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MTU Aero Engines Holding AG 

Dachauer Straße 665 

80995 Munich • Germany 

Tel. +49 89 1489-0 

Fax +49 89 1489-5500 

www.mtu.de 

■ Technology + Science ■ Customers + Partners ■ Products + Services 

Delicate coatings for 

powerful protection 

The next 

generation 

High-tech envelope for 

the engine 

The eye in the sky 

Summer/Autumn 2007

Contents 

The next generation 

MTU, jointly with its strategic partner Pratt & Whitney, is 

working on future engine technologies. Its engine components 

may be the answer to the needs of single-aisle aircraft 

in the pipeline. 

Page 4 

High-tech envelope 

for the engine 

Engine fairings are sophisticated 

systems. They will 

have to meet stringent 

requirements imposed by 

engine makers and airframers 

alike. 

Page 16 

2 REPORT 



An MTU team of experts has 

developed a new coating 

system. The coating has 

enormous strength and will 

long endure the impact of 

solids carried in the air. 

Page 8 


MTU Maintenance 

Hannover’s engine trend 

monitoring system continuously 

watches engine conditions. 

Early fault diagnosis 

thus prevents costly consequential 

damage. 

Page 26 

Cover Story 

The next generation 4 - 7 

Technology + Science 

Delicate coatings for powerful protection 

The repair mavens 

MTU Global 

8 - 9 

10 - 13 

A thousand tons for a good fit 14 - 15 

Customers + Partners 

High-tech envelope for the engine 

Flying high under the Silver Fern 

Products + Services 

Service to customers 


Reports 

Mini-engines power mega-model 

Airborne paintings 

Anecdotes 

16 - 19 

20 - 23 

24 - 25 

26 - 27 

28 - 29 

30 - 31 

Desert graveyard 32 - 35 

News 

Masthead 

36 - 39 

39 

Editorial 

Dear Readers: 

Climate protection is grabbing headlines 

globally. In aviation, too, protecting the environment 

is an issue, and we’re making a 

strong contribution in the matter. However, 

demands to quit leisure flights and for people 

to spend their vacations at home will not get 

us anywhere. 

Identified to be one of the major climate 

harming culprits has been carbon dioxide 

(CO 2), a greenhouse gas. It occurs in many 

areas and in aircraft is produced during the 

combustion of fuel in the engine. Even if, 

viewed soberly, air traffic adds no more than 

a few percentage points to global CO 2 emissions, 

we still should leave nothing undone 

to make our products “cleaner”. After all, we 

want the aircraft to remain what it is, a major 

means of global transportation at everyone’s 

disposal. 

MTU has for decades been optimizing aircraft 

engines. One of our current key projects 

is the geared turbofan. We’re developing 

and building, together with our strategic 

partner Pratt & Whitney, a demonstrator engine. 

Based on the PW6000, it will make its 

first run in the latter half of the year, with 

flight testing to begin next year. MTU’s contribution 

is its high-speed low-pressure turbine 

and, moreover, its tried and tested 

PW6000 high-pressure compressor, both of 

which are key components of the concept. 

The new geared turbofan promises to reduce 

fuel consumption by up to 15 percent and be 

substantially quieter than conventional 

engines. Also, it will be less expensive to 

maintain. In our estimation, this type of 

engine is the optimum propulsion system for 

the successor generation of today’s Airbus 

A320 and Boeing 737 families. We’ll have the 

new engines up and running in time for the 

flight testing of the new aircraft. They should 

best be implemented under the banner of 

today’s IAE. That consortium has done a very 

good job fielding the V2500 and is practically 

predestined to make the successor a worldwide 

winner as well. 

This much is clear: The next generation of 

aircraft can achieve the necessary efficiency 

improvements only if it is powered by optimum 

engines. That’s not what we are saying 

but the aircraft manufacturers themselves. 

The engine makes or breaks the aircraft, and 

we’ll do as best as we can. 

Udo Stark 

Chief Executive Officer 

REPORT 3

Cover Story 

4 REPORT 

The next 

generation 

By Silke Dierkes 

MTU is gearing up for the future. In current research projects it is collaborating with its strategic 

partner Pratt & Whitney on the next generation of engines. The new engine incorporates advanced 

short- and medium-haul technologies to sustain envisioned successors to the popular Airbus A320 

and Boeing 737 aircraft families. 

There is a frenzy of activity in the sky, and 

signs of it ever relenting are few. Ever more 

people are crowding into airliners. Experts 

assume that air passenger counts will have 

doubled by 2020. These are rosy prospects 

for the aviation industry. But to keep so 

much growth from harming the environment 

and escalating fuel prices from cutting into 

ticket sales, airframers and engine builders 

are challenged to embrace new ideas. These 

are to cut their airliners’ fuel consumption, 

manufacturing and maintenance costs and 

alleviate their noise and contaminant emissions. 

The Advisory Council for Aeronautics 

Research in Europe (ACARE) is pushing for 

80 percent less oxides of nitrogen emissions, 

50 percent less carbon dioxide emissions, 

and 50 percent less fuel consumption. 

Engines will play a key role in these lofty 

goals that call for novel technologies and 

Innovative inner workings: the new geared turbofan 

demonstrator of MTU and Pratt & Whitney. 

innovative components. The engine will have 

enormous significance also for the next generation 

of Airbus and Boeing short- and 

medium-haul transports. The successors to 

the best-selling A320 and B737 are expected 

to hit the marketplace by about 2015 and the 

requirements for their engines will unarguably 

be tough. 

MTU and its partner Pratt & Whitney are 

accordingly maturing concepts to provide 

thrust for tomorrow’s needs. In their quest, 

development engineers are betting on the 

geared turbofan, which is an entirely novel 

commercial engine construction. A reduction 

gear is used to uncouple the turbine 

from the fan, the pair conventionally being 

interconnected by a common shaft. Disconnected, 

the large fan can be allowed to run 

slower and the turbine faster than in conventional 

engines. In this fashion, the two systems 

operate to best effect. That improves 

the engine’s efficiency and reduces its noise. 

The partnership’s joint geared turbofan demonstrator 

bases on the PW6000, the engine 

powering the small Airbus A318. MTU takes 

to the venture its high-speed low-pressure 

turbine, an optimized version of the Clean 

technology demonstrator. 

“Since the speeds are higher than with conventional 

low-pressure turbines, it must satisfy 

exacting demands,” explains Dr. Christian 

Winkler, who heads new business development, 

commercial engines at MTU. To meet 

these demands, the engineers have altered 

structural mechanics and developed new 

materials. “That accentuates our expertise in 

high-speed low-pressure turbines, which are 

REPORT 5

Cover Story 

Inspecting the compressor before its first test run at MTU. 

key to the efficient operation of a geared turbofan,” 

he adds. The first run is slated for 

end-2007. After further ground tests, the 

geared turbofan is expected to fly in 2008. 

The flight tests will involve a retrofitted A340 

and a B747. The tests aim to demonstrate 

the production maturity of the concept and 

convince aircraft manufacturers and airlines 

of the desirability of the innovative engine. 

Sharp increases in fuel prices may prove 

another argument in favor of the new fuelthrifty 

technology. 

MTU and Pratt & Whitney are moreover developing 

a new commercial high-pressure compressor. 

This is a somewhat unusual project, 

the interface between the partners running 

midway through the compressor: MTU is 

responsible for the first four stages and Pratt 

& Whitney for stages five to eight. “Split production 

of that type works only in a good and 

trusted spirit of cooperation,” Winkler says. 

The advantage afforded by the new approach 

is that either partner can leverage its respec- 

tive traditional expertise: “The new high-pressure 

compressor is part of the fourth engine 

generation and a consistent upgrade of its 

predecessors.” 

MTU upgraded its compressor test stand for the particular test requirements. 

The eight-stage, highly efficient compressor 

has an extremely high, 17:1 compression 

ratio. Its blisk construction and positively 

coupled rotor disks make it extremely light- 

Light-weight and efficient: the high-pressure compressor 

features blisk construction and a novel interlocking 

rotor disk arrangement. 

weight. The latest sibling of the MTU compressor 

family might prove a capable centerpiece 

for the next engine generation. It is a 

versatile candidate that apart from its use in 

the geared turbofan might find applications 

also in conventional turbofans. Already, it 

has successfully completed its first trials: 

this spring, the compressor went to a test 

cell at MTU’s Munich facility, where it was 

tested in terms of efficiency, robustness and 

structural mechanics. MTU is responsible for 

the entire testing of the component and has 

its test cell specifically upgraded for it. 

Higher input powers make the test cell especially 

capable. More test lanes and higher 

scanning rates permit detailed measurements 

to be made. A new feature is that it 

enables non-contact vibration monitoring to 

be conducted of all rotor blades of the eight 

stages. 

