The employees recognized at this week’s PRM show off their awards.

In two days of PRM sessions in Toulouse, France, we reviewed Nexcelle’s 2012 successes – including the completion of preliminary design reviews for our nacelles on the LEAP-1C engine, which will power the COMAC C919 jetliner, as well as GE’s Passport powerplant on the Bombardier Global 7000 and 8000 business jets.

Our tests with the PANACHE demonstrator also marked a major milestone by validating a key Nexcelle design element – the one-piece composite O-Duct thrust reverser design for the LEAP-1C. The data match has been completed with excellent correlation between analysis and actual test results.

At the heart of such accomplishments are Nexcelle’s people, and I was particularly pleased at the latest PRM to recognize a number of them for contributions during 2012. This group was composed of members from our management team, as well as personnel from the Aircelle and Middle River Aircraft Systems parent companies.

As we prepare for 2013, our focus now turns to program execution. I look forward to continue communicating with our customers, partners and the industry through future postings on this blog.

Huntley B. Myrie
President – Nexcelle

Our half-scale functional IPS model had a prominent placement on GE’s exhibit stand at Airshow China.

This month’s Airshow China underscored the country’s continued development as a player in the global aviation sector.

The excitement of visitors was contagious, as those who came by to see Nexcelle during the six-day event in Zhuhai were extremely interested in how our integrated propulsion system (IPS) technology will benefit the new COMAC C919 jetliner.

I’m joined at Airshow China by (from left to right): Aircelle’s Thierry Wilmet, Vincent Mascré, the Aircelle Chairman & Chief Executive Officer; and GE’s Kevin Vanwert.

Their pride in this Chinese aircraft – and the opportunities it offers for the country’s aerospace industry was evident – along with the commitment from program officials in pursing the C919’s development, production and entry into service.

Among the visitors to Nexcelle’s half-scale functional IPS model at Zhuhai were representatives from COMAC. Many were already familiar with our IPS approach for the C919’s LEAP-1C jet engine, and they shared their enthusiasm with others who had the opportunity to see these technologies in action with Nexcelle’s half-scale functional model that was on display at Airshow China.

Airshow China also was a demonstration of the team effort that is Nexcelle, with the direct participation and support of our two parent companies – Aircelle and Middle River Aircraft Systems – along with their Safran and GE parent organizations. Our physical location in the Zhuhai Airport Exposition Center further underscored this, as Nexcelle’s IPS model was hosted on the GE booth, which was located adjacent to the exhibit for the GE/Safran CFM International joint venture that is developing the LEAP-1C engine.

After the show, I traveled to the GE Customer Technology Center in Shanghai, where I met with the GE team members involved in developing the C919 nacelle system. This provided an opportunity to discuss the program’s progress, and for me to thank them personally for their continued contribution to the LEAP-1C propulsion system.

Huntley Myrie
President – Nexcelle

During my visit to Shanghai, I met with Lunde Liu, GE’s C919 Nacelle Project Leader, who is located at the GE Customer Technology Center.

This is the functional scale model we will be displaying at Airshow China.

This biennial event has become one of China’s primary aerospace industry gatherings, and we are using the opportunity to bring Nexcelle’s half-scale model that highlights key IPS features for the C919 nacelle package for its Airshow China debut.

Nexcelle continues to make excellent progress on developing and validating the technologies for the C919’s LEAP-1C engine nacelle, including our successful tests earlier this year of the PANACHE thrust reverser demonstrator.

I will be leading the Nexcelle team to Zhuhai, and look forward to meeting attendees at Airshow China on GE Aviation’s exhibit stand: Booth #D2-1.

Huntley Myrie
President – Nexcelle

Wearing matching green Nexcelle polo shirts, the volunteer team was all smiles during our visit to the Ronald McDonald House in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Underscoring this philosophy of working together, a group of Nexcelle employees recently volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House in Cincinnati and cooked breakfast for the families staying at this facility. We arrived early, prepared the food and served a full menu – including eggs, fruit, pancakes and turkey sausage. To make things special for the children, we even offered chocolate chips and whipped cream as pancake toppings.

