CSeries testing suspended

On May 29th, CSeries test aircraft FTV-1 suffered an unspecified failure of one of the PW1500G engines. Reports indicate that both debris and smoke came from the exhaust section after the failure occurred during a ground test of the engine. Reports are that the aircraft suffered damage as well, leading to speculation that it was a high energy failure.

It's unclear if the failure was related to another failure of an unspecified GTF engine being tested on a Boeing 747SP test aircraft. That engine was thought to be one of the PW1100G engines under development for the A320neo.

Bombardier has completed 300 hours of flight testing currently, with a total of 2400 hours planned. They were looking to accelerate the test program, but this will stop testing until it's determined what happened to the engine. FTV-1 recently completed stall testing, as well as envelop certification. FTV-2 recently completed extreme weather testing at the McKinley Climactic Facility, where the A350 is currently undergoing testing. FTV-3 is in Wichita undergoing avionics and electrical testing. FTV-4 is a designated performance aircraft, with 5-7 currently undergoing assembly.

CSeries engine failure

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The PW1500G engine successfully achieved Transport Canada type certification on February 20, 2013

Is this engine in service on Canadian planes?

originally posted by: roadgravel
Saw this entry on Wiki

The PW1500G engine successfully achieved Transport Canada type certification on February 20, 2013

Is this engine in service on Canadian planes?

It is not yet in service on any aircraft. It is planned for the Canadian Bombardier Cs Series aircraft, the Japanese Mitsubishi RJ and a proposed Russian single aisle aircraft. It has been test flown on a 747 pylon.

a reply to: roadgravel

It passed testing for certification. There are three families of geared turbofans preparing to enter service, the 1500G, the 1100G, and IIRC the 1200G. All are similar, but this is supposed to be the first geared turbofan to enter service anywhere.

Boeing sabotaged it. lol. Seriously though, this should make competitors happy, at least that is what I would think. An aircraft like this will probably take the place of other airliners in the future. The saving on fuel alone is a step in the right direction, not to mention any other benefits. I do not know enough about the inner-workings of their engines to weigh in on what happened in that regard, but aren't the engines relatively simple by design? Or are they using non-traditional engines in these aircraft? They are just turbine engines I would think, which are relatively simple in their operation. Perhaps their design or manufacture is more intricate but I do not know.

a reply to: JiggyPotamus

These are the first turbofans to use a geared system instead of a gearbox. They're lighter, and more efficient for about the same power.

FTV-1 is quarantined in a hangar for now. The engine has been removed, and teardown/analysis has begun. There was some damage to the airframe, but they say it was fairly minor and "very repairable". Ground testing on the other test aircraft is still going on, until they have an understanding of what happened to this engine.

AvWeek

P&W, without going into detail, has announced that they reached a preliminary diagnoses as to what caused the uncontained engine failure on FTV-1. The word is that it's a simple problem, not related to the gearbox, with a very easy fix. Reports say that it may be tied to the oil system.

Bombardier has identified a problem in the LPT portion of the engine as being the cause of the power loss and uncontained failure of the engine. They had problems prior to this with the engine, and considered sending it back to P&W for repairs, but instead repaired it at their facility. The LPT failed on the subsequent engine run. They suggest it may have been a simple manufacturing defect in the turbine.