“The geared turbofan demonstrator and 

high-pressure compressor put us in a technically 

outstanding position,” notes Dr. Anton 

Binder, senior vice president commercial 

programs at MTU. They might prove a solid 

basis for a successor to the V2500. Through 

the International Aero Engines (IAE) consortium, 

MTU has a stake in the popular engine 

for A320 family aircraft. Which way to go is 

The next generation in the making: the new highpressure 

compressor blisk under manufacture. 

still unclear, considering that as an alternative 

to an entirely new technology like the 

geared turbofan, IAE might elect to come out 

with an optimized conventional engine in the 

form of an advanced turbofan. Concludes 

Binder: “MTU is ideally positioned for either 

technology. When sometime in the next couple 

of years the decision is made to launch 

one or the other of the next-generation single-aisle 

engines, it will find us ready for it.” 

The single-aisles, or narrowbodies, like the 

A320 or B737 families have everything going 

for them. Their market share is prognosticated 

at over 40 percent. Small wonder the 

engine manufacturers want a part of the 

action and have started work on the engine 

to come. 

For additional information, contact 

Dr. Christian Winkler 

+49 89 1489-8663 

For interesting multimedia services 

associated with this article, go to: 

http://www.mtu.de/107NGSAE 

6 REPORT REPORT 7




Dr. Thomas Uihlein’s collection of typical 

damage patterns make engineers shudder. 

The assortment includes compressor blades 

with blunt corners and torn edges. Some are 

razor-sharp, others obviously scuffed. Some 

By Manfred Ruopp 

Air isn’t just pure air. It is laden with, for instance, sand, dust, ice and salt. Engines dislike such foreign erosive substances. 

Erosion necessitates shorter maintenance intervals and curtails component lives. All of which costs commercial 

and military engine operators a mint. But help is on the way: MTU Aero Engines is developing a novel coating 

system to beat any prior system of the kind. 

of the blades come from an engine flown by 

relief organizations, mostly in Afghan desert 

regions. Notes Uihlein: “That engine hasn’t 

lasted there longer than a hundred service 

hours, if that many.” 

The 51-year-old MTU engineer has for years 

been grappling with the fact that air after all 

is a sharp-edged matter. It carries natural 

contaminations like sand or other particles 

that make engines wear faster than you’d 

An MTU worker charges a coating facility. 

expect. It’s not only takeoffs and landings on 

sandy runways that hurt the powerplants; 

the salt crystals and dust particles encountered 

during intercontinental high-altitude 

flights above the oceans also are chewing 

away on components to shorten their lives. 

Uihlein: “Erosion damage, if ever so slight, 

will still raise fuel consumption one or two 

percent.” Alternatively, early replacement of 

the engine components affected will cost the 

operators dearly, too. 

The best technical approach to protect the 

components is to keep wear down to a minimum 

to begin with, and this is what Uihlein is 

after. In 2002, he assembled an interdisciplinary 

team to develop special protective coatings 

for sensitive engine blades. Three years 

later, the team was honored with an MTU 

Award to testify to its successful work: the 

ERCoat nt coating system is indeed solving 

the problem effectively. 

Ice and snow can seriously injure an engine’s 

compressor blades. They are optimally protected, 

therefore, to benefit life cycle costs. 

Electric arc in a PVD facility at MTU’s Munich 

location. 

ERCoat nt builds on the physical vapor deposition 

(PVD) technique MTU has been successfully 

practicing for about 30 years. In 

this approach, metal vapor is produced in a 

vacuum, using an arc, and the particles carried 

in the vapor are made to condense on a 

substrate opposite it to form a thin film. 

The multilayer ERCoat nt coating dramatically 

enhanced the action of the conventional PVD 

technology. The multiple nanolayers of the 

coating marry the hardness of ceramic layers 

with the high ductility of metallic layers. 

This is achieved by neatly chaining a plurality 

of metallic and ceramic layers one over 

the other. Each layer is extremely thin within 

the nanostructure (10 -9 meter) range. Totally, 

the resultant protective coating adds no 

more than five to 50μm in thickness, or the 

five to 50 millionths of a meter (10 -6 meters). 

This structural principle gives the coating 

high and lasting strength to withstand the 

Sand and dust are critical companions in many 

flight missions. They are affecting not only the compressors 

but also the turbines of an engine. 

To the left, a worn compressor blade; to the right, 

one in its virgin state. 

impact of solids in the air. Its ductility, too, is 

enormous. Ductility denotes a material’s 

ability to change its form without suffering 

material separations. It is a very desirable 

property in engine components subject to 

high rotational speeds and accompanying 

vibrations. 

Uihlein knows another advantage his method 

provides: “We can coat selectively to suit the 

location of the part in the engine and its 

material.” Consideration is also given to the 

prevailing temperatures in the engine. 

“Presently, we’re achieving high-temperature 

ranges of more than 550 degrees centigrade, 

and we’re shooting for 650 degrees 

centigrade next.” 

Now that the first experimental engines have 

tested successfully, work is underway on the 

regulatory approval for the production use of 

the MTU innovation; development work is 

expected to conclude later this year. 

Regarding the prospects, the engineer 

observes: “In the military arena, for one, 

practically all engines are eligible for getting 

the ERCoat nt coating. In commercial aviation, 

the short-haul transports will get it first. But 

for the others, too, the advantages afforded 

by our technology are impossible to ignore.” 

Especially so as the innovative MTU product 

will facilitate customers’ acceptance of the 

advanced technology, for most engines will 

lend themselves to retrofitting with ERCoat nt . 


Dr. Thomas Uihlein 

+49 89 1489-3812 

This article is available online at: 

http://www.mtu.de/107ERCoatE 

8 REPORT REPORT 9


The repair mavens 

By Nicole Geffert 

While engineers elsewhere may resort to virgin parts to replace worn or damaged ones, the specialists 

at MTU Aero Engines prefer to repair, also when the parts involved are complex. They produce 

high-grade reconditioned parts that in terms of quality and reliability are as good as new. MTU’s 

customers appreciate the expertise involved: the company’s innovative high-tech repair processes 

indeed slash their maintenance costs and ensure the repaired parts perform flawlessly and the lives 

of their engines are extended. 

A technology leader and independent provider 

of engine maintenance (MRO) services, 

MTU vigorously presses ahead with the 

development of innovative repair techniques. 

“We aim to be and remain a technology 

leader in our market,” says Bernd Kessler, 

president and CEO commercial maintenance. 

MTU is clearly a step ahead of its 

competition. “We’re combining the knowhow 

of an engine manufacturer, one that 

develops materials and components, with 

our MRO background,” explains Bernd Kriegl, 

who supervises MRO repair engineering. 

“Our winning approach is we’re transitioning 

our design and manufacturing know-how to 

our repair activities, and vice versa. Typically, 

we’re world-class in blisk technology and so 

it stands to reason we pretty well know also 

how to repair these integrally bladed disks.” 

MTU experts have found a reliable repair 

solution even for heavily damaged blisk 

blades: patching. “We use an adaptive cutting 

process to remove the damaged portion 

of blade tip or edge by fully automated precision 

machining. That leaves the load-bearing 

structure of the blade intact,” explains 

Winfried Lauer, senior consultant, military 

engines. In a next step the blade is then 

restored to its original shape by welding. 

For the repair of the blisk’s titanium components, 

tungsten plasma arc welding has 

proved a trusted approach, because it produces 

a sound weld. The fully automated 

welding process is performed in an oxygenfree 

atmosphere to prevent oxidation. “The 

reconditioned component is 100 percent free 

Blisk repairs are among the most innovative practices 

in the industry: shown here are preparations for 

tungsten plasma arc welding at the Munich location. 

10 REPORT REPORT 11


An EJ200 blisk being repaired using tungsten plasma arc welding. 

Following repair, detailed gaging makes sure the 

blisk is precisely within tolerances. 

Heat treatment, too, is a process step following the 

actual repair. 

of pores in the weld. It’s as good as new,” 

emphasizes Armin Eberlein from repair engineering, 

military engines. Before the weld is 

machined using an adaptive milling process 

to obtain an optimum contour, the repaired 

area is heat treated. “We use induction coils 

to generate a local temperature field,” Lauer 

explains. “That completely removes thermal 

stresses induced in the part during welding.” 

After the subsequent milling process, the 

part is compaction peened. This produces a 

compression stress condition to set off tensile 

stresses arising in the component during 

flight service. 

“It was on the EJ200 military program that 

we developed comprehensive capabilities in 

blisk repair, and now our commercial cus- 

MTU Plus Laser Powder Cladding is used to repair worn 

blade tips. 

tomers are benefiting from that as well,” 

says Bernd Stimper, senior manager, blisk 

repair. “We can transfer these sophisticated 

blisk technologies to commercial engines like 

the PW300, PW500, PW6000, GP7000 and 

GE90.” 

A challenging technique also is the high-temperature 

brazing process that MTU specialists 

have developed for the repair of the turbine 

center frame (TCF) in the GP7000 powering 

the A380 mega-transport. “We designed 

the component and know its stresses,” 

says Hans Banhirl from repair engineering, 

GP7000. The challenge was that the TCF 

uses a novel material for which so far there 

had been no suitable repair procedure. 

