FLEX – the Fanjet Life EXtension program is a cost-effective solution for legacy aircraft owners to extend the useful life of their Pratt & Whitney JT15D engines.
It provides an affordable alternative to expensive engine overhaul or replacement options, while ensuring the safety of the existing engines through a comprehensive maintenance regime. For many legacy aircraft owners, this could mean a decade or more of flying without incurring the substantial expense of engine overhaul or replacement.
AN ALTERNATIVE TO ENGINE OVERHAUL
With any aircraft engine, there are costs associated with both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance. The most expensive part of jet engine ownership can be the engine overhaul. Many aircraft are unnecessarily penalized by the 3500 hour requirement for overhaul when they are operating within limits. Spending as much as $500,000 each for an overhaul (a very large percentage of the aircraft’s value) is not a reasonable solution. Because of this, owners and operators of legacy aircraft are often left with undesirable alternatives to overhaul, such as selling the aircraft for salvage.
The FLEX program was created to enable operators to add another Hot Section Interval of 1750 hours to the life limit of the engine, giving you a new TBO of up to 5250 hours. We have created an engine maintenance program that incorporates periodic boroscope surveys, oil analyses and trend monitoring along with a Hot Section Inspection at 3500 hours. In addition to having FAA and insurance company approval, the comprehensive FLEX program ensures a higher level of safety than the basic manufacturer’s engine maintenance program.