China Breaks Ground on Engine Assembly Center

[no_koadsheding_plz]

China Breaks Ground on Engine Assembly Center - AMD

China Breaks Ground on Engine Assembly Center
Industry News

China has broken ground at its first aircraft engine assembly and testing centre in Shanghai, in a bid to develop a domestic aviation engine industry by 2020.
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Manufacturing Group
March 5, 2012

The 8 million m² centre, being built with an investment of CNY8bn ($1.27bn), will have six major areas for assembly, maintenance, experimentation, engine-making, public relations and administration.

The first phase of the centre will be completed in 2015, while the second phase of its construction will be finished in 2020.

After completion the centre is expected to be a hub for testing spare parts and maintaining the overall performance of indigenous aircraft engines.

Commercial Aircraft Engine assistant manager, Kang Ziyue, told Shanghai Daily: "The company will establish China's first assembly line for aircraft engines in 2014 and have the mass production ability for the engines in 2020."

Kang continued: "After being established, the center for the assembly, experimentation and maintenance of engines will fill a gap in the country's aircraft engine making industry."

China's Commercial Aircraft Engine under the Aviation Industry of China (AVIC / ACAE) is developing engines for the first domestic 150-seat jet C919, and is also planning to manufacture engines for more types of the domestic jets.

The country is investing about CNY200bn ($31.7bn) in developing a domestic jumbo jet, with all development phases including design, sourcing and production due to be completed in China.

ACAE said that the initial C919 jets will be powered by CFM International engines.

CFM International, a 50 / 50 joint venture between Safran and General Electric, had previously secured a contract to supply engines for the Chinese-made planes which was initially worth $10bn.

The Chinese engine maker said that the first deliveries of domestic engines for the 150-seat jumbo jets are expected in 2020.

The company is building its research and development base in the Minhang District in China, which has a floor area of 300,000m² to include the company's headquarters, an R&D centre and airworthiness centre. It is expected to be completed in 2013.

With 150 seats and a flying range of 4,075km, the C919 already has 235 orders from more than ten Chinese companies and its first flight is scheduled in 2014.

 

[Nishan_101]

I hope that Pakistan will also open up a R&D facility like this.

 

[SinoChallenger]

If China's civilian high-bypass engines are beginning manufacturing in 2014, then military high-bypass engines should be beginning manufacturing now, and ready for mass production in a few years. That's why the decision has been made to set up the civilian version's production line.

 

[shuttler]

I hope that Pakistan will also open up a R&D facility like this.

I look forward to the day when astronauts from Pakistan. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan DPRK, Afghanistan can be invited as our guests to our Space Station when our technique is more matured!

That is encouraging news to the aviation industry around the world because some countries who are capable of building the fuselage but the engines can be able to embark on bolder ventures of manufacturing their own civil aeroplanes at affordable costs.

 

[marshall]

If China's civilian high-bypass engines are beginning manufacturing in 2014, then military high-bypass engines should be beginning manufacturing now, and ready for mass production in a few years. That's why the decision has been made to set up the civilian version's production line.

I think it's more likely that China plans to replace foreign purchases of regional aircraft considering they now have the ARJ21 and soon the C919. This explains the humongous size of the plant at 8 million sq/m2 which can only be explained as the forward objective to produce enough domestic commercial engines for it's domestically produced regional airliners at a rate large enough to completely replace foreign purchases of such aircraft. That means enough engines to supply airliners costing roughly $500 billion USD$ over 20 years if I remember the statistics correctly. According to previous news releases concerning China's commercial airliner plans, AVIC stated that the Leap-X engines would be used initially on the C919 and that some engine work would be allocated to China for possible sub-assembly of the engine in China. China plans to eventually replace the Leap-X engine with it's own so-called SF-A/CJ-1000A turbofan sometime after 2020.