Flight and ground testing of aircraft engines
The Istres site, about 50 kilometers northwest of Marseille within French air force base 125, specializes in flight and ground testing of jet engines.
Created in 1954, the Istres site was originally specialized in the testing of solid rocket motors for missiles. In 1962, it installed the facilities needed for flight testing of aircraft engines, and in 1969 added an open-air test cell for ground testing. The mild weather in southern France means that flight and ground testing can be carried out all year long. Almost all Snecma engines have been tested at Istres: Atar for the Mirage III and Mirage F1, Larzac for the Alpha Jet, M53 for the Mirage 2000, CFM56-2 on a Caravelle flying testbed, Olympus 593 for Concorde, the M88-2 for Rafale and TP400-D6 for A400M.
Expertise
Prerequisite: open-air ground testing Ground testing is an essential prerequisite before any engine can be flight tested.
Istres has two open-air test cells, designed for military engines (Atar, Larzac, M53 and M88) and commercial engines (CFM56)
Flight testing
Flight testing at French AF Base 125 is the ultimate step in the development of all new engines.
Teamwork
For a successful test flight, the test pilot follows a strict procedure defined in conjunction with the test engineer. In-flight engine tests require precise flying skills. The pilot has to put the engine under the extreme conditions it may face in actual operation.
The flight is directed by the test team from a control room. The test engineer and various specialists analyze the data from the aircraft in real time. This data is displayed on a screen so that any engine malfunction may be detected as early as possible, thus guaranteeing the safety of the flight.
Mechanical simulation tests
The Istres site has a variety of resources to simulate the mechanical and climatic conditions that engines may have to cope with during their service life.
The test and measurement systems are used to modify the in-flight behavior of engines to acquire all data needed to complete development. Snecma’s responsive teams adapt these facilities to meet the extensive requirements of testing, and satisfy their customers
ISO 9001 certification
Istres has received ISO 9001 certification, reflecting its skilled flight test teams and proven expertise in all procedures involved.
Practical information
To get to Snecma’s Istres site from the Marignane airport, take the A55 motorway in the direction of Marseille, Fos/Arles, then the N569 to Istres.
- Plan d’accès imprimable / Printable access map
Snecma Istres
Base Aérienne 125
Route de l’Aérodrome
13804 Istres Cedex
France
Phone: +33 (0)4 42 47 12 00
Fax: +33 (0)4 42 56 69 79