Posted by John McHale
NANJING, China, 19 April 2010. Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC) selected Honeywell (NYSE: HON) to supply its 131-9[C9C] Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) and associated equipment for the C919 single-aisle commercial airliner.
The new APU design is based on Honeywell's 131-9 family of APUs. An APU is a small gas-powered turbine engine that provides bleed air for main engine starting and the environmental control system, and electrical power for cockpit systems and galley systems, either in the air or on the ground.
"Honeywell's 131-9A is the most popular APU for single-aisle commercial aircraft in the world today," says Dave Cote, Honeywell chairman and chief executive officer. "Our APU has proved to be highly reliable, fuel efficient, and quiet in the millions of hours of in-flight service that it has recorded to date. We expect that it will be an important fixture on the C919 for many years to come. The 131-9A is one of many aerospace technologies developed by Honeywell, and we're looking forward to actively participating in the establishment and growth of the Chinese aviation industry."
The Letter of Intent was signed by Mr. Tim Mahoney, President and CEO of Honeywell Aerospace, Mr. Wu Guanghui, Senior Vice President of COMAC, Mr. Yao Yuhai, Chairman of AVIC Dong'an, at a ceremony held in Nanjing today. Cote, Mr. Zhang Qingwei, , Mr. Lin Zuoming, President of AVIC, Mr. Cao Wexing, Vice Governor of Jiangsu Province, and Mr. Zhu Shanlu, Secretary of Nanjing Municipal witnessed the signing.
"This is a win-win opportunity for both companies. We believe that Honeywell's leading technologies will make the C919 a more reliable and fuel-efficient aircraft. Honeywell's expertise will help to sharpen our competitiveness in the world market and we look forward to the cooperation," says Zhang Qingwei, chairman of COMAC.
The 131-9[C9C] APU will deliver reliability of more than 10,000 hours between unscheduled maintenance and low fuel burn. The reliability and efficiency lowers the cost of operations for a C919 aircraft by more than $20,000 a year, Honeywell officials say.
In addition to the 131-9[C9C] APU, the award includes a starter/generator system and installation kit, also provided by Honeywell.