“Repair welding was no option, because of 

the cracks it would produce in the highly 

heat-resistant cast nickel alloy,” explains 

Karl-Heinz Manier from repair development. 

He led a team of experts that worked on a 

brazing material and a heat treat cycle for 

optimum strength. Successfully so. Says 

Banhirl: “Our new technique is now available 

for the GP7000 production launch.” 

“Repair beats replacement” is the mantra 

also of MTU Maintenance Hannover. This is 

where Dr. Frank Seidel is responsible for 

repair development: “MTU Plus Repair is our 

trade name for the innovative repair procedures 

we use to more flexibly respond to 

individual customer requirements. MTU Plus 

Repair satisfies demanding criteria like 

improved life and function.” Among these 

procedures is MTU Plus Balance Stripping, an 

electrochemical stripping process. What’s so 

special about it is that it strips each blade 

The plating shop at Hannover uses the balance 

stripping process, among others. 

separately. Its measuring robot, in use since 

2006, gages each blade to determine the 

thickness of the coating to be removed and 

see how long it will have to dwell in the 

chemical solutions. “The reason is we want 

to strip only as much of the old coatings as 

necessary,” explains Seidel. “We don’t want 

to interfere with the original wall sections. It 

makes the blades repairable several times 

over, giving them a second, third or fourth 

lease on life. It goes easy on our customers’ 

pocketbooks without sacrificing any of the 

quality.” 

The same holds true for MTU Plus Laser 

Powder Cladding, where worn tips of highpressure 

turbine blades are repaired by 

welding, with a laser beam depositing powdered 

metal, which melts at 1,500 degrees 

centigrade, on the component. Remaining 

weld flash is removed by high-precision 

grinding. The procedure produces work of a 

quality impossible to achieve manually. The 

fully automated machine, developed inhouse, 

ensures process stability. Says 

Seidel: “We use continuous inspections like 

X-ray and others to ensure that the parts 

going into the engine are the highest quality.” 

Repair activities at the various MTU locations 

are coordinated to leverage synergies, as 

perhaps on LM2500 and LM6000 industrial 

gas turbines derived from CF6-6 and CF6- 

80C2 aircraft engines, respectively. “Procedures 

we’re developing at MTU Maintenance 

Berlin-Brandenburg for the LM series 

can advantageously be used also on CF6 

engines at Hannover,” says Christian Hornig, 

who works in repair development at MTU’s 

The five-axis milling machine—here shown at the 

Ludwigsfelde location—restores deformed blades to 

their prior contour in a fully automated process. 

Ludwigsfelde location. One of the location’s 

special forte is the fully automated adaptive 

restoration of the contours of deformed LM 

series blades. The need to perform elaborate 

manual grinding has been obviated by a fiveaxis 

milling machine controlled by sophisticated 

software. “The particular challenge was 

to cope with the individual geometries of 

blades pulled from current service, each 

sporting its own wear pattern,” Hornig elaborates. 

The machine gages the actual contour 

and matches it with the original shape. 

From the actual-versus-specified data it generates 

a fully automated milling program. 

According to Hornig, “automating the process 

saves time and money and so lets us 

offer repairs at affordable prices.” 

To further reduce customers’ maintenance 

costs by the flying hour, the various repair 

procedures remain under continuous development 

and improvement. “We’re hoping to 

expand our component repair business,” 

Kriegl says. “We want to outpace the market 

and accelerate the introduction of new 

repairs.” 


Bernd Kriegl 

+49 89 1489-3315 

To download images associated with 

this article, go to: 

http://www.mtu.de/107Repair 

12 REPORT REPORT 13

MTU Global 

A thousand tons 

for a good fit 

By Manfred Ruopp 

A dull thud behind the machine fairing announces that MTU Aero Engines’ new friction 

welding machine has just joined together another pair of engine parts under up to 1,000 tons 

of pressure. That’s like twelve locomotives bearing down on you all in one. After fully three 

years of planning and development, Germany’s leading engine manufacturer, in partnership 

with mechanical engineering company KUKA Aerospace Group, is revolutionizing the manufacture 

of compressor rotors with a novel machine of theirs. 

Since this spring, the machine has been 

serving in the production of rotating components 

like blisks and spools. Its highly precise 

action makes it unique in the world: it 

joins components together to tolerances of 

ten hundredths of a millimeter. The technology 

behind it was developed as part of research 

projects, with funds provided by the 

Free State of Bavaria and the Bavarian 

Research Foundation. MTU assumed over 

seven million euros of the cost. Partners in 

the venture were Munich Technical University, 

the Erlangen-Nuremberg Friedrich Alexander 

University, the Bavarian Research 

Foundation and the Bavarian Economics 

Ministry. 

For friction welding, one member of a joint is 

clamped in place on a rotating spindle while 

the other is attached opposite it on a tailstock. 

When a given speed is reached, the 

contacting surfaces heat up by friction to 

welding temperature. Simultaneously, upsetting 

pressure is finally applied to complete 

the welding process. 

What makes the new machine so unique are 

its two spindles with premounted flywheels 

on it, a previously unparalleled arrangement. 

Unlike on conventional single-spindle machines, 

variable centrifugal masses can so 

be applied from 500 to 45,000 kilograms per 

square meter. The upsetting pressure is infinitely 

variable from 100 to 1,000 tons to suit 

the component under work. 

Gerhard Bähr, who heads blisk production at 

MTU, views the investment in the high-end 

machine as a strategic decision, one that 

helps secure MTU’s technological spearhead 

position. “The machine is suited for all of the 

company’s current and pending engine programs.” 

Highly advanced control systems help join components 

with maximum precision. 

A giant of that ilk: the new friction welding machine is 20 meters long and partially buried in the shop floor. 

In fact, the company’s new engine projects 

call for higher upsetting pressures and centrifugal 

masses in friction welding than used 

so far. Another consideration is that the 

increasingly growing compressor temperatures 

require not only titanium but also more 

temperature-resistant materials to be welded, 

such as the nickel-base alloys Udimet 

720 or Inconel 718. In the quest for weight 

and volume reduction, friction-welded joints 

are often considered more desirable than 

bolted connections. Likely, friction welding 

will spread also to bulkier components. 

Concludes Bähr: “The requirements for the 

machine were dictated by the higher welding 

energies needed and the size of components 

it could handle.” 

For the production expert, it is not only the 

technical options provided by the machine 

that count but moreover, and equally important, 

its integrability into the production 

cycle. Comparison with previous friction 

The welding process proper takes only a few seconds. 

It produces an extremely homogeneous joint. 

welding machines makes that obvious: with 

them, the machine operators need a crane to 

heave the tons and tons of flywheels on to 

the spindle and manually attach them there, 

a process that may take as many as one-anda-half 

work shifts. Whereas on the new 

machine with its automated mass mechanism 

the centrifugal masses are premounted 

on the spindles. When the desired moment 

of inertia is entered into the control unit, the 

centrifugal masses are individually engaged 

in the spindle. Setup times are so reduced to 

two hours. This, plus the fact that the heating 

cycle associated with the existing machine 

is obviated, makes the new machine 

suitable for multishift operation. 

Toward the end of the friction cycle, care 

must be taken to position the members properly 

in relation to one another, and this is 

where the new machine is again setting new 

benchmarks. It easily cuts post-weld runout 

tolerances in half, to about one tenth of a 

millimeter. This is made possible by automated 

laser triangulation measurement of 

the spindles and components relative to 

each other and automated adjustment of 

their alignment. This approach opens up new 

opportunities for near net shape welding 

and, in production, novel approaches to the 

production cycle, as for instance with complex 

blisk spools. 


Gerhard Bähr 

+49 89 1489-8542 



http://www.mtu.de/107Welding 

14 REPORT REPORT 15


High-tech envelope 

for the engine 

By Patrick Hoeveler 

While one A380 takes off at full thrust from the Toulouse runway, 

the landing lights of the next Airbus mega-transport are already seen 

flashing in the distance. A little later, the approaching superjumbo 

touches down. Its thrust reversers bring the giant to an amazingly 

quick stop. That’s the everyday testing scenario at Toulouse, where 

the airliner and its systems are tested in depth. That also goes for 

the engine nacelles, which are certified as part of the airframe, not 

the engine. 

Electrically actuated thrust reversers, 

sophisticated noise attenuators, low weight 

at enormous dimensions: these are just 

some of the challenges for modern engine 

nacelles. On the fairings for the GP7200 

engine powering the Airbus A380, the engineers 

are breaking new ground. This necessarily 

calls for a close dialog among all involved, 

nacelles forming a highly engineered 

interface between airframe and engine. 

“Most people tend to believe an engine 

nacelle is just a sort of tube wrapping 

around the engine; what they can’t see is 

that actually it is a very sophisticated system,” 

explains Benoît Gosset, who heads the 

large nacelles division of Aircelle in Toulouse. 

