Chromalloy has been granted FAA parts manufacturer approval (PMA) for a CFM56-5B/7B first-stage high-pressure turbine (HPT) Stage 1 vane, expanding the company’s portfolio of critical parts developed in-house for the most in-demand narrowbody engines.
“Achieving FAA approval for the CFM56 HPT Vane 1 PMA, our second new FAA-approved PMA in as many months, underscores our ongoing commitment to delivering quality-engineered options to support our customers’ fleet management strategies,” Chromalloy President Chris Celtruda said. “Chromalloy’s PMAs are produced via an independent supply chain, which enables better inventory availability for engine service centers.”
Word of the newest CFM56 PMA part comes a week after the company revealed during Aviation Week’s MRO Europe it is shipping recently approved IAE V2500 second-stage HPT blades.
In 2021, Chromalloy earned FAA approval for its first CFM56 hot-section part, a low-pressure turbine Vane 1. The company is working on at least three more as part of a broader strategy to give operators and MRO providers alternatives to OEM spares.
“Chromalloy is the only company not affiliated with a large OEM with the capability and expertise to make hot-section aircraft engine PMA parts, one of the most expensive parts in aircraft engines,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Ken Herbert writes in a Nov. 1 research note.
The company has a joint venture with engine leasing and modular overhaul specialist FTAI Aviation to supply CFM56 hot-section PMAs at discounted rates to support the company’s shops. FTAI also receives a share of parts sold to third parties.
Chromalloy’s growing portfolio of PMA spares includes 65 gas-path parts. The company’s near-term focus is on completing CFM56 hot-section parts efforts, adding more high-value V2500 parts and developing more in-house repairs for both platforms.
“In the next couple of years, the biggest consumer of our engineering resources is completing our high-value shipset on the [CFM56] and on the V2500-Select [variants], both from a PMA and DER point of view,” Celtruda told Aviation Week at MRO Europe.
Related Content
