Gift Enhances Education Programs

Snecma America Engine Services (SAMES) has donated five turbofan components from previously repaired engines to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz., The parts will be used for visual education purposes in the campus’s aerospace and mechanical engineering programs.

The donated items, a fan shaft assembly, thrust bearing, compressor rotor shaft, fuel manifold ring, and high-pressure turbine rear shaft, are components from the CFM56-5A engine, which powers narrow-body aircraft such as the Airbus 319 and 320. The components will help expand engineering students’ understanding of turbine engines.

The gift to Embry-Riddle was supported by SAMES leadership through Alejandro Cardona, who earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from the Prescott Campus in 2012 and is now an engine shop visit manager at Snecma’s maintenance, repair, and operations network facility, SAMES, in Querétaro, Mexico.

“Many engineers at SAMES remember when they were college students and the need for universities to teach real engineering problems with real aerospace components,” Cardona states. “I am proud to say that I studied at one of the best aerospace schools in the world and work at the best aerospace, defense and security group in the world. It is rewarding that SAMES was able to support the academic programs of my alma mater.”

“At Embry-Riddle, we emphasize a hands-on approach to engineering,” says Brenda Haven, associate professor of mechanical engineering at the campus. “Being able to see and feel the hardware gives students an appreciation of these structures’ complexity and weight and enables them to relate the engineering equations and theory to something that is real. I am very grateful to SAMES for this generous donation.”