU. Page 4

Research pays dividends:MTU Aero Engines special-ists develop new lightweightblade material. Page 10

Quantum leap at Fighter Wing 74: Eurofighter replacesPhantom, catapulting the military airfield into the next millennium. Page 14

New sound in the skies over Neuburg

While we are enthused with our recentachievements, we are not content to rest onour laurels. The pressure is on to verify andreverify whether our processes and struc-tures are up-to-date. In aerospace, perhapsmore so than elsewhere, standing still meansfalling behind. That is why we have begun toagain scrutinize the company for weaknessesand potential improvements and have al-ready initiated first actions. That is the onlyway to remain a major-league player andoffer our customers optimum products andservices at reasonable prices. That basictruth has been guiding MTU Aero Enginesfrom day one and will be motivating it also inthe years ahead.

Udo StarkChief Executive Officer

Aviator glasses –from eye protectorto cult object

REPORT 5

Cover Story

4 REPORT

Big contract forLudwigsfelde

When Kevin Gordon, powerplant operations director at Air Wisconsin, received the test run data from the firstCF34 shipped to Ludwigsfelde, he was pleased with the post shop visit performance. Not that Air Wisconsin wouldhave expected otherwise. Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation (AWAC), the largest privately held regional airline in theU.S., has joined the customer list of MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg, awarding the shop the largest CF34 orderin its history. The airline contracted to have the CF34-3B1 engines of its entire 70-unit Bombardier CRJ200 fleetrepaired and overhauled at Ludwigsfelde.

By Silke Dierkes

In end-July, the transatlantic cooperationwas cemented with a ten-year contractworth 240 million euros. Planned are asmany as 300 shop visits, all to be processedwithin MTU’s proverbially short lead timesdespite the overseas shipping they involve.

The debut of an AWAC CF34 in the MTUshop constituted a grand vote of confi-dence: Air Wisconsin has already shipped itsfirst CF34 to Germany for overhaul withoutprior capability test. “I was very impressedwith the workmanship, commitment toexcellence as well as the overall engineeringcapabilities at MTU,” says Gordon. ChristineDeister, executive vice president and CFO,lauds MTU’s firm commitment to superior

service: “The short turnaround times, highlyskilled workforce, great workmanship andthe company’s carefree program packagehave tipped the scales in favor of MTU.”

Carrying six million passengers a year, theairline puts a high priority on reliability andsafety. For Gordon, those are the primerequirements for the engines. “We’re experi-encing very low removal rates on ourengines,” he emphasizes. Air Wisconsin’sengine fleet indeed is one of the most reli-able among CF34 operators. All the morereason for the Ludwigsfelde people to wel-come the new shop visitors. Bernd Kessler,president and CEO commercial mainte-nance at MTU Aero Engines, notes: “This

long-term contract accentuates our stand-ing as one of the leading CF34 maintenance,repair and overhaul (MRO) providers. In AirWisconsin we’ve won a highly successful air-line customer. It has our uncompromisingsupport, and we’ll do whatever we can tokeep it on its successful track.”

Jointly with Air Wisconsin, MTU’s mainte-nance specialists meticulously crafted a tai-lor-made maintenance concept. “It’s aunique mix of various modules that helps usminimize exposure to unscheduled repairsand stabilize prices without sacrificing flexi-bility,” explains Kurt Jensen, MTU’s U.S.sales director for the CF34.

The CF34 is one of the practically unchallenged best-selling engines in its class. Globally, several thousandCF34s are in revenue service, and thousands againare still on the order books.

MTU’s integrated engine services cover alloptions from the work in the shop to on-wing repair and the leasing of replacementengines. “We put a high priority on beingavailable to our customer around the clockevery day of the year,” emphasizes AndréWall, president and CEO of MTU’s affiliate atLudwigsfelde. Helping to win the contractalso were MTU’s innovative proprietaryrepair techniques. For the new customer,they were a compelling business case:repairing comes a lot cheaper than buyingpricey replacement parts.

6 REPORT REPORT 7

Cover Story

At Ludwigsfelde, people are not new to thebusiness: some 25 customers from acrossthe globe are shipping their CF34 workhorsesfor rejuvenation to MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg, Air Wisconsin being the firstU.S. airline customer among them to sign upfor a fleet contract. The North American mar-ket is of strategic significance, since this iswhere about 70 percent of all CF34 enginesare flying. The General Electric engine familyis among the most popular in its class andpowers regional and business jets like theCanadair CRJ100/200, -700, -900, Chal-lenger 604/605 and Embraer 170/175/190/195.

On 50-seat aircraft, the CF34 has alreadytaken the lead, and it will be the sole power-plant on all future 70- and 100-seat

Bombardier and Embraer jets. Customersappreciate the engine because of its lownoise level and emissions. MTU’s mainte-nance segment is well positioned to competein that growth market. Its engine portfolio in-cludes all models of the best-selling engine:the CF34-3, -8 and -10. The Ludwigsfeldepeople have been supporting the CF34-3since early 2002; for the CF34-8, the fastest-growing member of the family, they receivedrepair station authority in 2006, and prepa-rations for the youngest sibling, the CF34-10,are already underway.

Appleton, Wisconsin-based AWAC is not anewcomer to commercial aviation. The re-gional carrier was established in 1965 as anupstart carrier in Wisconsin, a state with alarge population of ethnic Germans. On

August 23 of that year, it started operatingfrom the Outagamie County Regional Airporton the outskirts of Appleton, flying a fewDeHavilland Doves to Chicago in neighboringIllinois. Today, AWAC’s planes take off 500times a day on a route network extendingover the entire Northeastern United Statesand Canada, serving 70 destinations for USAirways Express. Appleton has since beenstruck from the route line-up but remains thecompany’s headquarters. Air Wisconsin hadcome into its own as a regional feeder carrierfor United Airlines, for which it still providesground services in 21 U.S. cities. AirWisconsin’s growth was accelerated bymergers with Mississippi Valley Airlines in1985 and Aspen Airways in 1991.

For interesting multimedia services associ-ated with this article, go to:http://www.mtu.de/206Contract

For additional information, contact Jörg Witaseck+49 3378 824-570

“In our long history, we’ve flown a number ofdifferent airplanes,” recalls Stan Petersen-Gauthier, vice president of financial planningand analysis. In the early 80’s, Air Wisconsinwas the U.S. launch customer for the BritishAerospace BAe 146. These four-engine jetsserved short- to medium-haul markets. “Thisaircraft was in service with us for 23 yearsand was recently retired. We accomplishedall of our own repair and overhaul workonsite and gained valuable experience withengine program management with the BAefleet. Many of the successes we enjoyed withthis program were rolled into our CF34 fleetmanagement philosophy,” notes Gordon. Thepresent all-CRJ fleet of 70 aircraft affords anotable advantage: “The combined benefits

Before the engine goes into the test cell, it needs rigging in a special room.

Visual inspections, like the one here made on aCF34’s compressor, remain an important qualityassurance tool.

Air Wisconsin serves 70 destinations for US Airways Express. A CF34 in the test cell of MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg at Ludwigsfelde.

Fan blade assembly requires focused concentrationand accuracy.

of good engine reliability with the CF34 andnot managing our own MRO shop really hascut down our administrative burden.” On themaintenance side, the fleet’s CF34 enginesare in good hands with MTU.

The small military reconnaissance aerialvehicle made its debut at this year’s ILA air-show in Berlin. After that, Andreas Danier,who heads up new business development,advanced military engines at MTU, canafford to be less tight-lipped about the flightcontrol computer (FCC) the company devel-

Promising flight control computer

By Robert Wouters

In a first for Germany’s leading engine manufacturer, MTU Aero Engines has developed a flight con-trol computer (FCC) for use on EADS’s Barracuda UAV demonstrator. While the unmanned aerialvehicle performed brilliantly on its maiden flight, it crashed upon approach during its secondattempt. Mishaps of this sort can never be entirely excluded from consideration in the early flighttest phase. EADS will continue its UAV activities as planned. MTU Aero Engines, too, will help theproject to progress and is already working on FCC enhancements.

oped jointly with EADS in three years ofproject work. He is confident “that MTU willbecome a welcome partner also in UAVflight controls”. The company has alreadymade a name for itself worldwide in aircraftengine control and monitoring systems, atechnology underlying the FCC. These sys-

tems rank among the best money can buy.With its new flight computer, MTU demon-strates that a long background and compe-tency in the conventional area can indeedbe infused into other, similar systems.

