LEAP-1C

Visão geral

The LEAP-1C é a única planta motriz desenvolvida no Ocidente para o primeiro avião de fuselagem estreita de design nacional da China, the COMAC C919. It shares the same 78-inch fan diameter and 11:1 bypass ratio as the LEAP-1A for the A320neo, making it the physically largest of the three LEAP variants. The LEAP-1C represents a strategically significant program for both CFM International and China's aviation industry — it is the only LEAP variant developed exclusively for a single customer aircraft, and that aircraft represents China's most ambitious effort to enter the commercial fuselagem estreita market dominated by Boeing and Airbus.

From a technical standpoint, the LEAP-1C is essentially a re-engined variant of the LEAP-1A adapted to C919 airframe integration requirements, including revised nacelle geometry and different FADEC software calibrations. It incorporates the same CMC turbine shrouds, tecidas em 3D composite fan blades, TAPS II combustor, and fabricada por manufatura aditiva fuel nozzles that define the LEAP generation. No entanto, the C919's entry into commercial service was significativamente delayed — originally planned for 2014, it finally entrou em serviço com China Eastern Airlines in May 2023, nearly a decade late.

Especificações técnicas

Variantes

The LEAP-1C is produced in a single primary variant, the LEAP-1C1, rated at aproximadamente 30,000 lbf for the C919's operating weight and range requirements. Unlike the LEAP-1A which spans 24,000–35,000 lbf across multiple sub-variants for different A320neo family members, the LEAP-1C is tailored specifically to the C919's mission profile targeting routes up to aproximadamente 2,200 nm. Potential future stretched C929 variants — should they proceed — would likely require a larger engine outside the LEAP family's current envelope.

Aplicações em aeronaves

• COMAC C919: LEAP-1C1 (30,000 lbf) — a primeira fuselagem estreita de corredor único autóctone da China, routes up to 2,200 nm

História do desenvolvimento

COMAC selected the LEAP-1C in 2009 as the launch engine for the C919, in competition with Pratt & Whitney's PW1100G. The LEAP-1C first ran in October 2014, sharing many development milestones with the LEAP-1A program. Chinese certification (CAAC type certificate) for the LEAP-1C came in September 2022, paving the way for C919 certification in September 2022. China Eastern Airlines inaugurated the first C919 commercial flight in May 2023 on the Shanghai Hongqiao – Beijing Capital route. The LEAP-1C's strategic significance has grown amid US-China trade tensions and export control concerns: China has actively accelerated development of the domestic AECC CJ-1000A engine as a potential long-term replacement, though that engine faces a decade-long certification road. For the foreseeable future, the LEAP-1C remains the C919's only engine option, making CFM International a critical supplier to China's aviation ambitions.