GE begins flight-tests on Passport engine
GE Passport engine on 747 testbed
GE Aviation Passport for Bombardier’s new Global 7000 and Global 8000 business jets began flight-testing on GE Aviation’s 747-100 flying test-bed.
On 30 December 2014, a single Passport engine successfully demonstrated aircraft systems and instrumentation functionality.
ALSO READ: Passport engine begins first full test
GE expects certification of the new engine in 2015.
“It was a landmark day for the Passport program – we couldn’t have asked for a better performance to close out an impressive year of testing,” said Brad Mottier, vice president and general manager of GE Aviation’s Business & General Aviation and Integrated Services division. “Since its first test in 2013, the Passport engine has met or exceeded our expectations, giving us great confidence as we close in on certification.”
To date, the Passport engine’s has accumulated more than 750 hours and 300 cycles of testing.
The Passport engine’s first flight occurred on GE’s flying test laboratory, a modernized 747-100. It was the 16th aircraft shipped off the original Boeing 747 production line, entering service for Pan Am in 1972.
