Industry GE9X engine goes airborne

Mounted under the wing of GE Aviation´s Boeing 747-400 testbed, the new engine will be tested during test flights from Victorville, California.

At around 10:40AM PST, the 747 took off with the new engine for a four-hour long flight. During the flight, information was collected to complete the test card and to confirm the engine´s expected operational and functional characteristics.

The GE9X will be the engine for Boeing´s newest version of the Triple-Seven, the Boeing 777X. The first 777X is likely to be delivered in 2020 to launch customer Lufthansa.

Ted Ingling, general manager of the GE9X program at GE Aviation said: “The GE9X and Victorville teams have spent months preparing for flight testing of the engine, and their efforts paid off today with a picture-perfect first 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.”

GE Aviation expects the certification for the engine in 2019. The test program began in May 2017. In recent weeks, icing tests were completed at GE Aviation´s facility in Winnipeg, Canada. After that, crosswind capabilities were tested in Ohio.

To date, almost 700 GE9X engines have been ordered. With 134 inches in diameter, it will have the largest front fan. The 16 fan blades are made of carbon fibre.

Safran Aircraft Engines, IHI Corporation, Safran Aero Boosters and MTU Aero Engines AG are participants in GE Aviation´s engine program.