A SAFRAN company, Aircelle manufactures 

fairings for such engines as the Pratt & 

Whitney PW6000 for the Airbus A318 and 

the Engine Alliance GP7200 engine for the 

A380. The main challenges are posed by 

weight and acoustics: the aircraft manufacturers 

want nacelles to be as light as possible 

and allow as little noise to escape as 

possible, according to Gosset. “Weight is a 

matter of the materials used. A large part of 

the nacelle is made of composite materials. 

But aluminum, titanium and steel are used 

as well.” The entire system should be temperature 

resistant and safely sustain distortions. 

Aerodynamics, too, is an important 

issue, to keep drag down. A nacelle typically 

includes some 4,000 parts, almost half of 

which go into the thrust reverser. 

16 REPORT REPORT 17


Not just a mere envelope for the engine: nacelles, like the CF6’s here seen, significantly reduce noise and fuel consumption. 

In the development effort, cooperation between 

engine maker and nacelle manufacturer 

sets in early. “The nacelle people are in 

on the game from the outset, to define interfaces 

and mountings,” explains Wolfgang 

Gärtner, GP7000 program director at MTU 

Aero Engines. Many of the auxiliary systems 

like fire extinguisher, pumps and electrical 

adapters need accommodating in a maximally 

space- and weight-saving manner. The many 

interfaces make the nacelle a rather complex 

piece of equipment. “The tricky thing is to 

define the interfaces and neatly separate 

roles and responsibilities.” Depending on the 

program, either the airframer or the engine 

builder is responsible for doing the integration 

work and compiling the specifications to 

be met. “An engine fairing must be a perfect 

fit for engine and airframe, and that makes 

communication with the airframe manufacturer 

mandatory for us,” confirms Peter 

Inman, manager business development at 

Goodrich Aerostructures, which provides the 

nacelles for the IAE V2500 and other 

engines. 

For the GP7200 engine fairings, the engineers 

have gone the extra mile. For a first 

time in their practice, they have made thrust 

reverser actuation electrical, as they have 

the opening mechanism of the fan fairing. 

The heavy fairing opens electrically at the 

push of a button, no longer hydraulically as in 

earlier programs. When you are facing the 

finished product, a weight around two tons 

seems little considering the tremendous 

size, what with an overall length of 8.50 

meters. You could comfortably put an Airbus 

A320 fuselage into the four-meter diameter 

nacelle. 

Apart from the enormous size difference, the 

engine fairing is configured much like those 

for the smaller PW6000 or other engines. For 

turboprop engines, however, there are some 

significant dissimilarities: unlike a turbofan, 

a turboprop has no thrust reverser mechanism. 

“Also, with propeller engines, the air 

issuing from the intake below the propeller 

hub—that’s what we call the chin intake—first 

needs deflecting into the annular engine 

The PW6000’s swing-up fairing provides optimum 

access for maintenance. 

inlet,” explains Dr. Wolfgang Gärtner, who 

supervises TP400-D6 development at MTU. 

“Apart from that, there’re hardly any differences 

between fairings for commercial and 

comparable military applications.” 

When the design engineers worked on the 

envelope for the GP7200, they pursued 

some new avenues. In the lip of the air 

intake, for instance, hot air from the engine 

is swirled in cyclone fashion. The air intake 

itself, much as on other nacelles, is lined 

with composite elements to dampen the 

noise. Visible joints have here been eliminated, 

however. The upper layer has ports routing 

the noise into the honeycomb core and 

so damping rather than reflecting it. A further 

perforated layer in the interior still 

enhances that action. The thrust reverser 

system, too, is noise-optimized through the 

incorporation of 75,000 holes. Fitting the 

engine with this envelope, also called podding, 

takes about twelve days. First, in the 

engine build-up (EBU) phase, specialists 

install some 30 subcomponents, such as piping 

and flanges. On the GP7200, the work is 

performed by Goodrich. That done, the unit 

goes to Aircelle, where it is fitted with the 

intake lining, the mounting bracket and the 

exhaust nozzle. On a special frame, the workers 

then install the composite fan cowl and 

the thrust reverser, checking them for perfect 

fit. 

While the novel nacelles are still in their 

infancy, design engineers on either side of 

the Atlantic are already working on future 

technologies, mostly for noise damping. 

Sawtooth-shaped rear nacelle edges might 

help create further savings. These chevrons, 

as they are called, optimize the mixing of the 

fast air stream issuing from the engine with 

the ambient air to reduce the noise heard on 

the ground and by passengers in the aircraft. 

That type of air swirling, however, at times 

boosts fuel consumption, because engine 

efficiency drops a little. To minimize that 

phenomenon, chevrons made from a shapememory 

alloy may be used. As a result of the 

high temperatures, they will at takeoff bend 

downward into the exhaust gas stream to 

lower the noise. During cruise, they will cool 

and retract into their original position to 

again reduce fuel consumption. It’s still too 

early in the game to use these chevrons in 

actual applications. But chevrons or no, 

today’s engine nacelles incorporate more 

high-tech content than first meets the eye. 


Wolfgang Gärtner 

+49 89 1489-2803 



http://www.mtu.de/107Nacelles 

18 REPORT REPORT 19


Flying high under the 

Silver Fern 

By Andreas Spaeth 

Air New Zealand has a long history, its predecessor company having provided flying boat 

services to Australia and operated to destinations in the South Pacific already back in 1940. 

Following turbulent years and a near brush with bankruptcy in 2001, the company, now a 

Star Alliance member, reinvented itself and by now counts among the most innovative of its 

kind. Driving its success has also been its adopted practice of outsourcing its engine MRO 

work to MTU Maintenance Hannover. 

Air New Zealand aircraft are sporting the 

Silver Fern on their tail fins. Called “koru” by 

the Maori natives of the South Pacific island 

state, the fern symbol signifies the beginning 

of all life and aptly fits the current Air 

New Zealand image. The profitable airline 

and Star Alliance member that after a narrow 

escape from insolvency in 2001 has 

radically changed its product, fleet and 

route network now is one of the most innovative 

in the business. Hardly ranging 

among the heavyweights in the industry, Air 

New Zealand with its 94 aircraft and 7.3 million 

passengers carried annually is geographically 

far remote from the world’s population 

centers, discounting Australia’s 

Sydney and Melbourne. From its main base, 

it takes fully 12 to 14 hours to fly to the 

Asian metropolises or the hubs on the U.S. 

West Coast. Also remember that with its 3.8 

million people, New Zealand is not much of 

a home market, either. Intercontinental business 

travel, normally the most productive 

source of revenue for the big carriers, matters 

little to the airline, for which tourist 

travel is key. While at first sight those factors 

are a drag for airlines, the carrier 

expects to profit from them. Says Welshman 

Ed Sims, group general manager in 

Auckland: “Our small size lets us adapt and 

move quickly whenever necessary.” 

TEAL, Air New Zealand predecessor company, in 

1946 acquired Short Sandringham flying boats to 

serve its routes, among them Auckland-Sydney. 

20 REPORT REPORT 21


17,000 kilometers away from Auckland, the CF6-80C2 engines are supported by MTU’s maintenance facility in Hannover. 

The company realigned operations at a 

breakneck pace. When it introduced Boeing 

777-200ERs into service in November 2005, 

it significantly changed its long-haul course, 

with eight of the large twin jets today based 

at Auckland. The interior of the transports, 

too, saw some radical changes, the firstclass 

configuration being scrapped on long 

routes in favor of a new Business Premier 

setup in which the seats are configured in a 

herringbone layout. They extend into 

absolutely flat beds 2.07 meters long and 

compartmented by high vertical walls on 

either side. Also, the route network was 

cleared out, with unprofitable routes like that 

to Singapore being canceled and new promising 

destinations added, notably the new 

Shanghai route. Since October 2006, Air 

New Zealand has been flying around the 

world. In Europe, it traditionally serves only 

London Heathrow, flying to Auckland from 

there via Los Angeles. Of late, it also sends a 

jumbo jet every night from London to 

Auckland in the opposite direction, via Hong 

Kong, on a route that in flight time (21 to 24 

hours) and miles is almost exactly identical. 

The airline has been in business for over 60 

years, surviving times good and bad. On 

April 30, 1940, its predecessor company 

Tasman Empire Airways (TEAL) launched flying 

boat operations to Australia. In 1961, 

TEAL was taken over by the government and 

later renamed Air New Zealand, on April 1, 

1965. In October 1989 the company was privatized 

and its shares listed on the Auckland 

stock exchange. After its affiliate Ansett 

Australia went bust, the company in fiscal 

2000/2001 posted a loss of 612 million U.S. 

dollars, the largest ever incurred by a com- 

pany in New Zealand. The white knight then 

was the government, which took 80.2 percent 

of Air New Zealand’s stock and has 

been hanging on to it ever since. That 

marked the beginning of the airline’s rapid 

recovery. In 2002/2003, it already made 

close to 100 million U.S. dollars in profits. By 

now, under the leadership of its chief executive 

officer Rob Fyfe, Air New Zealand has de 

facto again become a serious factor in the 

industry. “We were very dynamic for an airline 

of our size with our strategic decisions in 

the last months,” is how Rob Fyfe sees it. 