This meal was a great opportunity to give back to the Cincinnati community, and everyone on the team walked away with smiles on their faces. I think it always provides a warm feeling to help a child, especially children who are in real need of assistance. Also, having a child who spent a week at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital when he was born, I have a deep connection to the facility and organizations which serve its patients – such as the Ronald McDonald House.

I believe it’s important that Nexcelle not only be a great company, but also a good institution which is an asset locally. In addition to focusing on profits and products, our business must be a quality neighbor which serves the greater community where we live.

The breakfast is just the beginning, as we are currently looking at new potential outreach programs and hope to schedule more gatherings and events in the near future.

The teamwork displayed at the Ronald McDonald House is a microcosm of what I observe daily at my new position, as I collaborate with program managers from both companies to ensure complete agreement as these businesses unite and create one great institution.

Anthony Pope
Executive Vice President – Nexcelle

This “action shot” shows Nexcelle team members hard at work preparing breakfast for families staying at the Cincinnati Ronald McDonald House.

Nexcelle’s third-quarter Program Review Meeting (PRM) offered such an opportunity this month. The reviews were held at GE Aviation’s Brian H. Rowe Learning Center in Evendale, Ohio – which is home to a collection of GE’s products ranging from America’s first jet powerplant to the current production models including CFM56 and GE90 engines.

Visiting this impressive heritage underscores how vision, technology and integrity can open new horizons – as GE engines have pioneered propulsion from the dawn of the jet age.

Included in the Learning Center’s displays are GE’s CJ805, which powered the fastest commercial jetliner of its time – the Convair 990; the TF39, built as the world’s first high-bypass jet engine; the GE90, in service today as the largest and most powerful airliner engine; and CFM International’s CFM56, the joint venture powerplant from Nexcelle’s GE and Safran parent companies, which set the successful joint venture standards that we apply in our own operations today.

During Nexcelle’s team visit to the Learning Center, we were also reminded of the pioneers on whose shoulders we stand today. They were dedicated and persistent in doing it right.

Nexcelle is committed to “doing it right” as we play our own pioneering role in evolving a new generation of integrated propulsion systems, and the excellence preserved at GE’s Learning Center provides an inspiration for all of us.

Huntley Myrie
President – Nexcelle

Some of the Nexcelle team members attending our third-quarter Program Review Meeting in Evendale took a break for a guided tour of the GE Aviation’s Brian H. Rowe Learning Center.

Activities included the successful testing of Nexcelle’s PANACHE nacelle demonstrator, an industry first for IPS.  We’re continuing the data review from the 200 cycles of normal deployments, rejected take-off deployments and aborted landings performed with our advanced thrust reverser configuration on PANACHE – which included Nexcelle’s one-piece composite O-Duct thrust reverser.

From the program point of view, Nexcelle contributed to the progress of the two propulsion systems for which it has been selected as the nacelle system provider: CFM International’s LEAP-1C for the COMAC C919 jetliner; and GE’s Passport for the Bombardier Global 7000 and 8000 business aircraft.

We have participated in three LEAP-1C program reviews with CFM International and COMAC, ensuring integration and keeping up the development pace.  For the GE Passport, the engine design was frozen following a successful Tollgate 6 review, enabling its detailed design phase to begin and clearing the way for component fabrication.

Nexcelle also was “front and center” at one of this year’s premier events – the 2012 Farnborough Airshow, where we displayed our scaled IPS model, shared the successful testing of the PANACHE demonstrator, and showed the newest company video highlighting Nexcelle’s value proposition.

All of these technical and program achievements are built on the dedication and commitment of Nexcelle’s team – which fully benefits from the combined resources of our two parent companies: Aircelle of the Safran group, and GE’s Middle River Aircraft Systems.

The remainder of 2012 promises to be equally busy for Nexcelle, and I will continue to provide regular updates.

Huntley Myrie
President – Nexcelle

Nexcelle’s presence provided the occasion to meet with current suppliers and others who were interested in discussing the future of integrated propulsion systems – and to outline the technology that will be available for further improvements in performance, efficiency and maintainability.

My conversations with the supplier community included such topics as the increased application of composites for lighter weight, the improved integration of sensors and systems, and new advancements in surface film and coatings to improve durability and reduce weight.

