Initiative Targets Improved Fuel Efficiency Up To 16 Percent

Is this the program Boeing and Airbus have been waiting for, as each mulls significant updates and/or redesigns to their respective narrowbody 737NG and A320 aircraft families? Sunday at Farnborough, GE Aviation announced the launch of a new engine core program, called "eCore," as the basis for a new generation of jet engines for narrow-body, regional, and business jets.

The program is designed to outpace competitive engine designs by offering aircraft operators up to 16 percent better fuel efficiency over GE's best engines now in operation.

GE says the new program will build on the company's previous efforts towards improving engine efficiency, including the GE90-115B used in Boeing 777s and the GEnx slated to power the upcoming Boeing 787. The company says "eCore" raises the bar further for all future aircraft with 200 passengers and fewer. The fuel-efficiency targets for eCore exceed competitive engine offers being announced for new-generation commercial aircraft.

"eCore is also the foundation for new regional and business jet engines now being designed by thousands of GE engineers," said David Joyce, president and CEO of GE Aviation. "Using eCore as the basis, GE is developing and maturing technologies for new regional and business jets for a time frame of 2015 and beyond."

The engine core -- comprised of the compressor, combustor, high-pressure turbine -- is the heart of any jet engine. It’s where air is compressed and mixed with fuel to drive turbines, and create thrust. To this core, the fan system is attached to complete a jet engine.

Leveraging GEnx technologies, the eCore program features advanced materials such as ceramic matrix composites, unique cooling technologies, a next generation TAPS (Twin-Annular, Premixed, Swirler) combustor for efficient and cleaner fuel combustion, and new 3-D aerodynamic design airfoils.

The first eCore will run in 2009 for GE's joint technology efforts with Snecma (SAFRAN Group) on the next-generation CFM engine for narrow-body aircraft. CFM International, a 50/50 joint company of Snecma and GE, is the world’s most successful commercial jet engine program.

For several years, GE Aviation has invested more than $1 billion annually in research & development, leading to an array of highly-successful new engines, including the GE90-115B, GP7200, GEnx, CF34 regional jet family, and GE Honda HF120. These engines include technologies unique in aviation to GE, such as composite fan blades on the GE90 and GEnx, composite fan case and TAPS combustor on the GEnx.

GE’s aggressive development programs continue to pay dividends, as more than 23,000 CFM and GE engines now power commercial aircraft in service -- the largest installed base of airline jet engines in the world.

FMI: www.ge.com/aviation