Posted on 02/23/2007 2:20:24 PM PST by Paleo Conservative
With the first flight of The Boeing Co.'s 787 only about six months away, the new General Electric engine that will power the Dreamliner made its first flight Thursday -- on the wing of a 747."The engine performed extremely well, and we look forward to gaining additional valuable information on the engine's capabilities from flight testing," Tom Brisken, general manager of the GEnx program, said in a statement. "Today's flight puts us another step closer to certification later this year on the GEnx-1B engine for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner."
The engine is being tested on what's known as a "flying test bed," in this case a modified 747.
Flying out of Victorville, Calif., the 747 climbed to more than 43,000 feet during the initial three-hour engine test.
Over the next three months, General Electric plans about three flights per week as part of the test program leading to engine certification.
Rolls-Royce is also developing an engine for the 787.
The GE and Rolls engines will be much more fuel-efficient than the jet engines that power today's planes.
"During the first flight, the GEnx-1B engine demonstrated aircraft systems and instrumentation functionality, and established engine performance baseline for flight testing," GE said.
The 787 Dreamliner program has entered a critical phase, with assembly of the first plane to begin at the Everett plant in the second quarter. Rollout of that jet will be in July, with first flight expected in late August or early September.
It is critical that the various 787 systems and components -- especially the engines -- work as advertised. Time is short, and Boeing can't afford any showstoppers. Boeing is supposed to deliver the first Dreamliner to All Nippon Airways of Japan in May 2008. Boeing does not want a repeat of what has befallen Airbus and the A380. That 555-passenger plane is two years late.
The GE 747 flying test bed has been used to test a number of new GE engines, including the GE90, which powers Boeing's 777.
Replacing one of the 747 engines with the 787 engine required modifications that were not previously needed. That's because the Dreamliner will be a much more electric plane than today's passenger planes, and it will not use bleed air. This means air will not be bled off the engines to power various 787 systems. This approach has not been used before on a commercial jetliner.
GE's 747 flying test bed was modified for the 787 engine to manage the electrical load from the engine's two starter-generators and to provide the power necessary for electrical ground and air starts. The modifications were completed last month, and the GEnx-1B engine was installed in the inboard location on the left wing in just one day, according to GE.
The majority of the flight tests will occur in Victorville, with some flights in Yuma, Ariz., to test hot weather performance. High-altitude takeoff evaluations will be done out of Colorado Springs, Colo. A second round of flight testing later this year will focus on the engine control system.
The GEnx began ground testing in March 2006, with engine certification scheduled for September.This same GE engine will be used to power Boeing's 747-8, which is now in development. But that engine will be changed slightly because the 747 needs bleed air.
The GEnx engine will succeed GE's CF6 engine family and will provide better fuel consumption and payload performance. The new engine has both a front fan case and fan blades made of composites, which provide for greater engine durability, weight reduction and lower operating costs.
DATE: 23/02/07
SOURCE:Flight Daily News
Boeing 787 makes first flight on 747 testbed
By Guy Norris
General Electric’s GEnx-1B engine for the Boeing 787 took to the air for the first time yesterday attached below the left wing of the company’s 747 flying testbed (pictured below).
Leaving and returning to its Victorville, California base, the three hour sortie marks the start of an intense test and certification campaign aimed at completion in September 2007.
During the first flight the engine was carried aloft to 43,000ft (13,000m) and was tested to establish engine performance baseline for the remainder of flight testing. This will be divided into two main phases, an initial three-month period focusing on steady-state and transient performance, air-starts, combustor operability margins and throttle response, and a second, shorter phase looking at the engine control system.
Flight tests of the GEnx-1B on the 787 itself are due to begin around October 2007 with two test aircraft involved. European Aviation Safety Agency engine certification is due in the first quarter of 2008 and US Federal Aviation Requirement Part 25 aircraft certification for the GE-powered 787 due around mid-second quarter 2008.
The version under test is the GEnx-1B64, rated at around 64,000lb-thrust (285kN) for the initial 787-8 model.
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Looking at that photo, it makes you wonder if the 747 could be modified to take two more powerful next generation engines, instead of the current four. If Boeing could get the cost per seat mile down even more, Airbus would be in a World of hurt.
Interesting. I wonder how those blades will react to the "ingest a goose" test.
Interesting idea. I'd bet they're looking at it for all of their planes.
Does GE have a 92,000# model planned?
"Pass the Pate!"
Man, I wish we had a test like that in the bridge industry. Best we get is a bridge setting down on top of a pigeon here and there.
Took me a minute ... but, LOL!
Also, composite fan blades aren't new. The GE90 series of engines also use them and have for over a decade now.
At the risk of seeming stupid,whatever happened to Pratt & Whitney engines? Was P&W bought up by GE? I know that P&W engines used to be,along with RR,about the most frequently employed engines on commercial airliners.
The first VERSA was installed on the B-58 Hustler. During tests it didn't gain the pilots attention. Psychologists were asked to determine what type of voice was needed. They studied everything from actors to cartoon characters but nothing worked. Finally they recommended a Sexy Female Voice was needed.
Try as they might they couldn't find that "voice". One day the Psychologist who was heading he project called HQ SAC to give an update. LO and BEHOLD the telephone operator fit the bill. When he asked her name she wouldn't give it but just her Operator Number. Standard Procedure dontcha know!
The Psychologis rushed to Omaha and found the Operator. She was a 57 year old Grandma but after that she was known as the sexiest female voice in SAC! True Story!
Heh. That's a fun story.
P&W is mostly making military engines like the ones for the F-22 and F-35. They have collaborated with GE on GP7200 Alliance engines developed for the A380. GE built the core, and P&W built the fans. They are also the designated engine for the KC-767 offering to replace the KC-135 fleet. I thought the derivative of the GENx that will be developed for the 747-8 would be a better choice.
Pratt & Whitney has all but abandoned the market for large commercial engines to GE and Rolls Royce. A lot of this has to do with the fact that the P&W engines have only been ordered by a few airlines for the 777. They've decided to concentrate on engines for the future 737/A320 replacements as well as for larger regional jets.
Any chance, they'll ever get their geared turbofan concept to actually work?
Last time I heard they were still working on it.
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