For additional information, contactAndreas Danier+49 89 1489-2571

To download images associated with this article, go to:http://www.mtu.de/206FCCE

Power for the demonstrator: Pratt & WhitneyCanada’s JT15D engine.

The demonstrator’s faultless performance during thefirst flight could not be repeated on its second.

A typical showpiece of MTU’s control capa-bilities is its digital engine control and moni-toring unit (DECMU) for the EJ200 engine. “Ithas demonstrated our world-class talent indeveloping this technology,” emphasizesRobert Hierlwimmer, senior manager, elec-tronic accessory development at MTU. “Andthe company’s inherent expertise in elec-tronics manufacturing and packaging tech-niques also helped to meet the FCC chal-lenges.”

What makes the FCC so very special is itsmodularity and flexible configurability. In theclose-to-production specimen, triplicatelanes with three electronic modules each areprocessing the customer-furnished applica-tion software for the flight maneuvers. A fail-safe module secures the power supply. Thecomputer module receives the sensor data,the flight program commands and the datafrom the other constituents of the flight elec-tronics, compares and processes them andon this basis computes the control com-mands for the unmanned combat aerial vehi-cle (UCAV). The input/output (I/O) modulethen relays them to the actuator systems toinitiate the flight maneuvers.

In their design work, the developers had beton adaptability, cost-effective constructionand hardwired individual program routineswritten specifically for the application. Thatsatisfied the engineering specifications andprovided a cost-effective solution comparedwith earlier system concepts. The modularconstruction and configurability of the FCCappreciably reduce the exposure to obsoles-

Modular construction designed for optimum configurability: the plug-in modulesof the Barracuda FCC.

Mega-amounts of know-how on the PCB, high performance, but still cost-optimized.

cence: should at some later date some oftoday’s electronic components be no longeravailable, this would by no means necessi-tate costly redevelopment.

Impressive also is the short lead time; MTUhas built three flight control computers thatpassed EADS’s acceptance tests withoutrequiring appreciable modifications. 18months from the project launch, a flightwor-thy C-model was delivered to EADS. ForHierlwimmer, there is little doubt: “We’d liketo see the FCC go into production.” The factthat EADS has already placed a follow-onorder for the software to be raised up onesafety category is augured as a favorableomen.

Naturally, MTU will not be content to lever-age present achievements only in the UAVarena, although that is a rapidly growing mar-ket. Danier is upbeat about the FCC’s pros-

8 REPORT REPORT 9

Technology + Science

pects: “The modular construction enables itsdeployment on other aircraft as well, alsomanned. That’s what we gather from ourtalks with many system manufacturers.”

Apart from the FCC, MTU has still furthercontent on the Barracuda; it develops andmanufactures the exhaust nozzle. Since thenozzle is part of the airframe, not the engine,it called for a separate design. The experi-mental aerial vehicle is powered by a Pratt &Whitney Canada JT15D engine. MTU hashelped in the definition of the engine require-ments and integration of the engine in theaircraft.

10 REPORT REPORT 11

To create a new material, an enormous de-velopment effort and massive, protractedresearch is needed. To be successful, spe-cialty metals engineers need outstandingexpertise and staying power, a feeling foremerging trends, and the lucky ability tolaunch their innovation in a program at justthe right time. The hurdles to take beforetheir material makes it into production arehigh indeed. MTU’s materials engineersnonetheless decided to develop their ownblade material—LEK94—rather than chooseamong commercially available metals.

“Advanced efficient turbine concepts de-mand low weight and high speeds,” explainsDr. Jörg Eßlinger, who heads materials engi-neering at MTU. “To keep centrifugal forceslow, blades must be lightweight construc-tions. Additionally, the searing turbine tem-peratures demand highly temperature-resist-ant materials. There is no lack of expensive,heavy high-end materials available for sale,but their thermal and strength potentialsoften are more than what is needed.”

The new material from MTU’s laboratorieswas to be lightweight, affordable and yetresistant to the heat prevailing in a turbine.While this may sound like trying to squarethe circle, it didn’t keep MTU’s materialsengineers ten years ago from plunging intothe development of a material that was to beLEK94. From 1994 to 1998 they and theirpartners in academe and industry puzzledover the new alloy under national publiclysponsored research programs.

“LEK94 is a single-crystal nickel-base super-alloy, which puts it into the group of metallicmaterials for maximum service tempera-tures,” explains Dr. Thomas Mack, the high-temperature materials maven overseeing the

When the A380 mega-transport in August took off for the first time with the GP7000 on-wing, itcarried a special lightweight aloft: LEK94, a novel material MTU Aero Engines had developed for usein turbine rotor blades and nozzle vanes. With this innovation, the MTU specialists struck an opti-mum balance between lightweight construction and heat resistance. After its successful debut in theGP7000, LEK94 now is headed for production use in further engine programs.

By Nicole Geffert

Technology + Science

team that readied the new material for pro-duction use. The MTU experts minimized thecontent of heavy, heat-resistant, pricey andrare materials like rhenium, tungsten andtantalum. That saved weight and cost andmade LEK94 relatively affordable. The mate-rial is readily producible and castable.

The metal was patented in 2001. It was putto its first crucial test as a rotor blade mate-rial in the low-pressure turbine of the ATFI

For additional information, contactDr. Thomas Mack+49 89 1489-6635

To download images associated with this article, go to:http://www.mtu.de/206LEK94E

demonstrator. A year later, the projectgained momentum when LEK94’s deploy-ment in the GP7000 seemed indicated. “Anew blade material needs to undergo harshtesting to validate it for production use.That’s why for us it was imperative to get thenew metal into the GP7000 engine tests,”Mack remembers.

Until 2005, Mack’s team worked meticulouslyto ready the material for production use.LEK94 passed material, component andengine tests with flying colors.

“Its outstanding property is its low density,which makes it just about seven percentlighter than comparable alloys,” explains Dr.Stefan Weber, who supervises commercialprogram development at MTU. “The low den-sity not only translates into lower bladeweight, it also puts less load on the rotordisk, permitting us to slim it down. Even thecasing section can be reduced because theloads to be contained are lower.”

Such outstanding properties also convincedMTU’s partner: in April 2005, LEK94 passedthe demanding technology readiness reviewat Pratt & Whitney (P&W). A nod came alsofrom the U.S. Federal Aviation Administra-tion (FAA), whose stringent safety criteriaLEK94 had met. This is the first time an MTUmaterial has been approved for use in a P&Wengine and in the U.S.

After its successful debut in the GP7000, fur-ther applications loom on the horizon: LEK94is envisaged for use in the intermediate-pres-sure turbine rotor blades of the TP400-D6 topower the Airbus A400M military transportand has already passed pertinent tests.

Put to test in searing heat: LEK94 undergoing thermo-mechanical fatigue testing.

Setting global benchmarks: the GP7000’s low-pressure turbine, before complex test wiring is removed.

“Potentially, the forward rotor blade and noz-zle vane rows of nearly all MTU low- andintermediate-pressure turbines could be inLEK94,” says an upbeat Eßlinger.

Lightweight champ goes into production

12 REPORT REPORT 13

MTU Global

German contentNew blood at Top Gun: the days of the Grumman F-14 Tomcat are gone forever. The renowned Navy FighterWeapons School is now instructing pilots on the U.S. Navy’s latest acquisition, the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.Onboard that plane next year will be German-made parts: MTU Aero Engines has signed an agreement with engineprime contractor General Electric - Aviation to participate in the F414 engine for the carrier-based combat aircraft.

By Patrick Hoeveler

“For MTU, the entry into the U.S. militarymarket through this agreement represents amajor new milestone in the company’s histo-ry,” MTU’s chief executive officer Udo Starksaid in a statement in July this year when thedeal was signed during the airshow inFarnborough. “The U.S. market is the largestin the world, and we are pleased to haveachieved this footprint in this attractive envi-ronment.”