The innovative Business Premier Class seats are 

driving Air New Zealand’s success. 

That also includes a decision, taken last year, 

to close its own engine maintenance operations 

in Auckland and outsource the engine 

MRO work. The company’s 34 General 

Electric CF6-80C2 engines, which power 

part of its Boeing 747-400s and 767-300ER 

fleet, plus spare engines, are now being 

maintained by MTU Maintenance Hannover 

some 17,000 kilometers away. Fyfe praises 

the effectiveness of the cooperative effort: 

“By outsourcing the work to MTU the cost of 

maintaining our engines was lowered by 30 

percent and the turnaround is 50 percent 

quicker now.” 

According to Fyfe, Air New Zealand Cargo 

hauls eight to ten engines a year to Germany 

in its Boeing cargo aircraft. “We would take 

about 120 days per engine, MTU does it in 

50 to 60 days,” says a pleased airline CEO. 

“That’s mostly due to smooth logistic organization,” 

explains Nils Fenske, who at MTU 

Maintenance Hannover is the director sales, 

Australia and Pacific Rim. Also, according to 

Fenske, MTU is known for its flexibility in 

spare parts provisioning, which otherwise 

necessitates lead times of between one and 

six months when ordering new parts. MTU 

further uses a so-called flowline principle to 

facilitate the teardown and reassembly of 

engines, which is a tough job considering 

engines contain some 30,000 individual 

items. Adds Fenske: “Since we’re repairing a 

lot of engine parts in our high-tech shops 

and buying relatively few new parts from outside 

sources, costs are bound to come down 

appreciably.” He continues to say: “With its 

well-known reliability and quality standard, 

Minor engine work, like here on a Boeing 767, is performed 

in Auckland. 

Air New Zealand is our key customer in the 

region.” 

Already, the airline is planning ahead: Air 

New Zealand is presently mulling the addition 

of 23 new routes, many of which cannot 

be served until 2010 and after, when the first 

of the eight ordered Boeing 787-9s will be 

delivered, for which the New Zealanders constitute 

the launch customer. Independently 

of that, Air New Zealand has largely achieved 

its current goal: “We want to be market 

leader on all routes we serve—and that is 

already the case everywhere with the exception 

of Hong Kong where Cathay Pacific still 

leads,” says a proud CEO. 


Nils Fenske 

+49 511 7806-390 


http://www.mtu.de/107ANZE 

22 REPORT REPORT 23


Service to customers 

By Elisabeth Wagner 

MTU Aero Engines stands for tradition, high-technology and top-notch quality: where in the past, predecessor companies 

helped the first powered aircraft make it into the air, the company today is a force to be reckoned with and a 

technology leader in several disciplines. The German expert for all things engine now offers its products and services 

also singly. A new function, Supply Business, is responsible for marketing the individual offerings. 

MTU has developed its expertise and continuously 

honed it over decades: from development 

to recycling, the company is versed in 

all engine product and service facets. The 

entire bandwidth of its portfolio will now be 

made available also to other manufacturers: 

“Our philosophy is ‘one face to the customer’ 

and that’s how we intend to provide customers, 

mostly in aviation, with tailored solutions 

in the shape of products and services 

that are normally forming part of MTU’s overall 

offerings,” says Dr. Sorina Seitz, who 

supervises the new MTU activity. She has 

assembled an effective team of marketing 

and sales engineers selected from a variety 

of disciplines: “Our work focuses very clearly 

on meeting individual customer requirements.” 

Aircraft engines come under fierce stresses, 

having to satisfy maximum performance, 

safety and reliability requirements. MTU, in 

hundreds of cooperative ventures and manifold 

contracts, has demonstrated its expertise 

to become a universally desirable, reliable 

partner. The industry is permanently in 

need of special manufacturing machines, 

test facilities and engineering services that 

provide the very best modern technology is 

able to provide. A one-stop shop, MTU provides 

manufacturing, finishing, repair and 

testing, plus the entire supply chain behind 

it, for products earmarked for rough environments. 

Ranking among the leading global players in 

the engine business, MTU is a pacesetter in 

various technologies. It excels in four different 

areas: low-pressure turbines, high-pressure 

compressors, engine control units and 

repair/manufacturing techniques. In commer- 

This deburring machine sports an integrated measuring 

system. 

A blisk stage is being gaged on an automated measuring machine. 

cial MRO, it is the world’s largest independent 

provider of engine maintenance services. 

Demand for high-tech products and services 

like MTU’s is growing in other industries as 

well. In the booming power generation business, 

for instance, many applications call for 

rotational friction welding techniques. For 

industrial gas turbines, the energy generated 

in rotational friction welding by large inertia 

masses is used to optimally join dissimilar 

materials. Similarly, MTU’s spin test stands 

are of special interest to the automotive 

industry, as is its surface finishing savvy. 

A blisk stage of the EJ200 low-pressure compressor 

on a high-speed milling machine. 

MTU’s offerings are the best available in all 

essential individual aspects of engine manufacturing, 

and the company’s Supply Business 

function knows how to combine them 

into nose-to-tail solutions. Customers are 

provided maximum quality over the entire 

process chain. Whether it’s project planning, 

consulting, manufacturing, testing, troubleshooting 

or maintenance, it’s all single-point 

sourcing. 

The engine manufacturer gave a taste of its 

capabilities late in March at Munich’s Aerospace 

Testing Expo 2007. At this, the largest 

European trade fair for aerospace inspection 

and test systems MTU premiered the whole 

gamut of its inspection and test expertise. 

The debut proved to be a hit. Seitz noted: 

“We met with very encouraging acceptance. 

Small wonder: MTU combines exceptional 

know-how with mature inspection and test 

means ranging from the smallest probe to 

the largest engine test cell, and that in 

Germany is a unique offering.” The MTU hallmark, 

here and elsewhere, is best possible 

quality and reliability. 


Dr. Sorina Seitz 

+49 89 1489-8339 

To download images associated with this 

article, go to: 

http://www.mtu.de/107SupplyE 

24 REPORT REPORT 25


Tuesday morning, 8:00 a.m. on the dot, a 

Boeing 747 freighter aircraft operated by 

U.S.-based Atlas Air takes off uneventfully 

from the Hannover runway. Nor are there any 

malfunctions noted on its return flight the 

day after. But still, the aircraft has to undergo 

an unscheduled engine check. MTU’s engine 

experts suspect that damage occurred 

somewhere along the compressor vane actu- 

26 REPORT 


By Odilo Mühling 

Under permanent observation: At MTU’s maintenance affiliate in Langenhagen, data emitted from airborne engines 

is continuously monitored. A novel engine trend monitoring system on the ground compares the data from the wing 

with that of a reference engine, providing vital cues to the health of the airborne engine. Accurate prognostics and 

early failure diagnostics so prevent costly consequential damage. 

ating chain. Subsequent inspection confirms 

that some component in the system had 

indeed been damaged. So the problem can 

be rectified right then and there. “Suppose 

small damage like that goes undetected, it 

might trigger some tremendous engine failure 

that would cost a mint to repair,” figures 

Ivaylo Krastev, a powerplant engineer at MTU 

Maintenance Hannover. 

This damage, a broken link on a V2500 compressor stator, was detected early. This prevented a major failure. 

Detecting defects early before they mature is 

the job of the engine trend monitoring (ETM) 

system, a new, innovative building block of 

MTU’s maintenance concept. “ETM means 

monitoring an engine fleet using a PC-based 

system on the ground,” explains Dr. Andreas 

Kreiner, ETM project manager at MTU. 

During takeoff and cruise, the aircraft system 

records critical engine data like pressure, 

temperature and vibrations. These 

parameters are radioed directly or via satellite 

to a network on the ground. The ETM system 

retrieves that data from the network and 

matches it against computations from a 

comparable engine model. In this manner, 

deviations from the standard curve become 

readily apparent. When a defect is noted, suitable 

maintenance action is organized. Heavy 

secondary damage and costly repairs are so 

prevented. 

To make sure such valuable prevention works 

safely, the ETM system needs to satisfy 

tough requirements: it must be available 

24/7, and disruptions are anathema. Over 

98.5 percent is the minimum reliability demanded. 

Also, the system is on continuous 

duty and must not be deactivated for any 

duration exceeding four hours. Tolerances 

are far from liberal: precise prognostics 

detect the slightest of variations from the 

model. 

At MTU Maintenance Hannover, ETM was 

launched in September 2005. “Here at 

Hannover we clearly recognized the need for 

it when we did a technology project called 

advanced monitoring,” Kreiner says. At that 

time, there had been a similar system in 

place at the MTU facility. “Except that users 

were missing some important functions,” 

according to Kreiner. So an interdisciplinary 

project team went to work on a solution of 

its own, one that would clearly benefit customers. 

It does: the CF6 engine fleet of Atlas 

A JetBlue Airways technician photographed inspecting a V2500 on the ground. 

