By Geoffrey Thomas
Published 029 Sep 29, 2020
Boeing has celebrated the 777X GE9X engine certification last week with an around USA flight that has lasted 9 hours and 59 minutes.
The Boeing 777X, N779XX, moved from Seattle to Yuma on the September 25 and this flight was the fifth conducted from that base.
Boeing has three aircraft flying in the test program so far, with another to join before year-end.
The aircraft took off at 13.22 MST and arrived back at 23.21 MST. This is this the longest flight conducted by the successor to the Boeing 777.
Last week the US Federal Aviation Administration granted certification for the GE9X engine that powers the Boeing jet.
Here is the flight path from Radar Box. The blue line indicates variation in speed.
And here are images that were taken by Michael Heimann (@pytolson) of the 777X arriving at Yuma from Seattle.
The FAR (Federal Aviation Regulation) Part 33 certification involved eight test engines.
“It takes the world’s best talent in jet propulsion to create a game-changing product like the GE9X engine,” said John Slattery, president and CEO of GE Aviation. “There is no substitute that can achieve the combination of size, power and fuel efficiency of the GE9X. This engine will deliver unsurpassed value and reliability to our airline customers. I want to congratulate the entire GE9X team and thank Boeing, our partners and suppliers for the collaboration on this incredible achievement.”
The GE9X test engines completed just under 5,000 hours and 8,000 cycles for certification.
“Just as the GE90 pioneered new technology for commercial aircraft engines more than 25 years ago on the Boeing 777, the GE9X sets the new standard for engine performance and efficiency thanks to the incorporation of GE’s most advanced technologies developed over the last decade,” said Bill Fitzgerald, vice president and general manager of Commercial Engines Operation for GE Aviation.
The GE9X engine is designed to achieve 10 per cent lower specific fuel consumption (SFC) compared to the GE90-115B and five per cent better SFC than any other engine in its class. The engine will also operate with less smog-causing emissions than any other engine in its class the company said.
GE’s focus remains working with Boeing to complete the 777X flight test program and entry into service. Eight GE9X test engines and two test spares have been produced and delivered to Seattle for Boeing’s four 777X test aeroplanes. Several GE9X production engines have been assembled, and GE Aviation is in the process of completing factory acceptance tests.
GE Aviation is currently conducting 3,000 cycles of additional ground testing on the GE9X engine to support Extended Operations (ETOPS) approval. The GE9X team is also conducting maturation testing to help GE engineers prepare to support the engine in service.
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