GE Aviation announced  a teaming agreement with NASA to investigate the acoustic effects of open rotor engine technology next year at Glenn Research Center’s wind tunnel facilities.

Component rig tests on a one-fifth sub-scaled system using two rows of counterrotating fan blades will test a wide range of simulated flight conditions from February through mid-2009.

Open rotor designs are a candidate technology for reducing fuel consumption on the next generation of engines for narrowbodies, such as GE’s LEAP-X advanced turbofan. But noise generated by the counterroating, high-speed fan blades must be overcome through new aerodynamic design techniques.

“Engine noise is a prime challenge in operating open-rotor engine systems in a commercial aviation environment,” GE’s statement acknowledges.

For the wind tunnel tests, NASA is refurbishing testing rig equipment used in the 1980s when the agency and GE jointly tested the GE36 unducted fan, which was later mounted on the aft fuselage and flown on a Boeing 727 and an MD-80.

“GE and NASA will evaluate open-rotor concepts in the wind tunnel with far greater technology capability,” said David Joyce, president of GE Aviation.

Open rotor fans should consume less fuel by dramatically increasing engine bypass ratios compared to nacelle-enclosed turbofans.

GE has estimated the technology could be ready to enter operational service after 2017, depending on whether noise, aircraft configuration and regulatory issues can be overcome.

A sample of an open rotor concept was developed by Boeing a year ago.

The GEnx-1B engine for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner received airworthiness engine certification this week from the US Federal Aviation Administration.

The FAR (Federal Aviation Regulation) 33 certification follows an extensive two-year ground- and flight-test program that involved eight engines and two flight-test programs on GE’s 747 flying test bed. During its development and certification program, the GEnx ran 4,800 cycles and more than 3,600 hours.

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he GEnx-2B engine that will power the new Boeing 747-8 airplane demonstrated 70,950 lbs. of takeoff thrust during ground testing yesterday at GE’s outdoor testing facility in Peebles, Ohio.

Ground testing on the GEnx engine began with idle runs on February 29 and reached 70,950 lbs. of standard day sea-level takeoff thrust on March 11.

“This achievement marks a significant milestone in the GEnx-2B program,” said Tom Brisken, general manager of the GEnx program. “The initial results of the ground tests are extremely positive, and we look forward to preparing the engine for flight tests on GE’s flying test bed later this year.”

The certification program for the GEnx-2B engine will involve five engines. Engine certification is anticipated in first half of 2009 with entry into service in late 2009.

With more than 1,100 engines sold to date, the GEnx is the fastest-selling engine in GE’s history. Based on the proven architecture of the GE90, the GEnx will succeed GE’s CF6 engine. Compared to the CF6, the GEnx will offer 15 percent improved fuel efficiency which translates into 15% less C02. It is designed to stay on wing 30 percent longer than the CF6, while using 30 percent fewer parts, greatly reducing maintenance.

The GEnx emissions will be as much as 95 percent below current regulatory limits. The GEnx will also be the quietest engine that GE has produced based on a pound of thrust per decibel ratio. As the world’s only jet engine with both a front fan case and fan blades made of carbon fiber composites, the GEnx will also have greater durability, less weight as well as lower operating costs than comparable engines in its class.

“The GEnx-2B engines serve a critical role in the efficiency gains offered by the 747-8 family,” said Ross R. Bogue, vice president and general manager, 747 program and Everett site for Boeing. “It will help the 747-8 provide our customers with improved fuel efficiency, reductions in emissions and noise, while allowing customers to generate additional revenue with their ability to carry more passengers and cargo.”

The GEnx-2B engine is optimized for the Boeing 747-8 aircraft, but still shares the engine core and 80 percent of the line replaceable units (LRUs) as the GEnx-1B that powers the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. In addition, the engine will benefit from the experience of GE’s most extensive development program to help ensure unrivaled engine maturity prior to entry into service.

To date, more than 400 GEnx-2B engines have been sold on the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental and Freighter.

IHI of Japan, TechSpace Aero of Belgium, Avio SpA. of Italy, Volvo Aero of Sweden and Samsung Techwin of Korea are revenue-sharing participants in the GEnx program.

The GEnx is part of GE’s “ecomagination” product portfolio — GE’s commitment to develop new, cost-effective technologies that enhance customers’ environmental and operating performance.

Source: General Electric

General Electric’s GEnx-1B engine for the Boeing 787 took to the air for the first time yesterday attached below the left wing of the company’s 747 flying testbed (pictured below).

Leaving and returning to its Victorville, California base, the three hour sortie marks the start of an intense test and certification campaign aimed at completion in September 2007.

During the first flight the engine was carried aloft to 43,000ft (13,000m) and was tested to establish engine performance baseline for the remainder of flight testing. This will be divided into two main phases, an initial three-month period focusing on steady-state and transient performance, air-starts, combustor operability margins and throttle response, and a second, shorter phase looking at the engine control system.

Flight tests of the GEnx-1B on the 787 itself are due to begin around October 2007 with two test aircraft involved. European Aviation Safety Agency engine certification is due in the first quarter of 2008 and US Federal Aviation Requirement Part 25 aircraft certification for the GE-powered 787 due around mid-second quarter 2008.

The version under test is the GEnx-1B64, rated at around 64,000lb-thrust (285kN) for the initial 787-8 model.

