01I19 The spirit of invention Innovation for aviation engines: Yesterday, today and tomorrow >> 1969 1981 1987 1999 2011 2019 2050 COVER STORY: 2050 INNOVATION AVIATION Thrust for Bionics make New long-haul business the future engines quieter and jets give the market more efficient new momentum >> 1969 1981 1987 1999 2011 2019 2050 Special feature in this issue of AEROREPORT: Innovation for aviation engines—yesterday, today and tomorrow: since 1969, the MTU name has stood for technological progress in engine manufacturing From the first engine developed as a pan-European effort, to additively manufactured components, and beyond: six stories highlight milestones in MTU Aero Engines company history, culminating in a look ahead at future developments that MTU experts are already working on today. 3 Editorial >> 1969 1981 1987 1999 2011 2019 2050 Dear readers, The year 1969 saw a whole host of important events in in a number of key technologies. Our high- and low-pressure aviation history, including flight testing of the Concorde and turbines, turbine center frames and not least the innovative Tupolev Tu-144 supersonic aircraft and the maiden flight of the repair techniques used by MTU Maintenance are among the four-engine Boeing 747. On May 29, 1969, a joint development best out there. contract for the A300 signed at the Paris Air Show marked the launch of Airbus, and on July 11, the aircraft engine and With a global population of several billions, mobility demands large diesel engine divisions of Daimler-Benz and MAN Tur- continue to rise. Aircraft engines must become more econom- bo merged to form a company called MTU, short for MTU ical, cleaner and quieter. As in the past, MTU will continue to Motoren- und Turbinen-Union München GmbH M.A.N. May- have a major impact on engine development in the future, too. bach Mercedes-Benz. Today, MTU Aero Engines is Germany’s leading engine manufacturer. In this issue, join us on a journey through 50 years of innovation at MTU, up to and including a look at propulsion technologies For 50 years, the MTU name has stood for the constant drive of tomorrow. We give you an insight into bionic structures to innovate, to push the limits of technology—and to embody in engine construction and modular aircraft concepts, and a culture of innovation. Today, the company leads the world present our customer Asiana Airlines. I hope you enjoy reading this issue! Reiner Winkler Chief Executive Officer Contents 4 >> 1969 1981 1987 1999 2011 2019 2050 COVER STORY: 1969 COVER STORY: 1981 COVER STORY: 1987 The engine that A league of their own How the engine of the started it all future was developed MTU Aero Engines engineers had to Today, MTU low-pressure turbines have The partners Pratt & Whitney, Fiat Avio overcome several challenges to get the a huge range of applications: in bizjets, and MTU Aero Engines began research- Tornado engine performing as it should. transport helicopters, and medium- and ing Geared Turbofan™ technology in the A tricky task that laid the foundation for long-haul aircraft. The path to becoming 1990s with the help of a demonstrator. invaluable knowledge and the basis for a world-class manufacturer of low-pres- Today, the innovative engine sets the the company’s success. sure turbines began 45 years ago with industry standard. an exhaust casing. Page 6 Page 8 Page 12 CONTENTS COVER STORY INNOVATION 6 The engine that started it all MTU Aero Engines 28 Nature’s way Bionics make engines quieter and had several challenges to overcome to get the RB199 more efficient performing as it should 32 Modular aircraft Flexibility to save costs 8 A league of their own Low-pressure turbines: The path to world-class manufacturer AVIATION 12 How the engine of the future was developed 36 South Korea’s number two airline Asiana flies high The innovative Geared Turbofan™ engines sets the on growth trajectory industry standard 42 Bright outlook for new long-haul bizjets New long-haul 16 Symbiosis in action Blisk development: How blade business jets give the market new momentum and disk became one 20 Printing a component, layer by layer MTU Aero Engines is a pioneer in the use of additive manufacturing in the aviation industry 24 Thrust for the future MTU Aero Engines is working on the aviation technologies of tomorrow, today 5 Contents >> 1969 1981 1987 1999 2011 2019 2050 COVER STORY: 1999 COVER STORY: 2011 COVER STORY: 2050 Symbiosis in action Printing a component, Thrust for the future layer by layer Blisks were used for the very first time With its use of additive manufacturing, “Answering tomorrow’s challenges”: in the Eurofighter EJ200 engine. Today, MTU Aero Engines has become one of the For MTU Aero Engines, this principle is the rotor disks in the compressor with first