EVENDALE, Ohio - GE Aircraft Engines and FiatAvio of Italy, co-developers and co-producers of the CT7-8 turboshaft engine, have embarked the T700/CT7 engine family into a new market resulting from its selection by CargoLifter Development GmbH to power a fleet of new airships now under development.Last week, CargoLifter selected the CT7-8 to power its new eight-engine CL160 Airship. The helium-filled Airship, which is 260 meters in length, is designed to carry oversized cargo weighing more than 160 tons at a maximum height of 2,000 meters non-stop over several thousand kilometers.The CT7-8 already powers the Sikorsky S-92 helicopter and its military equivalent, the T700/T6E1 (also co-developed and co-produced by FiatAvio and GE) powers the Italian NH90 helicopter. This engine family is also competing in other European campaigns.First deliveries of the CT7-8 engines for the CargoLifter are expected to begin in 2002, which will be followed by the final assembly of the CL160 prototype in 2003. Based in Brand, Germany, CargoLifter plans initially to manufacture at least 50 CL160 Airships, which would require 400 CT7-8 engines.The CT7-8 engine was certified in October 2000 by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. With a takeoff rating of over 2500 shaft horsepower, the CT7-8 is the newest and most powerful member of the storied T700/CT7 engine family, which powers 25 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft models in more than 55 countries.