19 Mar 2003
BAE Systems Controls and joint-venture partner Hispano-Suiza will develop the full-authority digital engine control (FADEC) for the Engine Alliance GP7200, the engine that will power the Airbus A380 family of superjumbo jets. The contract from the Engine Alliance, a joint venture between GE Aircraft Engines and Pratt & Whitney, calls for development of the world's most sophisticated commercial FADEC.
Delivery of the first development unit is scheduled for August 2003. Production orders of some 600 FADECs are anticipated to support engine deliveries beginning in 2006.
"BAE Systems is a leading producer of jet engine controls, including the control for the GE90 family, from which the GP7200 derives much of its architecture," said Hank McGlynn, vice president of Power Systems at BAE Systems Controls. The GP7200 control will be based on FADEC 3, the company's newest engine control, which flew successfully last fall aboard the GE90-115, currently the world's most powerful aircraft engine. "We are delighted at the opportunity to work with our partner, Hispano-Suiza, on this ambitious project."
Employing an Ethernet-based data communications network, the GP7200 control will be the most complex FADEC ever developed. The control will monitor fuel flow, control variable engine geometries, interface with the engine thrust reverser, and perform advanced functions such electronic engine overspeed protection.
BAE Systems and Hispano-Suiza have teamed on engine control development and production since 1984 and recently formed a joint venture called FADEC International to design and build controls for large commercial engines.
In addition to the engine control, BAE Systems also will develop the GP7200's Vibration Monitoring Unit, or VMU, in cooperation with Vibro-Meter, a unit of Switzerland-based Meggitt Plc. The VMU is a key part of the engine's health monitoring system.
The Engine Alliance, a 50/50 joint venture between GE Aircraft Engines and Pratt & Whitney, was formed in 1996 to develop, manufacture, sell, and support a family of modern technology engines for new high-capacity, long-range aircraft. Its GP7200 is derived from two of the most successful wide-body engine programs in aviation history - the GE90 and PW4000 families.
