Engine Directory

GE Aviation

Although GE Aviation posted a 14% increase in profits in 2008, to US$3.68 billion, on a similar increase in revenues, this did not disguise the fact that at the end of a year which had earlier seen a major increase in engine production, equipment orders were down 26% in the fourth quarter and 13% for the year. Even for the world’s biggest producer of commercial aero engines, and a despite a backlog of 9,200 commercial engines, GE recently noted that 'the environment is growing uncertain'. The current product line-up is:

CF-6: GE entered the civil market in 1971 with the CF6-6 high bypass turbofan on the McDonnell Douglas DC-10, which had been developed from the military TF39 turbofan powering the C-5A Galaxy. The CF6 family grew to include the CF6-50, CF6-80A and the current production models, the CF6-80C2 and CF6-80E1, covering a thrust range of 48,000 to 75,000 lb (213- 334 kN). In the 1980s, the CF6 family became the most popular engines powering widebody aircraft, ranging from the Boeing 747 and 767 to the Airbus A300, A310, A330 and the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and MD-11. The CF6 has now recorded more flight hours than any other commercial aircraft engine in history.

CF34: introduced in September 1982, the CF34 turbofan is derived from the military TF34 that powers the Fairchild A-10 Thunderbolt II and Lockheed S-3A Viking. The CF34-3A and -3B power Bombardier Challenger 601 and Challenger 604 corporate aircraft, and the CF34-3A1 and -3B1 were selected to power the hugely successful Bombardier 50-passenger CRJ100 and CRJ200 regional airliners. In the late 1990s, the CF34-8 family was developed to power the Bombardier CRJ700/CRJ900 and the Embraer 170/175 families of regional airliners. In 2002, GE introduced the CF34-10 family to power the Embraer 190/195 regional airliners. The CF34-10 was certificated in March 2005 and entered service in 2007. In 2002, AVIC I of China (now part of COMAC) selected the CF34-10 to power the ARJ21 regional jet now in development. AVIC I and GE see a potential market for 500 ARJ21s over the next 20 years, representing a potential value to GE of $3 billion.

GE90: in the early 1990s, GE developed the GE90 high bypass turbofan to power Boeing’s new large twin, the 777. The GE90 family, with the baseline engine certificated on the 777 in 1995, has produced a world record steady-thrust level of 122,965lb (126kN). The latest GE90-115B has the world's largest fan (3.25m), composite fan blades, and the highest engine bypass ratio (9:1) to produce the greatest propulsive efficiency of any commercial transport engine. In July 1999, Boeing selected the GE90-115B as the exclusive powerplant for its longer-range 777-200LR and -300ER aircraft. The GE90-115B powered 777-300ER entered passenger service in 2004. In October 2009 GE delivered its 1000th GE90 (a model -115B) to Boeing for installation on an Emirates Airlines 777-300ER.

GEnx: with the selection of GE to power Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner the company launched the development of a new commercial jet engine - the GEnx.  Producing 53,000- 75,000lb (240-330kN) of thrust, the GEnx will ultimately replace the highly successful CF6 family, which has been powering commercial and military widebody aircraft for more than 35 years. The Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 was also selected to power the 787, but for the first time the GE and R-R powerplants will share a standard aircraft interface, allowing either engine type to be fitted to every 787.  Another GEnx innovation, shared with the Trent, is the elimination of high-pressure/high-temperature engine bleed air to power 787systems; including air conditioning, anti-icing and engine start-up, in favour of electrical systems. While GE has retained a 64% stake in the GEnx programme, risk-sharing partners include Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries (IHI),  Avio, Volvo Aero, Techspace Aero, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Samsung Techwin.

GEnx is designed to meet or exceed Boeing’s demanding performance targets for its new twin-engined 787, capable of carrying 200- 250 passengers up to 13,355km (8,300nm) and is expected to use 20% less fuel than the aircraft it will replace in service. GEnx static test runs began in March 2006, with the first flight test in February 2007. Although development was initially accelerated after China Southern, Hainan and Shanghai Airlines all selected the GEnx in August/September 2006 the project has been set back by delays in the 787 programme, which have moved back the aircraft’s planned first flight from late 2007 to the currently anticipated April 2009.  Certification testing is also under way on the second GEnx variant, the 66,500lb-thrust GEnx-2B, which was selected to power Boeing's 747-8 Intercontinental and freighter, although continued development of this aircraft, which has so far attracted only one firm customer (Lufthansa), has also been delayed. The 747-8 programme continues, having survived a review which took place in February 2009. The -2B flew for the first time on 23 March 2009 aboard GE's Boeing 747-100 test bed. A production GEnx-2B engine was fitted to the prototype Boeing 747-8 in early September 2009.

CT-7: announced in September 1976, the CT-7 turboprop was developed from the earlier T700 turboshaft and turboprop to become GE’s standard offering in the 1,700-2,500 eshp (1,270-1,860kW) class, powering commercial aircraft, including the Saab 340 and CASA CN-235, and a range of civil and military helicopters.

GE Aviation’s determination to compete more effectively in the market for small turboprop engines resulted in September 2007 in the announcement that it would be acquiring most of the assets of Czech aero engine manufacturer Walter Aircraft Engines. The acquisition was completed in July 2008. GE’s initial objective is to develop and refine Walter’s 540-770shp (403-570 kW) M601H-80 turboprop and to position it as a more effective competitor to the ubiquitous Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6. Walter builds 120 M601 engines a year and GE intends to increase production to 1,000 engines a year by 2012.

GE’s eCore programme is aimed at developing a powerplant capable of offering operating costs some 15-20% lower than contemporary engines for the next-generation single-aisle Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 replacement aircraft, towards the end of the next decade. Included is the twin-annular, pre-mixed, 'swirler' (TAPS) combustor technology created for the GEnx engine for the Boeing 787, as well as the use of new materials. GE also plans to have a 10,000-20,000lb-thrust engine core up and running next year and a demonstrator complete in 2012 in its effort to leverage technology investments developed for its commercial engines to gain market share in the business and general aviation sector, probably with a variant of the CF34.

The CF34 family is not the only GE engine for this sector, the CFE738 6,000lb-thrust class turbofan was produced for the Dassault Falcon 2000 from 1991 by the CFE company, a 50:50 joint venture with the Garrett Engine Division of AlliedSignal (now Honeywell). More recently, in 2004, a collaboration with Honda to create GE Honda Aero Engine,  formed to produce the engines in the 1,000- 3,500 lb (4.4-13.3 kN) thrust class, starting with the HF120 turbofan for the HondaJet light business, which began flight testing in 2007.   .

Reflecting the renewed interest in open rotor engines, GE Aviation has teamed with NASA to investigate, from February 2009, the acoustic effects of open rotor engine technology starting at Glenn Research Center's wind tunnel facilities in Ohio. Open rotor jet engine designs are a candidate technology for reducing fuel consumption on the next generation of single aisle airliners by as around 25%. Although, in order to realise this potential, the noise generated by the counter-rotating, high-speed fan blades is an issue which must be overcome through new aerodynamic design techniques. The facilities used for this research are the same as those used between 1983 and 1987 when GE and NASA 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 registered the designation UDF (Unducted Fan) as a trademark but UDF or 'propfan' research was abandoned in 1987. GE now estimates that open rota technology could be ready to enter operational service after 2017, depending on whether noise, aircraft configuration and regulatory issues can be overcome

To amend, update or comment on this profile, contact Ian Joyce at: ian.joyce@flightglobal.com.