The agreement makes MTU a 2.5 percentrisk- and revenue-sharing participant in theF414 program. The German company will beproviding the high-pressure spool as well astwo high- and low-pressure turbine shroudsegments. To be manufactured in Munich,these are highly-engineered parts. Theshrouds, for instance, defining the outerboundary of the rotor assembly, are sup-posed to minimize the clearance between

casing and rotor blades but avoid rubbing.With its long experience in this area, MTUcan more or less readily launch into manu-facturing, no new technology developmentbeing needed.

The F414 entered production in 1998. It de-livers about 30 percent more thrust than itspredecessor, the F404, and is the sole pro-pulsion choice for the Super Hornet, a larger

and more capable successor to the F/A-18Hornet. The U.S. Navy fielded it in November1999, and meanwhile more than 250 of the550 aircraft on order have entered service.Soon, it will be joined by an electronic war-fare version dubbed “Growler”. In all, theF414 will be around for quite some time.

“2.5 percent doesn’t sound like much, butthe F414 is a huge program. MTU expects itsF414 sales to total around 500 million eurosover the next 20 years,” figures AndreasDanier, who heads new business develop-ment, advanced military engines and isresponsible for such acquisitions at MTU. Hewants to expand that business segment: “Forus, this new contract is a first step. We’recontinuing discussions with General Electric(GE) and are seeking an up to ten percentstake in the near term. What we’re after issophisticated items where MTU can lever-age its technological lead position. Takeblisks, for instance.”

Coming into focus also are further militaryGE programs, as well as new F414 applica-

tions on emerging training and combat air-craft, unmanned aerial combat vehicles orsuccessor versions of F404-powered air-craft. In the military arena, MTU had so farconcentrated largely on its German govern-ment customer but now wants to appreciablyexpand its military activities. According toDanier: “In Europe, defense budgets arestagnating. Not so in the U.S., where the mil-itary market is the world’s largest and stillgrowing apace.”

He goes on to add: “This new partnershiphelps our company grow and it moreoversecures jobs in Munich. GE sees risk-sharingparticipations as products the proceedsfrom which are plowed back into future pro-jects.” Russell F. Sparks, vice president andgeneral manager, military systems operation

of GE - Aviation, applauded the deal: “This isa mutually beneficial arrangement,” he said.“MTU is an excellent supplier with a signifi-cant global aerospace presence. GE is seek-ing to place the F414 in new aircraft applica-tions and to expand its presence in Europe.This teaming arrangement will provide astrategic long-term advantage.”

For additional information, contactAndreas Danier+49 89 1489-2571

For interesting multimedia services associated with this article, go to:http://www.mtu.de/206F414E

Russell F. Sparks, vice president and general managerof GE – Aviation military systems operation (left), andUdo Stark, CEO of MTU Aero Engines, shown signingthe contract at Farnborough.

A powerhouse: F414-GE-400 turbofanThrust: 97.9 kN reheated, 55.6 kN dryAirflow: 77.1 kg/sLength: 3,912 mmDiameter: 889 mmDry weight: 1,120 kgOverall pressure ratio: 30:1Configuration: three-stage low-pressure compressor, seven-stage high-

pressure compressor, combustor, high- and low-pressure turbines (both single-stage), afterburner

14 REPORT REPORT 15

New sound in theskies over Neuburg

Germany’s smallest air force base (AFB) is presently undergoing the largest reconstructionin its history: Zell AFB near Neuburg on the Danube, home to Fighter Wing 74, is making asweeping effort to get ready for hosting 29 Eurofighter aircraft. The AFB is gradually takingleave of its F-4F Phantom IIs, which will be fully phased out by 2008. This type of reequip-ment is tantamount to a quantum leap, in the air and on the ground, from the 1970s into thenew millennium.

By Clemens Bollinger

You bet it was an F-4F Phantom that this finemorning appeared far away in the sky as atiny dot in the glaring morning sun. It wasgiven away by the plume of smoke trailingbehind its two General Electric J79 engines.“Smokey” is what the Western world’s most-built combat aircraft is monikered to thisday, for a good reason: so much smoke is adangerous telltale especially during mis-sions in enemy airspace. Phantom pilotstherefore try to hide behind a ruse: since anF-4’s exhaust plume diminishes when theafterburner is selected, they like to fly withone engine at maximum power and theother at idle setting. The Eurofighter has little need for such

deceptive tactics; its EJ200 engines don’tsmoke in the first place. And with its mere17-ton takeoff weight, versus the Phantom’s27 tons, it’s far ahead of the game, anyway,and much to the delight of its pilots.

Two different worlds on one air base: F-4F Phantom(above) and Eurofighter (below) of Fighter Wing 74.

Customers + Partners

16 REPORT REPORT 17

For interesting multimedia services associated with this article, go to:http://www.mtu.de/206NeuburgE

For additional information, contactMartin Majewski+49 89 1489-5369

One of them is Major Norbert Biehler. As heshows up in Shelter 19, clutching the helmetunder his arm, he seems to be the GermanAir Forces’ answer to Bruce Willis, only big-ger. Which prompted a lady journalist to askwhether the seat in the Eurofighter indeedwas adjustable. “Sure,” he says and contin-ues to assure her: “Compared with thePhantom, the cockpit has plenty of unclut-tered space.”

Biehler is one of the four Neuburg officers sofar qualified to fly the Eurofighter. He haslogged 51.5 hours on it, compared with fortytimes that much accumulated on thePhantom. 15 further F-4 pilots are succes-sively being detached for Eurofighter cross-training to the training unit at the LaageFighter Wing 73. The back seaters (weaponsystems officers) of the presently 28Neuburg Phantoms are retiring as planned, iftemporary career officers, or are assignedother specialist jobs with the air force.

Before Biehler climbs up the moveable yel-low ladder and into his cockpit, he brieflycalls up the pages of the ESS (engineeringsupport system) sitting barely three metersto the side of the jet. That’s how theEurofighter does its “paperwork”. Through

“pilot’s acceptance” the major finally ac-knowledges that he has taken control of theaircraft. From here on out, the plane is hisbaby. The canopy closes and the major is rar-ing to go.

A few seconds later, the difference betweena Phantom and a Eurofighter becomes audi-bly apparent: when the Eurofighter’s No. 1engine is started using the onboard APU (notthe airstarter as with the Phantom) and lightsup, a medium-to-high-frequency secondarytone comes into play and that sound mixremains during the rocket-like climb that fol-lows a little later; it’s easy to differentiate

from the Phantom engines’ powerful thud.

In the cockpit, meanwhile, the preflight sys-tems checks are made. They cap carefulflight preparations that had started twohours ago with the weather and flight safetybriefing, route and fuel calculations on thecomputer and tactical coordination withother pilots. By way of good-bye, Biehler’sEurofighter rocks its mighty slats all the wayup and down. The major then eases the air-plane out of the shelter. He doesn’t need totouch the throttle for that; the engines devel-op sufficient thrust for taxying at idle. Withthe F-4, he always had to assist a little.

The maintenance crew accompanies the jetto the last-chance position. This is where thespecialists will once more circle the aircraftin a much-rehearsed choreography to checkclosures, tires and potential oil leaks, andprime the armament. As part of thePhantom-to-Eurofighter conversion, the bar-riers at the last-chance position needed rais-ing, considering that an IRIS-T missile gonewild would clear the size of barrier used inthe old Phantom days.

30+19 is then ready to taxi to runway 27. AnF-4F is already waiting for it. The showbegins. While the seventies jet begins tomove under the full power of its afterburner,the Eurofighter sprints behind it at merelymilitary power (dry), needing less runwaylength to take off. The commander, ColonelUwe Klein, is pleased with the textbook take-offs from the construction site, his alias forthe AFB.

Not without good reason. Because thereconstruction and modernization program,stretching from 2003 into 2008, includestotally 40 smaller and bigger construction

projects, a good three-quarters of which areconnected with the introduction of theEurofighter. The construction activities—andthis is still another differentiating character-istic versus the Phantom era—are turning theairfield, occupied since 1961 by Fighter Wing74, into a full-fledged AFB including a repairhangar, arming facilities, fire station, IT facil-ities and squadron operations facilities, all ofthem brand-new. Things have changed a lotfor the technical group as well: the formerly

independent squadrons have been foldedinto a maintenance and electronics squadronmuch in need now of training to cope withnovel materials, more complex avionics andEnglish as the new AFB language.

