Safran achieves milestone with thrust reverser

Safran Nacelles (Burnley, UK) announced May 29 it has delivered its 2,000th thrust reverser for the Honeywell HTF7000 engine variants. The thrust reversers have been designed and manufactured by Safran Nacelles for nearly 20 years and have been supplied to various customers to serve a number of aircraft and engine variations, including Bombardier Challenger 300/350, Embraer Legacy 450/500, Gulfstream G280 and Textron Cessna Citation Longitude.

The HTF7000 thrust reverser is made up of 20% composite and 80% Metallic (Ti/Al). The composite part is laid up by hand in one of the company’s Burnley Clean Rooms, before they are cured in an auto-clave, sent for CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machining, non-destructive testing (NDT) and finally sent to the paint shop before they are taken to the assembly line. The assembly line in Burnley has been re-engineered into a single stepping line to support the four different customer variants of the product.

In the past 20 years, more than 3.5 million flight hours have been logged across the different variants, and in March the Cessna Longitude completed a tour around the world as it approaches certification and entry into service.