GUANGHAN, Sichuan, China – 23 September 2016 — CFM International and its partners held a special ceremony with Chinese customers to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Aero Engine Maintenance and Training Center (AEMTC).
AEMTC was established in 1994 as a cooperative venture between CFM, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), Civil Aviation Supplies Holding Company (CASC), Civil Aviation Flying University of China (CAFUC), GE Aviation, and Safran Aircraft Engines. The facility officially opened in 1996 and, to date, has trained more than 13,000 mechanics for customers in Greater China, as well as other countries across Asia.
“We are pleased to have the Aero Engine Maintenance and Training Center located in CAFUC,” said president Guan Lixin of CAFUC at the ceremony. “It is a great training facility to help the Chinese airlines train qualified engineers to support the safe operations for the China civil aviation.”
“We are very happy to celebrate this great milestone of AEMTC here today,” said Weiming Xiang, president of CFM International, Greater China. “The training center was the first of its kind in China and was the first such world-class training facility outside the U.S. and France. We are honored to be an integral part of this great institution which plays an important role in the China aviation industry.”
CFM was one of the earliest Western engine manufacturers to support China’s airlines when the first CFM56-3-powered Boeing 737 aircraft was delivered to China Yunnan and China Southwest in 1985. Today, more than 20 percent of CFM’s commercial fleet in operation is in China, with Chinese airlines having a total of more than 4,800 CFM56 and LEAP engines in service or on order to power Airbus, A320, Boeing 737, and COMAC C919 aircraft families.
AEMTC supports the operation of CFM56 and GE CF6 engines in China. The school is located within the CAFUC campus in Guanghan, Sichuan Province and trains 700 to 800 students each year.
GE Aviation and Safran Aircraft Engines have continued to invest in AEMTC over the years to both equip the Center and to expand its capabilities. In addition to helping design the school to U.S. standards, the companies have equipped the school with CFM56-3, CFM56-5B, CFM56-7B and CF6-80C2 training engines, tooling, instructional manuals, and teaching aides.
The school curriculum features comprehensive, hands-on courses in basic engine introduction, line maintenance, fan balancing, borescoping, and other skills. The training provided at AEMTC – a state-of-the-art 4,500 square meter facility with six engine shop bays and five classrooms – is equivalent to the training at the CFM centers in the United States, France, and India. All four centers are staffed with experienced instructors who facilitate exercises in the classroom and hands-on procedures in the engine shop. Each center also provides computer-based training, both self-paced and instructor-led. AEMTC is staffed by two co-leaders and three full-time instructors.
