GE90-115B Will Be 777X'S 'Biggest Fan'

The highest thrust aero engine in aviation history is on track to support the Boeing 777X's projected entry into service in late 2003.

Detailed design work on the -115B derivative of the GE90 is slated to begin next year. The engine is to develop up to 115,000 pounds of takeoff thrust to power longer-range 777-200X and -300X versions. Launch of the 777X is expected soon.

The new engine will build on the more than one million flight hours already accumulated by its predecessor GE90s, which entered service on the 777-200 in November 1995. The two-million-flight-hour mark should be reached early next year, GE says.

GE90's are collectively logging about 10,000 flights a month in service with British Airways, China Southern, Lauda, Continental and several other carriers. About 1,900 of these flights are according to Extended Twin Engine Operations rules on routes across the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, GE says.

The newest GE90-115B will use a high efficiency, nine-stage compressor developed for the GE90-94B, itself developing 94,000 pounds of thrust and scheduled to enter service with Air France in November. For the -115B, however, the compressor's final stage will be removed to increase air flow.

The -115B also will have a 5-inch wider fan, to a 128-inch diameter, and larger swept composite fan blades. A steel alloy mid-shaft will handle the higher torque through the center of the -115B using the same shaft diameter as earlier versions.

Tests are underway this month at GE facilities in Evendale, near Cincinnati, of a scale core with the nine-stage compressor configuration. The results will be used to establish performance, operability and acoustic data.