First GE9X demonstrator core testing launches

Testing is underway on the first demonstration core for the GE9X engine that will power the Boeing 777X aircraft. During initial testing at GE Aviation’s altitude facility in Evendale, Ohio, the demonstration core successfully operated at maximum or redline speeds over the entire GE9X flight envelope and exceeded the engine’s compressor pressure ratio 27:1, which is the highest pressure ratio of any commercial engine in aviation service. All results are within design limits and predictions. During the next phase of testing, the demonstrator core will undergo tests on aero optimization and combustor operability. The core testing follow a series of maturation tests that GE has conducted on various engine systems, including the fan, HPC, combustor and low pressure turbine. GE and its partners will spend more than $1bn on technology maturation and product development for the 100,000-lb. thrust class GE9X engine this year. The culmination of the technology maturation program will be the first engine to test in the first half of 2016. After the first GE9X engine test next year, the engine is set for flight-testing on GE’s flying testbed in 2017. Engine certification is scheduled for 2018.