A new simulator building has gone up, too.This is where newly qualified Eurofighterpilots can practice—without courting injuryor death—how to most effectively serveFighter Wing 74’s major function, namelythat of securing the Federal Republic’s airsovereignty. “After that simulation training,”says Commander Klein, “we can practice allthat real-life in the air, pitching Eurofighters

against Phantoms. That’s the one big advan-tage you have when you operate two differ-ent fighter types alongside each other.” Forthe alert section, which by NATO mandatethe Wing maintains 24/7 all year round,things remain pretty much the same for now:until 2008, it still relies on the Phantomweapon system.

Major Biehler’s act is over. He sits relaxed ata table in the Second Wing lounge. He had

been flying almost an hour against aPhantom over Southern Germany. His dedi-cated pilot’s enthusiasm might prompt himotherwise, but in his officer role he ispledged to remain mum on operationaldetails. So ask him who won today and he’lljust grin from ear to ear.

Major Norbert Biehler: After 2,000 hours on the Phantom, he was cross-trained on theEurofighter in January.

A Renaissance architecture jewel, Neuburg isembedded in a charming Danube landscape.

The demanding military flying routine on the Eurofighter has begun. Its EJ200 engines are repaired and overhauled under the cooperative model of engine maintenancebetween the German Air Force and MTU.

Customers + Partners

18 REPORT REPORT 19

To download images associated with this article, go to:http://www.mtu.de/206AtlasAirE

For additional information, contactChristoph Heck+49 511 7806-621

Customers + Partners

Atlas Air – Call sign:Giant

On their tail fins, the jumbo freighters of Atlas Air carry a likeness of the Greek god Atlas carrying the world onhis shoulders. The mythical allusion nicely fits the company’s profitable business: hauling airfreight. The U.S.-basedAtlas Air Worldwide Holdings, Inc. (AAWW) operates around 35 Boeing 747 freighter aircraft, the largest such fleetworldwide, and relies on MTU to overhaul its engines.

By Andreas Spaeth

Whether it’s badly needed aid for Tsunamivictims or routine freight like race horses,Holstein cows, Formula 1 race cars and heli-copters that need hauling swiftly over largedistances: Atlas Air has a close meshedglobal network of branches and suitabletransports to provide efficient solutions andmeet all sorts of logistic challenges. Take forinstance the American Green Day rock bandthat after a long-planned concert inScotland’s Glasgow wanted to perform justtwo days later in the glory and glamour ofHollywood. Their music was to provide theproper background for the after-show partyfollowing the presentation of the 47thGrammy Awards in Los Angeles, nearly

9,000 kilometers to the west. This is whereAtlas Air came in: it dispatched one of itstransports to Scotland, one that could takeaboard a hundred-ton payload through itshugely-yawning swing-up nose. Trainedworkers loaded the band’s massive equip-ment in the freighter, which then took it toCalifornia right on schedule. By the time theband members arrived in Hollywood, thescene was all set for their smashing per-formance.

Through its two subsidiaries, Purchase, NewYork-based Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings,Inc. operates 35 Boeing 747 all-cargo air-craft. One of them is Atlas Air, established in

1993, whose radio call sign, not inappropri-ately, is “Giant”. Atlas Air is the world’s lead-ing provider of ACMI (Aircraft, Crew,Maintenance and Insurance) leasing. It wetleases its 747 freighter fleet to leading air-lines around the world, including LufthansaCargo, LAN Airlines, Qantas, Emirates andKorean Air Cargo. Operationally based inMiami, Florida, Atlas Air in the name of itsclients serves 101 destinations in 46 coun-tries, heading for important freight locationslike Quito in Ecuador, with flowers in thehold, or Belo Horizonte in Brazil, to deliverauto parts.

AAWW’s other subsidiary is scheduled-serv-ice provider Polar Air Cargo, which wasacquired by AAWW in late 2001. Polar Air isa cargo airline flying primarily scheduledroutes under contracts with shippers andforwarders like DHL, Kühne + Nagel,Schenker and UPS to airports across theglobe. It has hubs in Seoul, New York-JFKand Chicago, and further bases inAmsterdam, Tokyo, Los Angeles and Alaska’s

Anchorage. The Chinese market is of partic-ular significance to Polar, which connects itwith the rest of the world, mainly fromShanghai. Its close association with sistercompany Atlas Air permits the pair to flexi-bly utilize their freighter fleets. The group isthe second biggest U.S. airfreight company,after FedEx.

To focus fully on its core business, which iscarrying freight, AAWW has the engines ofits relatively young fleet maintained by out-side specialists. Since 2004, it has beenentrusting a large part of its engines to thecare of MTU Maintenance Hannover inLangenhagen. “It is one of our biggest cus-tomers,” says Christoph Heck, the responsi-ble sales director for North America.“Although Atlas has 180 engines in its fleet,the company proper has only a single pow-

When the CF6 arrives in Hannover, it is first strippedto see what needs to be repaired or replaced.

The Boeing 747 is a very popular passenger transport and moreover used as a freighter in global service.Many airlines use both the passenger and the freighter versions.

erplant engineer on its payroll,” according toHeck. “And that one is assisted stateside byone of our MTU Maintenance staff.”

MTU is responsible for the maintenance of40 CF6-50 engines powering Boeing 747-200F freighters and 88 CF6-80 enginesequipping Boeing 747-400Fs. Each year,some 35 Atlas engines visit Hannover forrepair. Says Heck: “Atlas Air had been shop-ping around for a long-term partner andfinally picked us. We’re the world’s largestindependent CF6 MRO provider, and Atlasappreciates our flexibility, reliability andquality of workmanship. Rounding out ouroverall package, we’re performing enginetrend monitoring (ETM) on the Atlas CF6-80engines. This has already helped detect andprevent various cases of imminent enginedamage before it matured.”

20 REPORT REPORT 21

In the morning of the first flight, the crewmet at the Toulouse-Blagnac Airport at 7:30for a final flight briefing and latest weatherreport. Also, journalists were hangingaround and got a brief interview before theground crew handed the aircraft (registra-tion F-WWEA) over to the five-man flightcrew. Shortly past 9:00, with the flight crewonboard, the doors shut behind them andthe auxiliary power unit (APU) cut in, allessential aircraft systems were double-

Passing gradesBy Achim Figgen

In end-August, the first GP7000-powered A380 took to the air. The flight was captained byGuy Magrin, who flew with Franck Chapman, an experimental test pilot like himself. The othercrew members were test flight engineer Bruno Bigand and flight test engineers Patrick duChé and Jean-Philippe Cottet. After a little over four hours, aircraft and engines had suc-cessfully been put through their paces. At the Engine Alliance, faces were beaming. The jointGeneral Electric/Pratt & Whitney venture had developed and built the engines, with an activeassist from MTU Aero Engines.

checked to make sure the take-off would beeventless. True, on this Friday morning,there wasn’t half the world’s populationwaiting to watch the take-off as it did at thefirst flight ever of an A380 on April 27,2005, but Airbus and the Engine Alliancenonetheless wanted to perform flawlessly atthis significant event.

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Mounting a GP7200 on Airbus A380 S/N MSN009, the one that made the maiden flight on August 25, 2006.

The crew of pilot Guy Magrin (left) is meticulouslypreparing for the first flight.

22 REPORT REPORT 23

The GP7000 catapults MTU to newheights in terms of program share (22.5percent) and physical dimensions, theengine’s size, weight and thrust over-whelming the capabilities of the Munichlocation’s development test cell III. So farused for test runs of PW2000 and V2500engines and approved for a maximumthrust of 300 kN, the test stand ispresently undergoing reconstruction. Thecomplete support structure of the build-ing is being reinforced to safely sustainthe greater power of the 76,500 lb (340kN) thrust GP7277 (first approval level ofthe new engine). Also the internal com-ponents of the test cell are being mod-ernized, with a new thrust cradle andmixer tube being installed in the exhaustduct and the entire instrumentationbeing renewed.

Completed so far has been the recon-struction of the exhaust area to satisfymunicipal noise emission requirementsand the expansion of the intake area.While the latter also helps to reducenoise, it mainly makes sure the GP7200gets all the airflow it needs in testing.Adapted also had to be the gas burnersinstalled in the 8.5- by 8.5-meter intaketo heat the incoming air.

