The CFM International CFM56 series is a family of high-bypass turbofan
aircraft engines made by CFM International with a thrust range of
18,500 to 34,000 pound-force (lbf) (80 to 150 kilonewtons (kN)). CFMI
is a 50–50 joint-owned company of SNECMA, France and GE Aviation. Both
companies are responsible for producing components and each has its own
final assembly line. The CFM56 first ran in 1974 and, despite initial
political problems, is now one of the most prolific jet engine types in
the world: more than 20,000 have been built in four major variants. It
is most widely used on the Boeing 737 airliner and under military
designation F108 replaced the Pratt & Whitney JT3D engines on many
KC-135 Stratotankers in the 1980s, creating the KC-135R variant of this
aircraft. It is also one of two engines used to power the Airbus A340,
the other being the Rolls-Royce Trent. The engine is also fitted to
Airbus A320 series aircraft. Several fan blade failure incidents were
experienced during the CFM56's early service, including one failure
that was noted as a cause of the Kegworth air disaster, and some
variants of the engine experienced problems caused by flight through
rain and hail. However, both these issues were resolved with engine
modifications. By January 2010 the CFM56 had flown more than 470
million cumulative hours (the equivalent of more than 53,000 years).
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CFM_International_CFM56>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1398:
The Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas the Great and the Grand Master of
the Teutonic Knights Konrad von Jungingen signed the Treaty of Salynas,
the third attempt after the 1384 Treaty of Königsberg and the 1390
Treaty of Lyck to cede Samogitia to the Knights.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Salynas>
1871:
The Criminal Tribes Act entered into force in British India, giving law
enforcement sweeping powers to arrest, control, and monitor the
movements of the members of 160 specific ethnic or social communities
that were defined as "habitually criminal".
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_Tribes_Act>
1915:
A German firing squad executed British nurse Edith Cavell for helping
Allied soldiers to escape occupied Belgium.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Cavell>
1928:
An iron lung medical ventilator, designed by Philip Drinker and
colleagues at Children's Hospital, Boston, was used for the first time
in the treatment of polio victims.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/iron_lung>
2000:
Two suicide bombers attacked the destroyer USS Cole while it was at
anchor in Aden, Yemen, killing 17 of its crew members and injuring 39
others.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Cole_%28DDG-67%29>
2002:
A series of bombs planted by Islamist militant group Jemaah Islamiyah
exploded in Bali, Indonesia, killing 202 people and injuring 209
others.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Bali_bombings>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
belligerent (adj):
1. Of or pertaining to war.
2. Engaged in war, warring.
3. Aggressively hostile, eager to fight
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/belligerent>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.
--Aleister Crowley
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley>
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