No. CJ-1000A is only just beginning its testing process. At this point the component technologies are probably more mature so design finalization probably won’t take very long, if it hasn’t happened already, but commercial turbofans have far more rigorous reliability requirements than military engines so its testing process will take much longer.
Chinese Engine Development
- Thread starter jackbh
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Sounds right. I always thought WS-20 was only brought out quite recently in the last couple of years after Y-20 excitement was over. While CJ-1000A seems to be some old program they are just working on at snail's pace. Definitely agree the commercial aspect is responsible for demanding more time and economics are far trickier because airlines are going to want a very reliable and efficient product otherwise they may as well not bother. But if the US ban Chinese airliner access to western engines, there is no alternative. The Ukrainian and Russian options aren't much better if at all unless they develop some new lines that are competitive with the more modern western commercial high bypass.
Maybe the Chinese gov will just force domestic airlines to accept a "good enough" engine with more frequent maintenance needs and lower efficiency than the latest western equivalents in the 120 to 150KN range. This is if the CJ-1000A get developed to such a maturity level and the US bans all access. Still not the worst lol. Especially if fuel access via Iran is there.
Since China's such a massive market and source of income for western aviation stakeholders, US banning will be pretty bad news for them if the exchange is Chinese domestic airlines have to use less than economically competitive engines. As long as it's safe enough, really couldn't care less. I doubt the US will ban engine sales. It's actually much better long term for China to not go with western engines but between now and CJ-1000A getting to that level if ever, the C919 is stuck without options.
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Such a compromise is extremely unlikely. If they rush reliability validation and certification for a commercial project and a plane goes down for it that would destroy trust in Chinese commercial aerospace for years. Commercial projects don’t work like military projects in terms of their risk profile.
Again, it is not the pure thrust, that values a commercial engine but other specifications like fuel consumption, economics, and ecological considerations and at least by my understanding the WS-20 was never planned for the C919.
Yes exactly. So I'm saying if the CJ-1000A ever gets to that level of maturity.
Exactly why I was curious to know why the WS-20 is being involved here with C919 talks.
When I said CJ-1000A can be forced upon airlines if it is less than ideal in fuel efficiency and other economical metrics, I am assuming that would be the case but the engine is assumed to be entirely safe and worthy of comparison with western equivalents in this thrust range. The only disadvantages assumed to be those economic factors is still not so terrible a price to pay for giving the C919 an engine IF western engine purchases are banned which I think is unlikely.
I did actually discuss and note the economic aspects and the safety so I'm not sure what latenlazy and you are referring to. Anyway hope that clears things up.
In summary the CJ-1000A is not ready yet in the sense of passing preliminary performance and reliability/safety standards for commerical airliners and if it ever does, let's assume it doesn't match the very best in economic factors (which is fair because PW GE RR CFM IAE have much more experience in the natural competition). But even if it passes the preliminary certifications just so that it's worthy of application on airliners, the CCP can still force the engine on the C919 if there are no alternatives, before the design can match economic performance of western engines. This is a smallish price to pay because Chinese airlines servicing domestic customers (so no American FAA approval) don't absolutely must need the very best in efficiency. I'm not sure what the monetary gap would be per C919 flight but I'm more than certain we're talking very small beans until it flies enough hours. Anyway all that is sort of off-set with cheaper fuel sources although the opportunity cost is there. What sort of economic inefficiency levels are we even assuming here. It could be marginal if it exists at all.
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What I’m saying is that the vast majority of reliability testing time is to ensure safety.
Helicopter gas turbines?