It is encouraging to see that as Nexcelle is thinking ahead, our current and potential future suppliers are doing the same, and will be evolving ideas that could contribute to improving Nexcelle’s next generation of integrated propulsion systems.

Huntley Myrie
President – Nexcelle

A steady flow of professional visitors at the Farnborough Airshow are coming to see Nexcelle’s integrated propulsion system scale model and the newest company video.

The advertisement’s layout is built around the image of a child with outstretched arms, who is opening up a path through the clouds. This symbolizes the opportunities to be opened with Nexcelle’s new nacelle technologies for integrated propulsion systems, and is a visual representation of our company’s tagline: “Smart nacelle systems for tomorrow’s world travel.”

In this latest advertisement, the clouds’ opening reveals our PANACHE nacelle demonstrator, which recently completed highly successful full-scale testing — marking a first validation of our next-generation Integrated Propulsion System (IPS) technology.

I have included the advertisement, below, and if you are at the Farnborough Airshow, please see us to learn more about Nexcelle, and why we are convinced our IPS technology roadmap is opening new horizons in propulsion system efficiency, performance and maintenance (Hall 4, Stand B7).

Huntley Myrie
President – Nexcelle

At this year’s edition of the U.K. biennial aerospace industry gathering, we have a high-profile presence – which starts with our integrated propulsion system half-scale model displayed at GE’s exhibit stand, and also includes Nexcelle’s presence in the aerospace trade press.

The functional half-scale model, located in Farnborough’s Hall 4, has attracted a steady flow of visitors interested in understanding more about our IPS concept. This included a delegation from COMAC, which is building the C919 that will benefit from Nexcelle’s integrated propulsion technology on the jetliner’s LEAP-X1C jet engine.

In addition to receiving a briefing at the scale model, we showed COMAC representatives the video of our PANACHE demonstrator during its successful testing in the U.S., validating such key features as Nexcelle’s new one-piece composite O-Duct thrust reverser and its new deployment kinematics – which will be incorporated on the C919’s LEAP-X1C powerplant.

For me, it was exciting to see the COMAC delegation’s reaction while watching the operation of real hardware Nexcelle is developing for the C919 – demonstrating our ability to deliver on the integration propulsion system promise.

In another aspect of our presence at Farnborough, it is more than symbolic that GE Aviation’s air show booth is located next to the exhibit stand of SAFRAN, bringing together the corporate-level organizations of Nexcelle’s two parent companies – Aircelle and Middle River Aircraft Systems.

Nexcelle also is making headlines at Farnborough, as the show’s daily publications are reporting on our PANACHE testing. Additionally, Nexcelle’s latest corporate advertisement is included in both of the show dailies.

If you are at Farnborough this week, please come by the GE Aviation exhibit stand (Hall 4, Stand B7) to meet me and Mathieu Morin from Aircelle’s product support team, who is sharing the responsibilities of providing “walk-throughs” of Nexcelle’s integrated propulsion technology for air show visitors.

Huntley Myrie
President – Nexcelle

Testing of the PANACHE demonstrator was performed at GE’s Peebles, Ohio facility.

Our successful completion of PANACHE nacelle demonstrator testing was not only an industry first for Integrated Propulsion System (IPS) technology, but it also confirmed the excellent level of cooperation in all areas that has become a hallmark of the Nexcelle joint venture.

PANACHE was the first realization of hardware to support our technology roadmap for next-generation Integrated Propulsion Systems, and the fact that it’s testing wrapped up one week early while meeting all of the goals is a tribute to the teams at Nexcelle’s parent companies, Aircelle and Middle River Aircraft Systems.

The PANACHE demonstrator was truly put through its paces at GE Aviation’s Peebles Test Operation in Ohio, conducting 200 cycles of normal deployments, rejected take-off deployments and aborted landings – demonstrating the maturity of Nexcelle’s IPS with actual hardware.

It is exciting to see our technologies moving from concept to reality, placing Nexcelle at the leading edge of nacelle package improvements that will provide aircraft operators with propulsion systems that are lighter, more efficient and easier to maintain.

For additional information on the PANACHE testing, read Nexcelle’s press release on this milestone and watch the video from Peebles below.

Huntley Myrie
President – Nexcelle