CFM International has said its new CFM56-7BE turbofan, which will have a 2-percent fuel-burn improvement over current production engines, is “progressing on schedule” and will start a 150-hour certification block-test to “triple redline conditions” within “the next few weeks.” This will lead to a 50-hour flight test program on General Electric’s flying test bed aircraft later this year, with flight tests on a Boeing 737NG due in early 2011 ahead of certification in the middle of that year.

Separately, CFM–a joint venture between GE and France’s Snecma–has upgraded the CFM56 engines of nearly 300 operators worldwide to its new Tech Insertion standard during  regular shop visits. Since 2007, when Tech Insertion became the production configuration for all CFM56-7Bs and -5Bs, nearly 3,300 of the enhanced capability engines have been delivered. They provide better fuel efficiency and lower maintenance costs through a range of improvements to the internal turbomachinery and the combustor.