Boeing tests world's largest jet engine

The giant GE9X engine, which is as wide and tall as a Boeing 737, is being built to power the latest version of the company's 777 family, the 777X "superjumbo," according to Long Room. General Electric is now putting the prototype into flight testing after several delays due to technical issues that pushed back the planned test late last year.

The GE9X is mounted on the aircraft along with smaller engines, allowing engineers to test the engine in flight maneuvers without endangering passengers in the cabin. The GE9X has a large fan 3.4 meters in diameter, housed in an engine nacelle 4.4 meters wide.

The special Boeing 747 test plane took off from Victorville, California, and flew for four hours with the GE9X engine under its left wing, which is much larger than the other three engines. The flight marked the start of a test that had been planned for several months.

The giant GE9X engine is as wide and tall as the fuselage of a Boeing 737.

GE9X will be installed onThe 777X, the plane with the widest wingspan (71.8 meters), is wider than four tractor-trailers lined up end to end. The 777X is so large that Boeing had to design hinges at the wingtips. The hinges fold up, allowing the plane to shorten its wingspan when taxiing on airport runways. This is the first commercial aircraft with such a design. The wingtips have 3.7 meters long hinges and locking pins that prevent the hinges from folding during flight, according to Boeing.

The 777-9X can carry at least 400 passengers, 34 more than its competitor, the Airbus A350-1000. The 777-9X's cabin is 40 cm wider than the A350-1000, allowing for an increase in economy class seat width of 46 cm.

"The GE9X engineering team and test team in Victorville spent months preparing to fly the engine. Their efforts paid off with a flawless first flight. The flight marked the beginning of a several-month testing period that allowed us to collect data on how the engine performs at high altitudes and during different phases of flight,” said Ted Ingling, general manager of the GE9X program at GE Aviation.

The GE9X has 445,000 N of thrust, and GE has received more than 700 orders for the $29 million engine. Boeing asked GE to develop an engine powerful enough to power the 777X, which will replace the old model. Ultra-high-temperature materials called ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) in the combustion chamber and turbine can operate at temperatures up to 1,300°C. This material allows engineers to maintain high temperatures inside the engine without burning fuel and without exhaust emissions.

Advances in 3D printing technology are also being applied to the new engine. Engineers can create more complex shapes, including 3D-printed fuel nozzles. Currently, turbofan engines are manufactured by GE's main rival, Rolls Royce. The Trent XWB-97 is a three-shaft turbofan with a 305cm diameter fan and delivers 431,650 N of thrust.