engine manufacturers to have im- both a motto and a responsibility. Never integrated blades are manufactured on plemented a process that manufactures before has the company had such good a large scale using a technique specially lighter components using selective laser answers ready as today. developed by MTU Aero Engines. melting. It will also be used in the future to produce more complex components. Page 16 Page 20 Page 24 GOOD TO KNOW 46 1969 “One small step for a man...” 48 Fat ones Given how they are shaped like pregnant fish or oversized whales, it’s hard to believe that these transport planes can take off at all 48 MTUPlus Intelligent Solutions MRO solutions tailored to customer needs 50 Masthead and photo credits www.aeroreport.de All articles from the print edition are also available online at www.aeroreport.de, optimized for smartphone and tablet. There you find informative videos, photo galleries, zoomable images and other interactive specials too. Cover Story 6 >> 1969 1981 1987 1999 2011 2019 2050 The engine that started it all MTU Aero Engines had to overcome several challenges to get the Tornado engine performing as it should—and built up invaluable knowledge in the process. Text: Denis Dilba 19 69 Pooling power ______ MTU, Rolls-Royce Going the distance ______ A total of 2,504 The Tornado ______ It is still impossible and Fiat (now Avio Aero) began developing RB199 engines were manufactured, several of to imagine European air defense without the the RB199 in 1969. which are still in service. Tornado. “Without the RB199, there would be no MTU Aero Engines.” This “The mission requirements for the Tornado could hardly have one sentence underlines the importance the development of the been any bigger,” remembers Schäffler. “On the one hand, the Tornado engine had for MTU. But this alone does not do justice to multirole fighter had to intercept enemy aircraft at Mach 2.2, this pioneering achievement. Because no other story illustrates on the other master operations at low altitude.” And of course quite as effectively what MTU had been about since day one: the jet should be able to take off and land on short runways. In using high-caliber technical ingenuity to push the boundaries of other words, the RB199 not only had to generate a great deal of what’s possible—in short, to innovate. Back at the start of RB199 thrust while being as lightweight as possible—and consume low development in 1969, this was known as engineering ingenuity, amounts of kerosene and enable peak acceleration in a short says engine developer Arthur Schäffler. This savvy was absolute- timeframe—it also had to have a thrust reverser. The idea was ly necessary in order to master the challenges MTU engineers to have a three-shaft engine with 12 compressor stages, with a faced back then with the new jet engine, notes 81-year-old compressor pressure ratio of 23:1 and a turbine inlet tempera- Schäffler, who was part of RB199 development from day one and ture of some 1,300 degrees Celsius. “Considering what was whose career would take him all the way to the role of technical state of the art back then, this was a massive leap in both of director for Eurojet. these respects,” Schäffler says. 7 Cover Story >> 1969 1981 1987 1999 2011 2019 2050 Grown-up challenge for the young MTU Failing the bird strike test Schäffler remembers how the Turbo-Union consortium, a joint Just as surprising was the discovery that the surface of the blades venture between Rolls-Royce (40 percent), Fiat (20 percent) for all rear stages of the high-pressure section was much too and MTU (40 percent) that was founded specifically to build the rough. “This meant that the system wasn’t achieving its full aero- RB199, eagerly set about work. The division of labor meant that dynamic potential,” Schäffler says. Here too, it would be years the MTU team, made up of engineers from MAN Turbo and Daim- before they succeeded in manufacturing the thumbnail-sized ler-Benz , “landed a major deal considering what they knew at blades in a suitable quality. Another thing Schäffler remembers the time,” says Schäffler. “We were responsible not only for the very well is how the blades had to be redesigned after the first bird medium- and high-pressure compressors, the medium-pressure strike test: “The bird passed through the low- and medium-pres- turbine and thrust reverser, but also for the internal air and oil sure compressors without doing much damage before complete- system for cooling and lubricating the highly stressed casing and ly destroying the high-pressure compressor.” Compared to the channeling cooling air to the turbine blades. Such technological other issues with the RB199, Schäffler says this was easy to fix: requirements were not the only uncharted territory for MTU.