To download images associated with this article, go to:http://www.mtu.de/2061Flight

For additional information, contactOdilo Mühling+49 89 1489-2698

them from traversing a critical thrust rangeall four at the same time. The engine bleedair, too, was activated engine by engine tokeep oil vapors from penetrating into thecabin through the air conditioning system.That done, the APU was cut out and onboardpower supply became the sole responsibilityof the GP7200 foursome. They handled thattask as readily as they did all the other testsstill to come during this four-hour and ten-minute maiden flight.

That ultimately the envisaged tests were notconducted in their entirety was attributableto fickle weather that still worsened duringthe flight. Magrin, and Chapman in the rightseat, finally were lucky to find a break in thethunderclouds that let them return toToulouse, where at 14:10 they touched downin pouring rain.

The GP7200 engines now have the firstmajor test behind them. But MSN009 and itsfour engines are still facing arduous weeks.Admittedly, the certification schedule aheadof them is less complex than what the fourA380s powered by the competing engineshad gone through before them. Those testswere designed to demonstrate the properfunction of the airborne systems. Yet thetests focusing on the airframe-engine inter-

The aircraft had been in the air before, andso had the GP7000, except not on the wingof an Airbus mega-transport: on December3, 2004, a GE-owned Boeing 747 serving theEngine Alliance as a flying testbed had madea first flight with a GP7200 under its leftwing. The U.S. FAA had certified the engine

on December 29, 2005, and in February2006, the first GP7200 had been mounted inToulouse on an A380 bearing the serial num-ber MSN009. On this August 25, the mega-transport now sat on the apron poised for itsmaiden flight, the weather being little morethan just about adequate.

At 20 minutes to 10:00, the four engineswere started and at 10:00 sharp, Guy Magrinadvanced the throttles. Upon take-off, thepilots hesitated a bit before retracting thelanding gear and flaps and reducing thethrust. They throttled the four engines downnot simultaneously but in pairs to prevent

Plans are starting in mid-2007 to con-duct test runs of complete GP7000engines not only at General Electric andPratt & Whitney but also at MTU. After all,the Munich site has taken a stake notonly in manufacturing but, at 22.5 per-cent, in the entire program, whichincludes development. That work doesn’tfinish once the engine is certified;upgraded engine versions are already inthe works and the modifications andimprovements inevitably arising in anengine’s life, too, need validating by test.The Munich people are getting fullyequipped for the job.

Test cell III expansion

The A380 with its four GP7200 engines completed its first flight without a hiccup. On this engine type, MTU Aero Engines is responsible for the complete low-pressureturbine and the turbine center frame. It also produces high-pressure turbine blades and disks.

The GP7200 made its first flight on December 3, 2004, under the left wing of aGE-owned Boeing 747.

Preflight inspection of a GP7200 prior to trials on a flying testbed.

A GP7200 is being readied for a test run. Oncetest stand III is expanded, such tests can also beperformed in Munich.

action or demonstrating the effects of lowand high temperatures or high altitudes onthe capability of the engine (the so-calledcold soak and hot-and-high trials) will natu-rally have to be repeated for the A380-GP7200 combination. Airbus expects certifi-cation to be received in mid-2007.

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24 REPORT REPORT 25

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To download images associated with this article, go to:http://www.mtu.de/206IGTBPE

For additional information, contactUlf Kliemank+49 3378 824-313

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Repair on a rough seaThe ocean is rolling along gently, as yet. The Shetland Islands are some 150 kilometers due east. Circumspectly, thehelicopter from Aberdeen maneuvers to touch down on the narrow landing pad. Rene Uhlig and Mario Büchner ofMTU’s field service team have reached their workplace, the Schiehallion, a BP FPSO (floating production, storage andoffshore loading) vessel in the North Atlantic. The oil company swears by the service of MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg and now has also its North Sea fleet supported by it.

After 8,000 running hours, an LM6000 gasturbine (including the generator) is now duefor inspection. The two service techniciansfrom Ludwigsfelde will spend 18 days on-board. They replace filters, check pumps,calibrate sensors. 15 meters up, they calmlyreplace a 25-kilogram hydraulic actuator. Sixto eight meter waves are pounding the hull.

The 40-megawatt 20-ton generator gets anew friction bearing.

The field service team visits the Schiehallionat least four times a year. The three LM6000sonboard are maintained each after 4,000and 8,000 service hours. Between the minorand the pending major inspection, the tur-

bines’ highly-stressed hot section is replacedon land. No use trying to do that onboard,not with a heavy sea.

The MTU service aims to ensure the gas tur-bines’ outstanding reliability. That’s impor-tant for oil rig operators and power compa-nies alike, any production disruption readily

incurring losses in the millions of dollars.“Helping availability also are the fast turn-around times in our shop and the replace-ment engines we’re leasing out,” explains UlfKliemank from sales/marketing at MTUMaintenance Berlin-Brandenburg, which glo-bally has some 100 General Electric LM2500,LM5000 and LM6000 series turbines undercontract. Support is provided for customersacross the globe. Maintenance solutions aretailored to individual requirements, which isone of MTU’s strong points. Says Kliemank:“We sit down with the customer and developa concept. We agree on a maintenance stra-tegy to suit local conditions and serviceloads: for continuous duty turbines, require-ments are different than for peakers that thepower companies cut in only to accommodatepeak loads.”

For BP, MTU goes the extra mile: “We’re pro-viding preventive maintenance of a depth andbreadth unparalleled elsewhere,” accordingto customer care operator Bernd Zander. Inrecognition of MTU’s industrial gas turbineexcellence, the British oil company, whichranks among the largest in the world, hasrenewed the maintenance contract for fiveyears, extending it to cover its entire NorthSea fleet. The Ludwigsfelde experts are sup-porting not just the Schiehallion, but nowalso the Vallhall and Ravenspurn, two oil drill-ing rigs in the North Sea. “For the eightLM6000s and LM2500s, including spare tur-bines, we’re proceeding on a precise analyti-

cal track, doing far more than what theirmanufacturer recommends.” BP has greatconfidence in its cooperation with MTU.“We’ve proved to be a reliable and trustwor-thy partner,” says Kliemank. So much trustentails more responsibility. MTU Mainte-nance Berlin-Brandenburg is now handlingalso the entire turbine spare parts and docu-ment management for BP.

MTU’s custom-tailored offerings are appreci-ated not alone by BP: upon its recommenda-tion, also Britannia has entrusted three

Field service in action: MTU overhauls the gas turbines on BP’s North Sea oil rig Vallhall also onboard.

Competent service: apart from the LM2500 (above), MTU also repairs LM5000 and LM6000 series gas turbines.

In MTU’s care: assembly of an LM6000 gas turbine at MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg in Ludwigsfelde.

LM2500s on the North Sea drilling platformof the same name to MTU’s specialist care.The Ludwigsfelde people have scored winsalso in Turkey and Algeria. The Turkish powercompany Habas has its four LM6000s main-tained by MTU, and the state-owned Algeriannatural gas producer Sonatrach likewise putits four LM2500s into MTU’s caring hands.For those turbines, though, Rene Uhlig andMario Büchner won’t have to board the heli-copter: these new clients are land-bound.

By Silke Dierkes

REPORT 2726 REPORT

Jigsaw puzzle of athousand pieces

At MTU Maintenance Hannover, the PW6000 success story unfolded in rapid succession. Barely a year after theMTU Maintenance specialists had joined the international manufacturers’ league, they completed final assembly, fromthousands of detail pieces, of the first PW6000 production engine. In end-August, the engine was handed over to thecustomer, Pratt & Whitney, in a brief ceremony. Early next year, the Langenhagen people moreover expect to inaugu-rate maintenance operations on the A318’s engine.

By Nicole Geffert

The local political brass had gathered in thebuild-up shop at Langenhagen to celebratecompletion of the first PW6000 productionengine. Lower Saxony’s economics ministerWalter Hirche congratulated the enginebuilders on their speedy work. On hand tothank the well-wishers was MTU AeroEngines president and CEO commercialmaintenance Bernd Kessler, side by side withhis colleague on the board Dr. RainerMartens, executive vice president and chiefoperating officer. With this engine for theA318, according to Kessler, MTU is openinga new chapter in the company’s history.“Never before have we had final assemblyresponsibility for a commercial engine.” Forhim, the fact that Pratt & Whitney had relin-quished final assembly to MTU was a grand

proof of the U.S. company’s confidence andappreciation; engine prime manufacturersnormally prefer to do final assembly them-selves.

