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 flying the prototype after several delays due to technical issues that pushed back the planned test run late last year.

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

The special Boeing 747 test aircraft took off from Victorville, California, and flew for four hours with the GE9X engine under the left wing, which is much larger than the other three engines. The flight marked the beginning 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 in the wingtips. The hinges fold up, allowing the plane to shorten its wingspan when taxiing on an airport runway. It is the first commercial aircraft to have this design. The wingtips have 3.7-meter-long hinges and a locking pin that prevents 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 40cm wider than the A350-1000, allowing for an increase in economy class seat width of 46cm.

"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 months-long 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. The ultra-high-temperature material called ceramic matrix composite (CMC) 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 competitor, Rolls Royce. The Trent XWB-97 is a three-shaft turbofan with a 305cm diameter fan and delivers 431,650 N of thrust.