Within a month of receiving EASA Design Organisation Approval, 21jAeroDesign has been issued with their first EASA Supplemental Type Certificate, approving replacement thrust reverser adapter ring segments on Airbus SA aircraft powered by CFM56-5A/5B engines.
Operators have experienced heavy exfoliation corrosion affecting the thrust reverser adapter ring, often discovered while in-service and resulting in operational disruption. 21jAeroDesign has worked closely with Europe’s largest operator of Airbus SA aircraft to develop a replacement part with improved resistance to corrosion.
Adam Duke, 21jAeroDesign’s Head of Design describes the fundamentals of the design process; “In order to define product improvement our first job was to understand route cause of the failure and the resultant effect on the part. Through detailed analysis we were able to identify several points of failure, each of which has been systematically corrected in the design of the new part.”
The initial set of 21jAeroDesign replacement thrust reverser adapter ring segments will be delivered in June this year and will enter into service with the first customer shortly afterwards.