Air and the V2500 engines of JetBlue Airways 

can now be monitored and repaired ever so 

more efficiently. 

However, the MTU experts, much like the 

system they created, are not taking time out. 

They’re already working on improvements, 

hoping to expand the system’s functionality. 

“Short-term, we want to implement some 

extra functions customers want. We’re also 

thinking about evaluating the data via the 

Internet,” says Dr. Christian Zähringer, who is 

supervising the updating effort. Also, the 

ETM system’s diagnostics capabilities are to 

be upgraded, permitting it to process additional 

data, like that from the oil system. “We 

also want to expand ETM to cover additional 

engine types,” according to Zähringer. 

Plans are also to widen the field of application 

to include other MTU locations, like 

Ludwigsfelde. In Munich, having a finger on 

the pulse of the engine already pays dividends. 

Says Zähringer: “We’re learning some 

valuable lessons in practical engine applications. 

Such information comes in handy in 

the engine development phase, too.” 


Dr. Christian Zähringer 

+49 89 1489-6796 



http://www.mtu.de/107ETME 

REPORT 27

Reports 

28 REPORT 

Mini-engines power 

mega-model 


One after the other, the four engines, each barely the size of a water bucket, begin to buzz and slowly rev up. To 

make sure they deliver the specified twelve kilograms of unit thrust, Peter Michel dips his hand into the exhaust gas 

stream. The German aircraft model freak has built the world’s largest jet-powered airplane model, an Airbus A380 

replica. On flight displays, it enthralls spectators in Germany and abroad. 

The mini-engines are custom-manufactured, 

costing 3,500 euros apiece. The original 

A380 powerplant, the GP7000, in which MTU 

Aero Engines has a role, is 4.75 meters long 

and weighs six tons, but its small replicas, 

too, pack a tremendous wallop for their size. 

When Michel is sure the four engines are all 

running at maximum takeoff power, he uses 

his remote control to cycle the model A380’s 

elevator, rudder, wing slats and speed brakes 

through their motions just like the pilots of 

the true mega-transport will to check their 

proper function before takeoff. They all must 

respond flawlessly to Michel’s thumb-operat- 

ed commands, radioed to them via two 

antennas, before he proceeds to taxi the 

small giant to the runway and take it elegantly 

into the air after a short takeoff run. 

From the excitement, drops of sweat are 

forming on the model maker’s forehead at 

The model’s fuselage is mainly balsa and plywood. At particularly highly-stressed places the model is 

reinforced with fiberglass and composites. 

each takeoff, no matter how routinely he 

operates his remote control. The A380 

model, after all, is the finest piece he has 

produced in 20 years of impassioned model 

building that produced radio-controlled models 

of the Boeing 747-400, Concorde and 

other jet-powered jumbos. With his latest 

mega-model, the retired master motorcar 

mechanic from Ingelheim operates the 

world’s presently most intriguing airplane 

model. In his basement shop and working all 

by himself to original drawings Airbus lent 

him, the 64-year-old has produced a unique 

specimen that is unparalleled anywhere in 

the world. It has cost him in excess of 2,000 

working hours and a tidy sum of money that 

could have bought him a near-luxury class 

car. 

For a model airplane, the dimensions are 

impressive indeed: the model is 4.80 meters 

long, has a wingspan of 5.40 meters and an 

empennage 1.65 meters high. lt weighs fully 

70 kilograms and in every detail is a highfidelity 

likeness of the original airplane that 

weighs in empty at 277 tons. Since the A380 

midget brings more than 25 kilograms to the 

scales, the German Federal Office of Civil 

Aeronautics (LBA) has ruled it needs a service 

license. But at least Michel didn’t have to 

obtain a separate operator license for it; he 

already had one for a prior model, a 60-kilogram 

Boeing 747-400. “That requires some 

sort of basic pilot training,” explains the 

model builder. “One that primarily teaches 

you to get and keep the thing in the air.” 

During the aircraft certification process, the 

LBA examiners put the model builder and his 

showpiece through gruelling tests, loading 

the model’s wings with 75-kilogram sand 

bags to prove it can safely survive threetimes 

the force of gravity. But made of styrofoam, 

balsa and plywood—coated with fiber- 

glass and carbon fiber composites especially 

on structural parts—the model refused to 

break down under the cruel LBA tests. 

Flying at speeds of up to 120 kilometers an 

hour, the jet model carries its own three-million-euro 

insurance and boasts a noise 

measuring chart plus a flight log recording all 

takeoffs and landings. “That’s about the 

paperwork a private pilot needs,” laments 

Michel in exasperation of so much red tape. 

Like true aircraft, the model airplane is not 

allowed to take off just anywhere in the 

country, being cleared for operation only 

At first sight, the model takes off very much like the 

original. 

from airfields and specifically designated 

takeoff and landing surfaces. The model 

holds a ten-liter supply of kerosine, enough 

to sustain a twelve-minute flight demonstration 

that so far has fascinated thousands of 

spectators. 


Sabine Biesenberger 

+49 89 1489-2760 



http://www.mtu.de/107MegaModel 

Prior to the next takeoff, Peter Michel—here dressed in red—takes great pains with every little 

detail. 

REPORT 29

Reports 

Beauties on the catwalk: During the annual 

NATO Tiger Meet exercise, the colorfully 

painted fighter aircraft take center stage. 

“These custom-painted jets always catch the 

eye,” notes Burghard Jepsen, who has done 

the painting on most of the colorful birds. He 

uses his spray gun to airbrush not only air- 

30 REPORT 

Airborne paintings 

By Patrick Hoeveler 

It is not only with aircraft enthusiasts and model makers that custom-painted combat aircraft 

are the vogue. Air force squadrons are investing much effort in creating unique works 

of art on their warbirds. A very special instance of such artistic sense can be found on MTU 

Aero Engines’ Munich premises: the first privately owned German Tornado. After over two 

decades in service, the former strike fighter now symbolizes the close cooperation that 

exists between the German military and MTU. 

craft for the meet of the squadrons with wild 

cats in their coats of arms, but often adds 

color also to military aircraft parading at 

anniversaries or other events. 

A very special instance of aerial art sits at 

the main gate of MTU’s Munich factory. The 

retired Tornado symbolizes the long years of 

cooperation between MTU and the German 

Armed Forces and, moreover, “documents 

the still closer ties between us since the 

inauguration in 2003 of the industrial-military 

cooperative model of engine maintenance,” 

says Ulrich Ostermair. He supervises 

At the Tiger Meet, the participating squadrons vie for 

honors with spectacular paint jobs. 

license programs/cooperative models at 

Germany’s leading engine manufacturer and 

had a major role in getting the strike fighter 

designated “43+86” to Munich. “The Tornado 

is the first aircraft type where MTU was 

actively involved in engine development. The 

special paint scheme says that this is a piece 

The special decorations are getting ever splashier, like on this “Blue Lightning” Tornado of fighter 

bomber wing 31 “Boelcke”. 

of German Air Force (GAF) equipment now 

put to some other use.” 

Enter Burghard Jepsen. “First, we needed to 

strip the old paint job, considering that the 

camouflage paint didn’t mix well with the 

new colors.” Next came two coats of primer 

plus a black topcoat before Jepsen and his 

team of four focused on the detail work. The 

empennage was held in stone grey to suggest 

the solid cooperation practiced between 

GAF and MTU. Finally, Jepsen added 

the logos of the two partners. A special highlight 

are the RB199 engine silhouettes on 

either side of the aircraft. Concluding the 

four days of work, done at the Erding air 

base, was a three-layer coating of clear titanium 

varnish. 

Jepsen remains uniquely responsible for his 

work as long as his objets d’art are flying. 

The German military has strict notions about 

the paint jobs: it wants the paint to remain 

intact for about a year, regardless of any 

storms the jet would have to fly through, and 

it also requires the paint job to wash off without 

resort to poisonous chemicals. “If suddenly 

a mission arises, the paint has to come 

off pronto,” says the man from northern 

Germany. “It takes about two hours, using a 

high-pressure cleaner.” He remembers it 

wasn’t easy the find the miracle paint he 

needed. And “it took two years or so until the 

German Federal Office of Civil Aeronautics 

finally approved it for flying operations.” 

The special paint does not come cheap. For 

a tailfin alone, the price of the almost six 

liters needed for the job may run around 

4,000 euros. Mostly, the members of the 

squadron pay it out of their own pockets and 

so the pride of ownership matches the 

expense. In such cases, Jepsen may now and 

then choose not to charge for his work at all, 

billing only the cost of material. He has a 

growing number of private customers, too, 

who want to have their property adorned. So 

he has brightened up even complete business 

jets and commercial aircraft. But he 

maintains that “combat aircraft are the best 

advertising you can have, and they’re the 

most fun to do.” 


