GE Aviation begins assembly on first Passport development engine

                        
GE Aviation has begun assembly of the first Passport development engine, the engine set to power the new Bombardier Global 7000 and Global 8000 business aircraft.

Testing of the engine is scheduled for the second quarter of this year.

The Passport engine for the Global 7000 and Global 8000 business jets will produce 16,500 pounds of thrust and will incorporate advanced technologies and materials.

The Passport’s integrated propulsion system from Nexcelle, a joint venture between GE and Safran, will feature a slim-line nacelle with outward opening cowl to reduce weight and drag while allowing for easy maintenance access and high dispatch availability.

Since launching the engine in 2010, GE has conducted validation tests on the fan blisk design, including two fan blade-out rig tests, ingestion tests and a fan aero rig test to demonstrate fan efficiency. Testing was completed on two eCore demonstrators, which accumulated 150 hours. Another eCore demonstrator is scheduled to run this year.