GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) have passed the planned halfway phase of the Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) Development Program for the 777-300ERSF. This is a key milestone for the “Big Twin”, the GECAS-IAI Co investment for the passenger-to-freighter conversion program of the GE-90-powered 777-300ER, as it now moves beyond planning into the phase of physically modifying the aircraft.
Rich Greener, SVP and Manager of GECAS Cargo, explains “We’ve begun executing on the dedicated freighter design developed by the IAI and GECAS Cargo team towards manufacturing the kits, and the actual conversion phase under a licensing from Boeing.”
“The Big Twin is scheduled to be officially inducted into the IAI 777-300ER P2F Line 1 in Tel Aviv to commence the Prototype Conversion towards end of June 2021,” says Yosef Melamed, IAI EVP and General Manager of Aviation Group. “This is an exciting milestone for the Big Twin freighter program.”
After extensive planning and preparation, the STC Development Program has already completed the Critical Design Review (CDR) and subsequent Design Freeze of the 777-300ERSF. The prototype 777-300ER (MSN 32789) was delivered to IAI’s facility in Tel Aviv by GECAS in June of last year — a full six months ahead of the initial timeline. Since delivery, ground and flight tests have been completed as the prototype aircraft travelled between Tel Aviv and the United States. The aircraft has now returned to Tel Aviv to enter its pre-conversion preparation phase.