Ulrich Ostermair 

+49 89 1489-3621 

To download images associated with this 

article, go to: 

http://www.mtu.de/107Paintings 

REPORT 31

Anecdotes 

32 REPORT 

Desert 

graveyard 


How do you dispose of a veteran jumbo jet? Many elderly, but increasingly also new excess commercial 

aircraft are parked in the Arizona desert in the hope, initially, that they’ll be returned to flying 

duty. The evenly dry desert climate and extensive care prevent corrosion and halt the aging 

process. Some of the jets indeed return to revenue service, but others again fall prey to the hungry 

teeth of wrecking grabs and the searing heat of cutting torches. 

It’s a dramatic sight: The nose of the aged jumbo in the 

former livery of United Airlines rises steeply into the darkblue 

sky. The giant aircraft is suspended at a strange 

cant as if on a still from an action movie. Except there is 

no action whatever, the entire scene seems deserted, 

with a loose elevator clattering in the wind. A big reinforced 

concrete slab is secured to the aircraft nose with 

a steel wire to keep the jumbo from involuntarily taking 

to the air in sudden gusts. Sitting there in the Arizona 

desert, apparently dead to the world outside, is not just 

this one 1971 vintage United veteran; hundreds of further 

elderly widebodies are keeping it company. What you see 

most often are Boeing 747-100 and -200s, as well as 

747SPs. More than 60 jumbos are sitting in Marana 

alone on the grounds of the Evergreen Air Center, the 

world’s largest parking lot for commercial transports. 

Apart from them, Airbus A300s, Lockheed TriStars, DC- 

10 und -9s and MD-80s are dominating the desert airport 

between Phoenix and Tucson in Arizona’s south. 

REPORT 33

Anecdotes 

Retired B-52s at the Davis Monthan Air Force Base. 

While most of the aircraft here are waiting to 

get back into the air, chances for a comeback 

are slim for the airplanes parked in the 

desert. Since the terrorist attacks on 

September 11, 2001, and the deep crisis of 

many airlines, especially U.S.-based, the aircraft 

parking lots and graveyards in the 

American deserts are experiencing an unexpected 

boom: while in the ’90s, 700 to 1,000 

of the 15,000 commercial transports existing 

worldwide were mothballed, that number 

rose to 2,400 about a year after the attacks, 

which compares with the 2,000 or so still 

parked today. Apart from Marana, Arizona 

has two more major parking lots: in 

Goodyear near Phoenix and in Tucson. At 

times, some 400 jobless transports congregate 

there. A very impressive sight also is the 

site of the Davis Monthan Air Force Base 

south of Tucson, where thousands of surplus 

military aircraft are assembled, plus 

large fleets of commercial veterans, like 

Boeing 707s. 

At Evergreen in Marana, the first make-orbreak 

test came during the Asia crisis in the 

late ’90s: “At that time, we temporarily had 

30 brand-new jets sitting around here, 

among them many Boeing 747-400s of 

which airlines like Philippines, Korean Air, 

Asiana and Garuda had not taken delivery,” 

said Wally Flannery, a 35-year veteran with 

Evergreen. He went on to explain: “With 

34 REPORT 

Boeing, we have the status of an official 

delivery center, which means we can transfer 

such planes directly to new takers.” The fortunes 

of the global aviation economy, then, 

reflect very much in the inventory sitting on 

the 185-hectare Evergreen grounds before 

the background of the jagged Sawtooth 

Mountains. Nowhere in the world have as 

many aircraft ever been parked as here, and 

scrapped, too: a total of 1,500 planes since 

the ’70s. And still counting: so far, each year 

some 180 airliners are being stripped worldwide, 

many of them in Marana. During the 

past ten years, the share of first-generation 

widebodies among scrap candidates—early 

Boeing 747 models, as well as DC-10s, 

Lockheed TriStars and Airbus A300 and 

A310s, most recently also Boeing 767s—has 

been growing. 

Often, the engines are worth more than the 

old aircraft themselves, and Evergreen is still 

cashing in as much as half a million dollars 

on the sale of a single jet engine, tested and 

recertified, naturally. The operators profit 

from the investments made in advanced 

engines and innovative maintenance. The 

majority of the 150 jets, no less, that were 

parked at Marana after 9/11 and went back 

into revenue service from there had engines 

with MTU content. The Evergreen people are 

not only parking and wrecking aircraft, they 

are also doing all types of modification. Most 

Awaiting metal recycling are veteran engines stacked up near Tucson, Arizona. 

On a retired DC-10, the rear engine has already been removed. 

prominent customer is the NASA space 

agency, which continually has one of its two 

Boeing 747 shuttle carrier aircraft overhauled 

and serviced here. “It’s a cool job and 

what’s more, there’s money in it,” enthuses 

Al Sharif of Evergreen Marketing. 

Even if only ten percent of the Evergreen Air 

Center’s revenue comes from storing aircraft, 

it’s a very special business nonetheless. 

Ambient conditions are ideal: the dry 

desert air and only very rare summer rains 

just about preclude corrosion, a fuselage’s 

worst enemy. But still, there’s more to it than 

just parking an aircraft and waiting for it to 

be sold or wrecked. In accordance with customer’s 

instruction, landing gears are covered 

with foil, and windows and all openings 

are taped over. That keeps the intensive sunshine 

from damaging the cabin interior, and 

owls, rattlers and swarming bees from setting 

up house in the aircraft. To keep the 

temporarily grounded Marana fleet airworthy, 

a definite maintenance schedule needs 

to be observed. At certain intervals, the 

parked jets are moved to keep their tires 

from deteriorating. Also, workers are regularly 

actuating stabilizers and flaps and starting 

the engines. Importantly, the doors are frequently 

opened to circulate the air inside. 

“You can park a widebody for 1,000 bucks a 

month, and we get a 750-buck monthly standard 

charge for a smaller aircraft,” Flannery 

says, allowing a small grin to creep across 

his face. “It costs you more to park a car in 

downtown New York.” 

Wrecking is not an overly gentle job: a grab 

swings and tears large metal chunks out of 

the fuselage. When cannibalized, a jumbo- 

transport yields a respectable 68 tons aluminum 

and other waste metal to be recycled 

and perhaps turned into beer cans. “In a 

matter of three days, we’re turning a Boeing 

747 into 20 containers of metal scrap,” 

explains Flannery. “They fetch about 20,000 

dollars from a scrap dealer.” Each year, some 

two dozen widebody aircraft end their lifecycle 

in Marana. Add to that just as many of 

the smaller jets. “It’s sure to break the 

hearts of visiting pilots,” Flannery says. 



+49 89 1489-2760 


http://www.mtu.de/107Graveyard 

REPORT 35

NEWS 

Udo Stark to depart MTU at year-end 

MTU Aero Engines CEO Udo Stark for personal 

reasons does not intend to renew his 

contract with MTU, which runs out at the end 

of 2007. Stark, MTU’s chief executive officer 

since January 2005, commented: “I’ll be 

sixty this year and that’ll be the right time to 

step aside and launch a change of generations 

at MTU.” 

Chairman of the supervisory board Johannes 

P. Huth said: “Udo Stark has shaped MTU in 

a decisive phase and has led the company to 

an independent publicly listed company. He 

has prepared MTU for the challenges of global 

competition and fully completed his 

tasks.” 

36 REPORT 

MTU’s CEO Udo Stark departs after three years at 

the helm. 

China Southern orders V2500 engines 

for 50 A320 airliners 

MTU Aero Engines profits appreciably from a 

hefty order from China: the V2500 contract 

from China Southern, worth 1.35 billion U.S. 

dollars, translates into more than 110 million 

euros in revenue for the Munich-based company. 

China’s largest airline has ordered 

from International Aero Engines (IAE) con- 

The V2500 is very popular especially on the Asian 

market. 

sortium V2500 engines to power 50 new 

Airbus A320 family transports. IAE has also 

assumed responsibility for the maintenance, 

repair and overhaul (MRO) of the engines. 

MTU Maintenance Zhuhai of China will have 

a major role in that work. 

Airbus A320 of China Southern with two V2500 engines. 

MTU supports the 

Tyne through 2017 

MTU Aero Engines has renewed the 

license agreement for the support of 

the Rolls-Royce Tyne engines powering 

the Transall. The agreement will 

now run until 2017 and cover the 

complete in-service phase of the military 

transport, which is slated to be 

retired in 2015. 

“This partnership with Rolls-Royce 

dates back to the mid-60s,” said Dr. 

Stefan Weingartner, who heads up 

defense programs at MTU. “The Tyne 

is one of the most reliable engines 

worldwide.” 

The Tyne delivers 4,150 kW. 

MTU anticipates strong growth also in 2007 

MTU Aero Engines Holding AG foresees sustained 

growth in the current year. Revenues 

are targeted to rise by eight percent, to 2.6 

billion euros, and adjusted EBITDA to 365 million 

euros, a 15 percent gain. In fiscal year 

2006, MTU grew its revenues 11 percent, 

from 2.18 billion euros to 2.42 billion euros. 

