C&L Engine Solutions announced the dismantling of the first GE-powered 787-8 Dreamliner in the United States. The company, a part of C&L Aviation Group, acquired the aircraft through Cloud Investments Partners and investment funds managed by Strategic Value Partners, with C&L acting as the exclusive asset manager.
The aircraft with MSN 35507 is a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner equipped with GEnx-1B engines. The dismantling work of the aircraft will take place in Roswell, and the obtained parts will be sent to C&L’s warehouse in Wichita for commercialization.
C&L is collaborating with original equipment manufacturers to complement their current inventories by using these parts.
Tim Brecher, president of C&L Engine Solutions, said: «The timing of this project for the 787 is perfect. The 787 fleet has reached the 12-year mark since the first deliveries and is entering a tight, heavy maintenance schedule.»
«The shortage of spare parts in the market, combined with ongoing challenges in the supply chain, make this project critical for OEMs and operators,» added Brecher.
David Weiss, managing partner at Cloud Investment Partners, noted that, «Dismantling a practically new 787 aircraft with only a few flight cycles has never been done before.»
«We recognize the benefit of new parts in the market to help OEMs support their customers, as well as provide a source for airlines to purchase hard-to-find parts,» Weiss added.
The 787-8 first flew on September 26, 2016. It was intended to join the fleet of Royal Air Maroc, but it was never delivered to the airline and remained in Boeing’s possession.
In March 2023, EirTrade Aviation announced the dismantling of two ex-Norwegian Boeing 787-8s. These aircraft with registrations LN-LNA (MSN 35304) and LN-LNB (MSN 35305) were 10 years old and had been in storage since 2019.
Like MSN 35507, once dismantled, the remaining parts will be marketed as spares for Dreamliner operators.
The ex-Norwegian Dreamliners were equipped with Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. The dismantling process occurs at EirTrade’s facilities in Scotland, and the obtained spares will be stored in Ireland.