At Langenhagen, people have carefully pre-pared for the newcomer. EASA productionapproval for the engine was received inAugust 2005, and parts production approvalcame in July 2006. More than 50 personnelhave been trained and are now being sup-ported by two Pratt & Whitney mechanics.Every little operation has been studied in de-tail. “We’re benefiting from the experiencewe’ve had in years of MRO engine assemblyand from the depth and width of our people’sexpertise,” explains Peter Hary, PW6000project manager. His team’s flexibility isanother thing he can count on. “When engi-

neering changes come, they must be dealtwith fast and we better be prepared to re-spond promptly,” he emphasizes.

The infrastructure to cope with the new taskis in place, too. The component and assem-bly line in the shop shines like a new penny.On the shop floor, the area is clearly demar-cated from the repair area with orange mark-ings. Segregation is the rule also in thestores: PW6000 parts are kept apart fromMRO stock to prevent mixing. “This way wecomply with aviation regulations thatdemand strict separation between manufac-turing and repair processes,” according toHary. Another helpful procedure is not todrop off PW6000 parts and components atthe materials receiving dock but send themdirect to the assembly line.

Reports

Bernd Kessler, president and CEO commercial main-tenance, photographed in Hannover handing off thefirst production engine.

The PW6000 sectional view illustrates with how few compressor and turbine stages the engine makes do.

REPORT 2928 REPORT

parts for the three-stage low-pressure tur-bine. These parts then go to MTU Mainte-nance Berlin-Brandenburg, where a highly-trained team assembles the modules, eachfrom about 2,000 different pieces. When as-sembled, the turbine is shipped to Hannover,almost 300 kilometers away.

At the Langenhagen location, mechanicsmate the high-pressure compressor rotorand stator. Their attention is fully focused ontheir workbenches. Precision is the first pri-ority. The specialists then unite the high-pressure compressor with the high-pressureturbine and the combustion chamber casing,supplied by MHI, to form the core engine.

Some workbenches further down the line,colleagues dexterously assemble the fan mo-dule. Except for the gearbox, which comesfully assembled, all modules are assembledfrom detail parts, also the fan casing. Fanmodule, low-pressure turbine and core en-gine are then mated to form the full engine,including accessories. Now completed, thePW6000 next travels to the test stand toprove it meets performance specifications.The Hannover people have acquired entirelynew test equipment to cope with the new-comer. “Our test stand has since attainedgolden test cell status,” reports Hary. “Thatis to say, other test cells to run the PW6000will have to correlate the engine perform-ance data and parameters with those deter-mined in our test cell.”

Already, the final assembly crew is raisingthe bar, successfully so. “We’re continuously

Reports

reducing engine assembly and test times,”declares Hary. If the team was allowed 90days for the first two engines, the next eightPW6000s will be shipped to Airbus within 70days, and all others within 60.

In accordance with the further timetable,A318 launch customer Chile-based LAN Air-lines will receive its first PW6000 in thespring of 2007. Totally, LAN has ordered upto 46 airliners with 90 engines to power them.Hary adds that by end-2008, plans are tomanufacture 60 engines, “so we can prompt-ly fill orders from other potential PW6000customers”.

But before that, the Hannover people’s atten-tions are firmly riveted on still another date:February 1, 2007. That’s the day the PW6000maintenance operations in Hannover shouldbe up and running. “That’ll make us the onlyrepair station for this engine worldwide,”enthuses Hary.

For additional information, contactPeter Hary+49 511 7806-4346

For interesting multimedia services associated with this article, go to:http://www.mtu.de/206Jigsaw

Control of the complex final assembly pro-cess is the responsibility of an eleven-peopleprogram team assembled from representa-tives of the various disciplines involved. It in-cludes specialists from operations schedul-ing, quality assurance, logistics, data pro-cessing and test stand operations. Theymeet once a week to check on the status quoto make sure they are on schedule, no mate-rials bottlenecks are looming, detail partsare being received on time and moduleassembly is progressing smoothly. They’rewalking through the anticipated work step bystep. “We know at any time where to findwhich part, down to the nuts and bolts,” thatis how Manfred Vögele, PW6000 programmanager at MTU’s Munich plant, character-izes the sophisticated information logistics inplace. With a complex project like that, youcan’t lose sight of the big picture. Especiallynot when various players are cooperatingacross local company lines.

The parts and components arrive from variouscompanies: Pratt & Whitney supplies, amongother items, all parts of the high-pressureturbine, low-pressure compressor and tur-bine exit case. Joel Sitty, who in Langen-hagen represents the U.S. engine manufac-turer, sifts the boxes holding the compo-nents. Did they safely survive the shipping?Are the certificates what they should be? Itis only when he’s made sure that all the Tsare crossed and Is are dotted that Sitty willrelease the parts to assembly.

The parts for the six-stage high-pressurecompressor arrive from Munich. The col-leagues there also manufacture the detail

Last finishing touches on the completely assembled PW6000.

The high-pressure compressor for the PW6000 to power the A318 marked the first time MTU was able tolaunch a module on a commercial core engine.

The engine seen through the open nacelle in the test area of MTU MaintenanceHannover.

The low-pressure compressor indeed is a Pratt &Whitney module but is assembled in Hannover.

The single-stage high-pressure turbine is coated toprotect it from hot gas corrosion.

The low-pressure turbine and the turbine exit caseare assembled at MTU.

High-pressure compressor and combustion chamber casing are united in a single block.

REPORT 3130 REPORT

ReportsWhen an engine has become ultimately ob-solete or irreparable, it is stripped and des-tined for recycling to recover what valuablebase materials remain in it. “You’ll find largeamounts of cobalt and nickel in the steelalloys used for instance in turbines, combus-tors and low-pressure turbines,” explainsHans Werner Rottmann, who is a technicaltrainer at MTU Maintenance Hannover.“These materials are hideously expensive,and so are aluminum, magnesium and titani-um, the latter being used mostly in the frontsection of compressors.”

Tungsten and rhenium, too, are rare, valuableelements indispensable in engine manufac-turing. They, too, are found in specialty alloysused in drive shafts, high-pressure compres-sors, turbine blades and other components.In their manufacture, they consume a gooddeal of costly energy and work. This, inci-dentally, explains the high price of new air-craft engines, a single engine for the AirbusA380, for instance, listing at around ten mil-lion euros.

At MTU, waste material is collected and soldin minimum batches of ten tons to special-ized recycling dealers. To prevent black mar-keting, components to be sold are first certi-fied, sealed and rendered unserviceable. Forespecially valuable individual parts, that isdone at MTU or locally at the recycling deal-ers’ facilities. To make sure the parts areirreparably destroyed by sawing them apartor drilling holes in them, MTU is regularlyconducting sampling inspections at its recy-cling partners.

Proceeds from the sale of scrap vary with itseconomic potential. To quote Financial TimesDeutschland, for instance, the price of tung-sten has quintupled during the past severalyears and titanium is presently fetching new

record prices almost daily. The reason for thetitanium boom is that titanium occurs only incombination with iron ores and needs to beextracted in several process steps. The recy-cling people need to worry little if any aboutcost drivers like these.

The recycling companies take the scrapapart and sort it to resell it at a profit to spe-cialty foundries, where it is melted and con-verted into new base materials, which arethen bought back by MTU and other enginemanufacturers. So the materials are given anew lease on life, without however “compro-mising their high quality”, maintains Dr.Frank Seidel, who heads up repair develop-ment and materials at MTU MaintenanceHannover. “Normally, in today’s world, basematerials are part newly mined and partrecycled, anyway.”

Repair rather than recycle

Retired components are not invariablydoomed to the scrap yard. “If perfectlyrepaired, they can be reused, taking theplace of costly virgin parts,” confirms TammoSeiffert, who is customer program manager

Retired engine, a gold mine

After fully 100,000 hours in service, an aero engine has done its bit and goes into retirement. For its owner, though,it remains an asset worth recycling. Owing to dwindling raw material resources, there’s still money in retired enginesand condemned engine parts, and getting rid of them is a paying proposition for their owners and the environmentalike.

