World's largest jet engine takes to the skies

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General Electric has begun testing the world’s largest jet engine in flight trials, the company said on Wednesday.

A special Boeing 747 test aircraft flew on Tuesday from Victorville, California, with the new E9X engine mounted under its left wing, dwarfing the plane’s three other engines.

The flight marks the beginning of a flight-test campaign scheduled to last several months, before the aircraft itself takes to the skies in the first quarter of next year.

During Tuesday’s flight, engineers completed their test list and ensured key characteristics were working properly, GE said in a statement confirming the flight.

Jason Clark, Vice President of Boeing 777 and 777X Operations, speaks during a launch event for the Boeing 777X at the Boeing production facility in Everett, Washington, US October 23, 2017. /VCG Photo

The huge powerplant – as wide and tall as the fuselage of a Boeing 737 – is being built for the latest version of Boeing Co’s long-haul 777, the 777X, which is due to enter service in 2020.

GE had been expected to start flight trials in December, but announced in February it had found technical problems with both the engine and the test plane during preparatory work.

The engine glitch will require the redesign of a part in the compressor, which is near the front of the engine and does not handle the hottest air flows.

Despite the delay, GE feels “very confident” it will meet a 2019 target date for safety certification, a spokeswoman said.

GE’s partners on the engine include France’s Safran, Japan’s IHI Corp and Germany’s MTU Aero Engines.

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Source(s): Reuters