CFM56 Engine First to Cross a Billion Flight Hours

The CFM56 engine family has become the first ever to cross one billion engine flight hours. CFM International, a JV between Safran and GE, operationalised the first CFM56 engine in 1974. By 1979, the engine had not received any major orders and the JV was weeks from being dissolved. However, in April 1979, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Flying Tigers chose the CFM56 to reengine their Douglas DC-8s, extending a lifeline for the programme. In January 1980, the CFM56 was chosen to re-engine the KC-135 tankers by the US Air Force which would become the biggest customer for the type. In the following years, the CFM56 was used to re-engine other aircraft based on the 707 airframe including the E-3 Sentry and E-5 Mercury. Starting with the Boeing 737-300s in the 1980s, all 737 models till the 737-900 are exclusively powered by the CFM56. The newer 737MAX is exclusively powered by the updated CFM LEAP. The CFM56 engine is used on the Airbus A-320 family and the A-340-200/-300, Boeing 737 Classic and 737 Next-Generation, Boeing 707 derivates and the Douglas DC-8. The first CFM56-powered flight took place on April 24, 1982 by a Delta Air Lines DC-8-71.