Get FinancingWorld’s Largest Jet Engine GE9X Completes First Flight Test On Boeing 747
The world’s largest jet engine, the GE9X from global-leading jet and turboprop engine-maker GE Aviation, completed its first flight test in mid-March while attached to a Boeing 747 flying testbed. The engine will power the upcoming Boeing 777X wide-body, long-rang, twin-engine jet, which includes the 777-8 and 777-9 variants. Boeing launched the series in November 2013. The 777-9 is to make its maiden flight in early 2019.
Months Of Preparation
Taking off from Victorville, California, the GE9X was in the air for four hours for its initial flight. During that stretch, the engine completed its entire test card and validated significant operational and functional characteristics, GE Aviation states. The company began certification testing for the GE9X in May 2017. Previously, GE Aviation put the engine through icing tests at its Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, facility. Crosswind testing, meanwhile, continues at its Peebles Test Operation facility in Ohio.
GE Aviation has already taken roughly 700 orders for the massive engine, which falls into the 100,000-pound thrust class and sports a world-leading 134-inch (340-centimeter) diameter front fan with composite fan case and 16 fourth-generation carbon fiber composite fan blades. The engine also includes a next-generation 27:1 pressure-ratio 11-stage high-pressure compressor, third-generation TAPS III combustor for high efficiency and low emissions, and CMC material in the combustor and turbine, according to GE Aviation.
A Slight Delay
Notably, the recent flight test followed a three-month delay due complications with the new compressor, according to a Reuters report. GE Aviation officials, however, have indicated the delay shouldn’t push back the engine’s expected early 2019 certification or delay the 777X’s first flight.
In a news release, Ted Ingling, general manager of the GE9X program, said months of prep work from GE Aviation teams for the flight test resulted in a “picture perfect” flight. “Today’s flight starts the beginning of the GE9X flight test campaign that will last for several months, allowing us to accumulate data on how the engine performs at altitude and during various phases of flight,” he said. Also involved in the GE9X program are IHI Corporation, Safran Aircraft Engines, Safran Aero Boosters, and MTU Aero Engines AG.
Large & Efficient
In addition to the GE9X, the 777X aircraft will feature new composite wings with folding wingtips and cabin-related enhancements providing improved humidity, cleaner air, enhanced temperature control, and reduced cabin noise. Compared to the 777-300ER, which Boeing first delivered in 2004, the 777-8 is 15.6 feet (4.8 meters) shorter and carries fewer passengers (365 in a 2-class configuration) but offers a longer 8,690-nautical mile (16,090-kilometer) range. With a 235.5-foot (71.8-meter) wingspan, the 777-8 measures 229 feet (69.8 meters) long and 63.1 feet (19.5 meters) high.
The 777-9 spans 7 feet (2.1 meters) longer than the 777 300ER and carries 18 more passengers (414 in a 2-class configuration). The aircraft has a 7,525- nautical mile (13,940-kilometer) range, and while it has the wingspan as the 777-8, it measures 251.8 feet (76.7 meters) long and 64.1 feet (19.5 meters) high. Overall, Boeing bills the 777X as the largest and most efficient twin-engine jet in the world.
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Source: GE Aviation
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