By Andreas Park

35.000

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For interesting multimedia services associated with this article, go to:http://www.mtu.de/206GoldMine

For additional information, contactSabine Biesenberger+49 89 1489-2760

at MTU Maintenance Hannover. InnovativeMTU repair processes will often revive tur-bine blades or other parts for a second, thirdor even fourth tour of duty.

The number of airlines taking MTU up on itsrejuvenation offer is growing. They are mov-

A broken low-pressure turbine disk with a piece cutoff to mark it as unserviceable.

On this high-pressure turbine disk, too, parts werecut out to mark the disk as condemned.

Microplasma welding is used to perform delicaterepairs on diverse engine components.

ing some of their engine components intohold inventories against the time they can berepaired. “It pays for our customer to do thateven if the technique needed to repair themis still under development,” says BurkhardOesten, who supervises occupational safetyand environment at MTU Aero Engines’Munich location. “If nothing else, it certainlyhelps the environment.”

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REPORT 3332 REPORT

Aviator glasses – from eye protector to

cult object By Elisabeth Wagner

In the early days of powered flight, pilots were on the cutting edge of progress. They were hell-bent on flying, single-minded,uncompromising, gutsy and reckless. Small wonder impulses from aviation had kicked off trends in men’s fashion that were toendure for decades. A textbook example are aviator glasses, which from ungainly eye protector goggles evolved into a populareveryday accessory.

Around 1910, aerial record-hunting was infull swing, with the trailblazing pilots daringeach other to fly higher, faster and farther,cheered on in their breakneck risk-takingand commitment by enthused crowds. Formany of them, though, their adventureswere fatal, not least because of theirwretched equipment. The only protection

they had in crashes was the splinteringwoodwork of their planes that cushioned theimpact.

Emerging as one of the first pilot accouter-ments were goggles. In the windy cockpits,they protected from the weather and with-out them, many an adventure might havegone awry. The eyes of even the greatest fly-ing heroes would not be able to withstandthe bitter cold and draft. Another lurchingdanger was spurting hot water set freewhen, once again, a cooler busted. So was

Anecdotes

REPORT 3534 REPORT

For additional information, contactSabine Biesenberger+49 89 1489-2760

To download images associated with this article, go to:http://www.mtu.de/206Glasseshot oil. French pilot Pierre Prier, after his

first, four-hour London-Paris non-stop, reiter-ated what many other pilots had experiencedbefore him: “I saw things like through a veil.I had no glasses and the hot oil had scorchedmy eyes.” If pilots in those first yearsnonetheless preferred to fly without glasses,it was because oil-smeared or steamed-upeyeglasses would blind rather than helpthem.

During World War I, powered flight took on anentirely different dimension. The celebratedepitomes of an enthusiastically welcomedtechnical age now had turned warriors.Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen,famous as well as notorious leader of thewar’s most successful German fighter wing,by 1917 had downed 80 British airplanesbefore, in 1918, he himself perished in an airbattle. While on most photographs, he is seenwithout glasses, the Red Baron, so-calledbecause of the bright red paint on his plane,is commonly associated with pilot goggles.Credit for much of that may also be due toCharles M. Schulz, father of the white beagleSnoopy of Peanuts fame that phantasized ofbeing an American ace in World War I pro-tecting the world from the Red Baron. In theserial comic, one of the most widely syndi-cated in the world from 1950 to 2000, Snoopyis shown numerous times wearing a pilotscarf and goggles and, dressed up that way,found his way as a cuddle toy into the homesof his fans.

By 1919, the first passenger flights weremade. Founded in 1917 by AEG, DeutscheLuft-Reederei made daily flights betweenBerlin and Weimar, carrying mail and up tothree passengers on each flight. The flightswere made using single-engine biplanes.Because the passengers, like the pilots, satin the open air, they wore fur-lined flyingsuits, leather flying caps and goggles, cour-tesy of the house. In her book “When Womentook to the Air”, Jutta Rebmann cited a read-er’s letter saying: “The real attraction surelyis a journey through the air in an openmachine. Packed into a bulky pilot suit, cap

and goggles to shield head and eyes, the typ-ical flyer’s gear, that truly is the lure of fly-ing.”

Despite the public’s often frenzied enthusi-asm for aviation, the clumsy pilot goggles ofthe pioneering days were not exactly thefashion freak’s delight. But still, one of thefirst attempts to bring fashion to flying wasmade in 1927. When Thea Rasche, one ofthe outstanding women pilots of her time,was trying to attract funding for a large avia-tion project, she exploited her popular nameposing in the U.S. for Thea-Rasche aviatorglasses, among other things.

In the 1920s, pilots increasingly sufferedfrom the glare they encountered at the highaltitudes and long flying hours they wereachieving. In 1930, German emigrantsfounded Bausch & Lomb in New York State tomanufacture the first sun glasses of the timein large-scale production. The lenses usedthe Umbral glass developed by Schott, whichblocked radiation and was offered in variousmagnifications. In 1934, Bausch & Lomb soldthe first “aviator glasses” featuring tear-shaped green lenses.

In 1936, plastic glasses in aviator look hit themarket. Anti-glare properties soon after in-spired the Ray-Ban brand of sun glasses. Inthe early years, the marketing was targetedat a sporty public and outdoorsy profession-als. After World War II, sales of sun glasseswere booming in the 1950s and especially

also the 1960s. In their sunglasses, peoplediscovered a fashion accessory in its ownright. Ray-Ban glasses led the market, notleast through their appearance in a number

of Hollywood films. When Tom Cruise in1986, with Ray-Ban glasses on his nose,enthralled a wide public as a dashing pilot in“Top Gun”, sales again soared. Flying andfashion had once more been perfectly mar-ried.

In military aviation, pilot goggles have sinceevolved into high-tech helmets. The GermanAir Force indeed carries two standard mod-els of sun glasses in its inventory, but whenit comes to demanding flying, a helmet is amust. It provides connections for the oxygenmask, integrated headphones and micro-phone and, moreover, a dual visor with adark and a clear lens, the latter to protect theeyes, the visor comfortably accommodatingcorrection lenses underneath. The latestweapon systems like the Eurofighter and theTiger helicopter, as well as the NH90 trans-port helicopter, battle exposure to opticalinformation flooding by integrated helmetsystems that project mission conduct infor-mation directly onto the visor.

There are various brands of suitable glassesavailable for today’s commercial pilots.Lufthansa, for one, does not recommend ormandate particular models. “It is crucial thatthe glasses have glare protection and thatdark glasses do not cloud the view of theinstruments,” according to an airline spokes-person.

From the fashion aspect, today’s aviatorglasses cover the whole gamut: vintage car,convertible and Harley-Davidson fans alikefavor glasses that look retro, suggesting kin-dredness with aviation pioneers. Like themodel from Junkers. But also the glasses ofother makers keep selling well, with or with-out direct reference to aviation: the fascina-tion of flying persists unabated.

Still a far cry from the comfort offered today: pilot and copilot facing cold and wind head-on in the cockpit ofthe legendary Junkers F13 around 1930.

In military aviation, the pilot goggle evolved into the integral helmet. Without it, many maneuvers would be unthinkable today. Standard pilot helmets carried in the German Air Force’s inventories include a dark and a clear-view visor approved for aviation as part of the helmet.

Heavy clothes and aviator goggles were standardequipment also for passengers of the early days.

To protect the eyes also of fashionable young women:Bausch & Lomb launched the Ray-Ban brand in themid-1930s.

In the imagery of Ray-Ban advertising, the attractivemale pilot was accorded a firm place.

Anecdotes

NEWS

REPORT 3736 REPORT

The cooperation agreement between the Munich Technical University (TU) and MTU was signed in the rooms of the TU.

A view into the new hangar of the MTU branch at Erding air force base near Munich. It has since become fullyoperational.

The MD-11 is the larger, bigger brother of the DC-10.

Walter Strakosch (right), president and CEO of MTU Maintenance Zhuhai, handed over the first repairedCFM56-7 to customer China Southern.

