A Bel Air Aviation AW189 helicopter has surpassed 5,000 engine flight hours operating with GE’s CT7-2E1 engine. Since entering service in November 2014, this AW189 has had zero engine shop visits and stands as the AW189/CT7 fleet leader in total engine flight hours.

“Reaching 5,000 engine flight hours with zero shop visits is an amazing illustration of the world-class reliability the CT7 offers our customers for a wide range of missions,” said Elissa Lee, GE Aviation’s CT7 Programs Director. “Congratulations to Bel Air. We’re very proud to continue supporting your CT7 engines.”

Bel Air Aviation, based in Denmark, specializes in flights to offshore oil and gas and offshore wind turbine sites. With two CT7-powered AW189 helicopters in its fleet, Bel Air is the world leader in AW189 flight hours. Bel Air uses GE Aviation’s TrueChoice Flight Hour services, an engine maintenance plan that helps operators optimize their cost of ownership of the entire lifecycle of their engine assets.

“We were among the first operators in the world to take delivery of the AW189 and are very proud to maintain our position as the AW189 fleet leader worldwide, offering a diverse range of offshore flights in the North Sea,” said Susanne Hessellund, CEO at Bel Air Aviation. “The fact that we have now flown more than 5,000 hours on the first of our AW189 helicopters without any issues shows the high reliability of both the CT7 engines and the AW189 helicopter itself. We highly appreciate our close cooperation with GE and look forward to continuing our partnership.”

The -2E1 version of the highly successful CT7 family is designed with an emphasis on low fuel consumption, low cost-of-operation and with other technical features to ensure the aircraft requirements of long-range, high-speed and Category A performance. The engine leverages more than 100 million flight hours of experience from the T700/CT7 engine family while incorporating a state-of-the-art Full Authority Digital Control (FADEC) and advanced materials, primarily in the turbine section.

The CT7-2E1 engine’s reliability is augmented by GE’s continuous improvement approach to engine performance. GE released is Version 6.0 Software update for the -2E1 earlier in 2021, which enables better time-on-wing, digital predictive maintenance, and time limited dispatch.

As with all of GE’s engines, the CT7-2E1 can run on approved Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) blends to reduce lifecycle CO2 emissions. GE is heavily involved in the qualifying and testing of approved SAF blends.