COMAC delegation visits Safran Nacelles Le Havre plant

On June 21^st, a COMAC delegation led by Mr WU Guanghui (VP of COMAC Headquarter and Chef of C919 aircraft program), visited Safran Nacelles plant in Le Havre. They were warmly welcomed by Mr. Bertrand Hugueny (Industrial Director of Safran Nacelles) and Olivier Dubroeucq (Safran VP, C919 Program director). In the morning, they visited the C919 O-Duct plant followed by some meetings in the afternoon.

 

Through the CFM partnership established between Safran and General Electric (GE), Safran supplies to COMAC the Integrated Propulsion System (IPS), covering the LEAP-1C engine and the nacelle. The LEAP-1C is a new engine generation, part of the LEAP (Leading Edge Aviation Propulsion) engine family, designed to be the successor of the CFM56 engines. The nacelle is developed by Nexcelle, a 50/50 joint venture between Safran Nacelles and Middle River Aircraft Systems (GE), and supplied to CFMI. The O-Duct, which is part of the C919 nacelle, is a technology breakthrough in nacelle design for integrated propulsion systems, replacing a traditional thrust reverser's two-piece "D" ducts. During the production phase, the C919 O-Ducts will be assembled in SAVI Nacelles, a Safran Nacelles and AAC (AVIC subsidiary) 50/50 joint venture located in Xi’An (China).

 

The C919 thrust reverser system can also deploy and stow electrically, thanks to the ETRAS (Electrical Thrust Reverser Actuation System), which is the first electrical thrust reverser system installed in an O-Duct architecture. This system was developed by several Safran companies (Safran Nacelles, Safran Electronics & Defense and Safran Electrical & Power) showing a great synergy in the Group.

 

The visit was a success, strengthening mutual confidence between the parties and reinforcing COMAC and Safran relationship.