Partners: Munich Technical University and MTU Munich Technical University and MTU AeroEngines signed a long-term cooperationagreement in late July. The aim is to betterleverage innovation potentials in high-techproduct research.

While cooperation between the two had sofar been limited to specific projects, the part-ners now are looking to launch an engineconstruction and production center of excel-lence. Under one roof, four of MunichTechnical University’s chairs will now becooperating with the engine manufacturer:those of aircraft engine propulsion, productdevelopment, materials science and materi-als mechanics, as well as the Institute forMachine Tools and Industrial Management.The cooperative effort is designed to pro-duce technological solutions for advancedpropulsion components and their production.

Successful debut at MTU MaintenanceZhuhai: in late August, the first CFM56-7Bengine of the popular CFM56 family com-pleted its initial shop visit. It was returned tothe customer, China Southern, ahead ofplan.

The new CFM version complements MTUMaintenance Zhuhai’s product portfolio,completing the induction of the planned

First CFM56-7B supported in Zhuhai

MTU Maintenance Hannover has concludeda nine-year sole-source agreement with theU.S. freight carrier Gemini Air Cargo to pro-vide repair for 13 CF6-80C2 series engines.The engines are operated in the MD-11 fleetof the charter operator. “In Gemini Air Cargo,we’ve won another significant U.S. custom-er,” says Ferdinand Exler, president and CEOof MTU Maintenance Hannover. “This helpsus bolster our position in a part of the worldthat alongside Asia is our major regionalmarket.”

Gemini Air Cargo added to customer list

Fully automated, highly flexible andextremely fast: MTU’s new repair facil-ities at MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg afford clear advantages.The first of the new additions is a six-axis spark erosion machine used to

Ludwigsfeldegearing up

repair cooling air holes and the bladetip pockets. Next, the new adaptivemilling center to machine fan and tur-bine blades is an allrounder driven byspecial software to provide a globallyunique gamut of machining options.The third addition, finally, is a high-vacuum furnace for the thermal treat-ment of materials.

The new facilities enable the MTUaffiliate to perform high-tech repairson costly engine parts like high-pres-sure turbine blades in-house to avoidthe long lead times of outside suppli-ers. That enhances the competitive-ness of the Ludwigsfelde people alsoby international comparison.

MTU’s new branch at the Erding air forcebase (AFB) is up and running, having its firstengine repair already behind it. In July, thefirst overhauled RB199 left the shop. TheErding shop also provides service support forthe RR250-C20 helicopter engine, alongsidethe Tornado engine. The repair effort for thetwo engines was shifted to Erding under theexpanded industry-military cooperative modelof engine maintenance, while the EJ200 and

Relocation to Erding complete

Gemini Air Cargo counts among the largestACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance andInsurance) operators leasing their aircraft to

notable airlines, such as Lufthansa Cargoand South African Airways.

engine types: alongside the CFM56-7B,these include the -3 and -5B versions and theV2500. MTU’s Chinese affiliate had prepareda year-and-a-half for the engine powering theBoeing 737 New Generation transport.

China Southern uses CFM56s to power its Boeing737 fleet.

A CFM56 seen in the rigging room of the test cell ofMTU’s affiliate in Zhuhai.

Repair work on an RB199 Tornado engine.

J79 remain in Munich. This February, theGerman Air Force transferred a hangar onthe AFB grounds to MTU. Rebuilding it forengine and module assembly requirementsand equipping it with the necessary facilitiesand shop inventory took five months. Therelocation also included the Munich partsstore.

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Editor:MTU Aero Engines Holding AGEckhard ZangerSenior Vice President Corporate Communications and Investor Relations

Editor in chief:Sabine Biesenberger

Address:MTU Aero Engines Holding AGDachauer Straße 66580995 Munich • GermanyTel. +49 89 1489-2760Fax +49 89 1489-4303E-mail: sabine.biesenberger@muc.mtu.deInternet: www.mtu.de

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MTU Aero Engines is retrofitting another 40T64 engines powering the German ArmedForces’ twin-engine CH-53 transport helicop-ters. The company had earlier upgraded 86of the engines from the -7 to the more pow-erful -100 standard. “The retrofit will run all oftwo years,” explains Dr. Stefan Weingartner,who heads defense programs at MTU AeroEngines. It occurs under the scheduled main-tenance intervals. “The substantially morepowerful version of the trusted T64 enablesthe German services to deploy their helicop-ters also in climatically and geographicallytrying regions without experiencing perform-ance losses,” according to Weingartner.

MTU retrofits further T64s

The MTU Maintenance group in mid-September conducted for its customers a“Las Vegas Conference & Event 2006” tofacilitate discussions and networking. Fromacross the globe, about 90 customer repre-sentatives had accepted the invitation to theWest Coast. The guests’ feedback was up-beat throughout: Adria Airways, for in-stance, was grateful for “the unique opportu-nity to meet other MTU customers”, andComplete Turbine Service “for the informa-tive presentations”.

MTU organized Las VegasConference

A round number to celebrate at MTU AeroEngines’ Munich facility: the leading Germanengine manufacturer completed the 100thEurofighter EJ200 production engine, handingit over to the customer in end-July.

“It’s very close to five years after we deliv-ered the first production engine that we nowcan wind up the first tranche, and on time,”explained Dr. Stefan Weingartner, who heads

100th Eurofighter engine delivered

Tesoro Hawaii Corporation is MTU Mainte-nance Berlin-Brandenburg’s first industrialgas turbine customer in the Pacific region.On the occasion of the first shop visit of itsLM2500 gas turbine, two representatives ofthat customer came to Ludwigsfelde. “Yourfacility is the cleanest and most organizedshop I’ve ever been to,” lauded project engi-neer Tim Dunn. His company is an affiliate ofpublicly listed Tesoro Corporation headquar-tered in San Antonio, Texas, which operatesan oil refinery on the coast of Oahu produc-ing 95,000 barrels of crude a day.

Pacific bridgehead

MTU Aero Engines North America (AENA) hassecured new commercial and military con-tracts from Pratt & Whitney (P&W) andGeneral Electric (GE). Pratt & Whitney hashigh-pressure compressor blisks (IBRs) ma-chined in Newington, Connecticut, that willbe utilized in both P&W’s F119 engine pow-ering the twin-engined F-22 “Raptor” andF135 engine which provides single enginepropulsion for the Joint Strike Fighter. ForGE, the U.S.-based MTU affiliate will manu-facture rotating component spares require-ments for GE’s F110, T58 and F101 engines.Customer deliveries are required in 2007 to2008.

In the commercial engine segment, MTUAENA has contracted with GE to supply 50spare disks for the CF6-80A’s high-pressureturbine and is currently negotiating with GEfor involvement with a similar, higher-volumeCF6-80C2 high-pressure turbine disk.

MTU AENA posts neworders

MTU Maintenance Hannover has completedrepair of its 4,000th engine, dispatching it inend-August. The engine was a V2500-A1,S/N V0091, from US Airways. Rick Oehme,vice president technical operations at US Air-ways, and Craig Harry, managing directorpurchasing, had traveled to Hannover toreceive their engine. Once there, they madea tour of the shop. What fascinated the visi-tors most was MTU’s unique repair flowline

4,000th shop visit in Hannover 2-3:4-7:8-9:

10-11:12-13:14-17:18-19:20-23:24-25:26-29:30-31:32-35:

36-39:

The twin T64-powered CH-53 is the German ArmedForces largest helicopter. It is used also for heavy-liftapplications.

The MTU forum in Las Vegas, Nevada, was muchfrequented.

and not least the training shop, where youngtalent learned their admirable skills. The air-line representatives lauded the MTU team forthe high quality and reliability of their work.

It was just three years ago that the MTUshop at Langenhagen had celebrated its3,000th engine overhaul. The company fig-ures on reaching the next 1,000 mark in2007.

defense programs at MTU Aero Engines.“That shows once again we’re deserving thegreat trust the air force is investing in us.”

The 100th EJ200 engine went to EADS atManching for installation in a Eurofighter air-craft. The air force will receive totally 180 ofthe advanced European combat aircraft,each equipped with two powerful EJ200s.

Shaking hands at the hand-over: Bernd Kessler andRick Oehme.

Ceremonious hand-over of the 4,000th engine to US Airways.