Concurrently, profit from operational activities 

(adjusted EBITDA) grew at an above-average 

rate, to 318.2 million euros, which 

exceeded the previous year’s level, 238.7 

MTU Aero Engines 

in million euros 

Revenues 

of which OEM business 

of which commercial engine business 

of which military engine business 

of which commercial MRO business 

EBITDA (calculated on a comparable basis) 



Net income (IFRS) 

Net income (adjusted) 

Earnings per share (adjusted) 

Cash flow from operating activities 

Research and development expenses 

of which company-funded R&D 

of which outside-funded R&D 

Capital expenditure 

Order backlog, adjusted to eliminate effects of 

U.S. dollar exchange rate 

Order backlog 



MRO order value of contracted engines, in U.S. $ 

Number of employees 

million euros, by 33 percent. Net income 

(adjusted) also showed appreciable gains. 

After 53.1 million euros in 2005, it more than 

doubled, to 121.8 million euros, surpassing 

its 115 million euro target by six percent. 

“2006 was a very successful business year 

for MTU. We have consistently beaten our targets 

throughout the year,” summarized MTU 

CEO Udo Stark. “The aviation industry 

expects continued growth in 2007. MTU is 

* adjusted due to proportionate consolidation of 50 % interest in MTU Maintenance Zhuhai 

Hannover to support Cathay Pacific CF6 engines 

MTU Maintenance Hannover and Cathay Pacific have signed a contract for the 

maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of CF6 engines operated by the airline. 

The contract, whose term is indefinite, covers 15 CF6-50E2 engines providing 

power for Boeing 747-200F transports operated by the Chinese airline. 

Bernd Kessler, MTU Aero Engines president and CEO commercial maintenance, 

said during the contract signing ceremony: “Cathay Pacific is one of the world’s 

most highly reputed airlines. We’re proud to have won a customer like that.” The 

contract may have a ripple effect, according to Kessler, seeing the airline is globally 

recognized for its superior quality and reliability. 

2006 

2,416.2 

1,483.1 

993.5 

489.6 

954.7 

318.2 

217.7 

103.4 

89.1 

121.8 

€ 2.25 

209.8 

169.9 

80.6 

89.3 

114.1 

Dec. 31, 2006 

3,563.7 

3,342.3 

3,218.4 

124.1 

4,847.0 

7.077 

well placed to benefit from this situation and 

will once again achieve growth rates well 

above the general market level. We expect to 

see a significant improvement in our revenues 

and operating results.” Driving the 

growth will largely be commercial engine 

sales and MRO. Both segments had been the 

growth drivers also in 2006. With an increase 

in revenues of 12 percent in the first quarter 

of 2007 MTU continued on its growth track. 

2005* 

2,182.7 

1,434.8 

943.4 

491.4 

766.9 

238.7 

162.4 

77.8 

32.8 

53.1 

€ 0.97 

291.7 

171.9 

83.8 

88.1 

85.7 

Dec. 31, 2005 

3,580.9 

3,580.9 

3,433.8 

147.5 

4,195.1 

6.930 

Change 

+ 10.7 % 

+ 3.4 % 

+ 5.3 % 

- 0.4 % 

+ 24.5 % 

+ 33.3 % 

+ 34.1 % 

+ 32.9 % 

+ 171.6 % 

+ 129.4 % 

+ 132.0 % 

- 28.1 % 

- 1.2 % 

- 4.0 % 

+ 1.4 % 

+ 33.1 % 

Change 

- 0.5 % 

- 6.7 % 

- 6.3 % 

- 15.9 % 

+ 15.5 % 

+ 2.1 % 

REPORT 37

Dr. Uwe Blöcker new CEO 

at MTU Maintenance 

Hannover 

Dr. Uwe Blöcker has been appointed president 

and CEO of MTU Maintenance 

Hannover, effective March 1, 2007. He replaces 

Ferdinand Exler, who had led the company 

for five years. Blöcker has been working 

in aviation for 17 years, holding various management 

positions at Lufthansa and other 

companies. He has gained international 

experience in China, Ireland and other foreign 

locations. 

38 REPORT 

JetBlue has extended a 2005 contract for the 

support of V2500 engines from 10 to 15 

years. That boosts the value of the order by 

1.7 billion euros to 2.4 billion euros, making 

it the largest contract of the type MTU Aero 

Engines has ever won. Of the almost 400 

engines involved, 116 will be the advanced 

SelectOne version, to be delivered to JetBlue 

starting 2009. It excels through lower fuel 

consumption and maintenance costs. 

MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg 

wins significant IGT contracts 

Offshore oil rigs are among the major industrial gas turbine applications. 

MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg will 

provide support services for the General 

Electric LM series of industrial gas turbines 

(IGT) operated by oil exploration companies 

Statoil ASA, Norsk Hydro Produksjon and 

ExxonMobil Exploration and Production 

Norway AS. These industrial gas turbines are 

finding use on oil rigs in the North Sea and 

installations on the Norwegian mainland. 

MTU wins JetBlue contract, the largest 

MRO deal in its annals 

With its A320 fleet, JetBlue is the world’s biggest 

V2500 operator. 

The Ludwigsfelde IGT experts have contracted 

to perform scheduled and unscheduled 

repair and overhaul on about 40 percent of 

the LM gas turbine fleet in service. The systems 

are used for oil and gas exploration and 

power generation. 

Bernd Kessler, MTU Aero Engines president 

and CEO commercial maintenance, commented: 

“JetBlue ranks among the fastest 

growing and most successful airlines of the 

world. The new contract testifies to the enormous 

trust the company places in us.” 

The V2500 is MTU Maintenance’s most significant 

program. 

Massive JT8D order 

from USAF 

Joint STARS bases on the old Boeing 707 airframe. 

MTU Aero Engines and Pratt & Whitney will 

jointly provide some 80 JT8D-219 engines to 

power surveillance aircraft of the U.S. Air 

Force. The engines will equip 19 four-engine 

Joint STARS aircraft. 

“This represents yet another step toward 

establishing MTU on the U.S. defense market,” 

explained MTU CEO Udo Stark. “It was 

with the aid of Pratt & Whitney, our partner 

of many years, that we were able to achieve 

this win.” 

Dr. Wolfgang Konrad takes 

helm of MTU Maintenance 

Berlin-Brandenburg 

Dr. Wolfgang Konrad has been appointed 

president and CEO of MTU Maintenance 

Berlin-Brandenburg at Ludwigsfelde, effective 

February 1, 2007. He succeeds André 

Wall. In earlier positions, he supervised various 

areas of BMW Rolls-Royce Aero Engines 

at Dahlewitz. He accumulated international 

experience in both his studies and professional 

career. 

MTU increases 

F414 stake 

Just added to MTU’s portfolio: the GE F404. 

MTU Aero Engines has increased its workshare 

in the General Electric F414 military 

engine and secured a stake in the predecessor 

F404 model. For the two programs, it 

produces the high-pressure compressor 

spool and other components. Over the entire 

life of the two programs, the present stake of 

5.9 percent translates into revenues of more 

than 900 million euros. 

Masthead 

Editor: 


Eckhard Zanger 

Senior Vice President Corporate Communications and Investor Relations 

Editor in chief: 


Address: 


Dachauer Straße 665 


Tel. +49 89 1489-2760 

Fax +49 89 1489-4303 

E-mail: sabine.biesenberger@muc.mtu.de 

Internet: www.mtu.de 

Editorial staff: 

Silke Dierkes, Nicole Geffert, Patrick Hoeveler, Odilo Mühling, Manfred Ruopp, 

Andreas Spaeth, Elisabeth Wagner 

Graphics & Layout: 

Manfred Deckert 

Sollnerstraße 73 


Tel. +49 89 30728287 

Photo credits: 

Cover Page: 

Pages 2-3: 

Pages 4-7: 

Pages 8-9: 

Pages 10-13: 

Pages 14-15: 

Pages 16-19: 

Pages 20-23: 

Pages 24-25: 

Pages 26-27: 

Pages 28-29: 

Pages 30-31: 

Pages 32-35: 

Pages 36-39: 

MTU Aero Engines photo archive 

Raimund Stehmann, MTU Aero Engines photo archive 

Pratt & Whitney, MTU Aero Engines photo archive 

Airbus, Boeing, MTU Aero Engines photo archive 


KUKA Aerospace Group, MTU Aero Engines photo archive 

Raimund Stehmann, EuroProp International, 


Toni Marimon, Andreas Spaeth, MTU Aero Engines photo archive 


AtlasAir, JetBlue Airways, MTU Aero Engines photo archive 

Peter Michel, Andreas Spaeth 

Patrick Hoeveler, MTU Aero Engines photo archive 

Gerhard Plomitzer, Andreas Spaeth 

Cathay Pacific, China Southern Airlines, General Electric, 

JetBlue Airways, Statoil, U.S. Air Force, MTU Aero Engines photo archive 

Printed by: 

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Kirchplatz 6 

87509 Immenstadt im Allgäu • Germany 

Tel. +49 8323 802-0 

Contributions credited to authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editors. 

We will not be held responsible for unsolicited material. Reprints are allowable provided 

reference is made to the source and a voucher copy is mailed to the editors. 

REPORT 39

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