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China Eastern Airlines has selected GE-Aviation’s GEnx engine to power its 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

The GEnx engine is the world’s only jet engine with both a front fan case and fan blades made of composites, which provide for greater engine durability, weight reduction and lower operating costs. The fan blades will utilize GE90 composite technology that has performed well, with no routine on-wing maintenance required and no in-service issues for more than a decade. The GEnx will operate with 18 fan blades (50 percent fewer than the CF6) at noise levels lower than any large GE commercial engine. The GEnx also features a new combustor for efficient fuel mixing before ignition, resulting in significantly lower oxides of nitrogen (Nox) levels.

The value of the GEnx engines ordered is approximately $370 million. Aircraft delivery will begin in June 2008. China Eastern has also reached a 15-year OnPointSM Solutions maintenance agreement with GE for its GEnx fleet.

With this order, China Eastern Airlines is the fourth Chinese airline to select the GEnx engine for its 787 fleet. China Eastern, based in Shanghai, is one of the three largest airlines in China and the largest GE/CFM customer in China. The airline will deploy the new 787s for its expanding international routes.

Airbus has released a video clip of the four A380 test aircraft flying together in formation over Toulouse this week. Manufacturer’s serial numbers 001, 002, 004 and 009 all taxied together just before 10:00 on 30 August before carrying out simultaneous test flights culminating in a formation fly-past at around 11:00 of the Aéroconstellation facility in Toulouse.

The video shows the Engine Alliance GP7200-powered MSN009 A380 leading three Rolls-Royce Trent 900-powered aircraft in an amazing formation flight of four A380 test aircraft.

Video is here

Airbus said its A380  had made its first flight powered by engines from Engine Alliance, a joint venture between General Electric and Pratt & Whitney. Airbus said the Engine Alliance-powered A380 took off from its Toulouse base in southwest France on Friday at 0800 GMT.  Since the A380 made its maiden flight last year, flight testing had been carried out using Rolls Royce engines.  The four-engine aircraft is available with a choice of either engine model.  Six customers of the A380 plane have chosen the Engine Alliance GP7200 engine for a total of 82 firm orders.

General Electric and Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies, each hold a 50 percent stake in Engine Alliance.

Airbus will expand its offering of two new mid-sized planes to three in order to catch up with surging rival Boeing Co., industry sources said on Friday.

Worried that its pair of proposed A350 models aimed at competing with the Boeing 787 due in 2008 will do little to slow sales of Boeing’s larger 777, France-based Airbus will add a third, larger model.

“They are definitely looking at doing three,” one industry source said, adding that the new planes were likely to be named the A350-800, A350-900 and A350-1,000. There was a chance Airbus could go with the name A370, he added.

A second source confirmed the story, saying: “It is designed to take on both the 787 and triple-7.”

A spokesman for Airbus declined to comment on specifics, but said Airbus’ chief executive would provide an update at the year’s biggest air show next week: “Christian Streiff will be responding to feedback from customers received over recent months on Monday.”

The additional model could benefit suppliers such as steelmaker Alcoa Inc. and Goodrich Corp., a maker of nacelles and thrust reversers.

It also means Airbus will look to engine makers GE Aviation and Rolls-Royce for more than the one engine each has so far committed to build as the three models will range from 250 to 400 seats and fly different distances.

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General Electric yesterday estimated it could cost the company up to $1 billion to design a new engine to power the potential next iteration of the Airbus A350, and the company is still weighing whether it wants to make the significant investment.

GE-Aviation CEO Scott Donnelly said on the sidelines of a Wings Club speech in New York that GE was in talks with Airbus about the A350 and a possible new engine, but that no decision had been made. He said GE “would love to be on the plane,” but he had to weigh that desire against the large economic investment in a new powerplant.

Donnelly said the motor on the new engine would probably need to be about 10% larger than the GEnx that will power the Boeing 787 and the current A350 design. Other components, including the fan blades and combustors, would also be bigger, he said. The GEnx features 111-inch fan blades and thrust levels around 75,000 pounds. During recent testing, thrust levels were pushed to about 83,000 pounds.

Airbus excepts to make a decision on a new A350 design within the next four weeks, with airframer head Gustav Humbert emphasizing that the company now has a “clear view of what we want to do” (DAILY, June 15). Rolls-Royce’s offering for the A350 is the Trent 1700, which packs 63,000-75,000 pounds of thrust.

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Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 series is only engine currently offerable to customers for revamped widebody twinjet family

Airbus is trying to convince General Electric to develop an engine that it can offer on the revamped A350 family, which is now being proposed to potential customers powered only by versions of the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine.

Airbus is declining to confirm details of its studies into the revised family ahead of next month’s Farnborough air show, at which time it hopes to “clear up the confusion” surrounding the status of the new twinjet, says the company’s chief operating officer customers John Leahy.

However, he tells Flight International that Airbus is “a little disappointed with GE’s response” to the manufacturer’s requirements for a more-powerful engine to power the proposed larger A350 family it is studying.

According to industry sources, the enlarged aircraft family – which is as yet unnamed, but has been unofficially dubbed “A370” – features a wider fuselage with a diameter slightly greater than the 787, as well as an all-new wing.

The increase in size means that the two smaller models – equivalent to the A350-800 and -900 – would need new, more-powerful engines than the 63,000-75,000lb-thrust (280-335kN) GE GEnx-1A and the R-R Trent 1700 in development for the existing A350. A third, larger A370 variant is being proposed that would be similar in size to the A340-600 and Boeing 777-300ER and would require a larger engine of greater power, probably rated at around 95,000lb-thrust.

Although R-R has agreed to develop versions of the Trent 1000 series to meet Airbus’s requirements, GE is currently baulking, partly due to concerns that the larger A370 could dilute the market for the 777-300ER on which it is the exclusive engine supplier, say sources.

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