GE Honda Aero Engines LLC has recently completed component and engine core tests to validate several new enhancements to the performance of its HF118 turbofan engine for light business aircraft.
GE Honda Aero Engines LLC is a 50/50 joint venture company formed in late 2004 to manufacture and market the HF118 family of commercial turbofan engines ranging in thrust from 1,000 to 3,500 pounds. The initial HF118 engine will be rated in the 1,700-pound-thrust class.
Several recent enhancements to the performance of the HF118 turbofan include:
- The cooperative design and testing effort in recent months on the HF118 engine has already resulted in an improvement in specific fuel consumption of approximately 4 percent and weight reduction of approximately 8 percent.
- Honda's enhancements to its state-of-the-art high-pressure compressor (HPC) have increased airflow and improved efficiency. Improvements in the high-pressure turbine (HPT) include new blades using GE's advanced, single-crystal material and that were designed using 3-dimensional aerodynamic (3-D aero) design technology.
-The HPT durability and performance enhancements were validated in March during rig tests held at Honda's test facility in Japan. Further tests this summer at Honda will be run on an HF118 engine core. The HF118 is being designed to operate in service for an industry record-setting 5,000 hours before the first major overhaul with no interim hot-section inspection -- a key cost-of-ownership feature.
- The HF118 fan is being enhanced with high-flow, wide-chord swept aerodynamic technology already service-proven on the GE90-115B, the world's most powerful engine, and on the GEnx engine currently being developed.
In anticipation of future testing, an HF118 engine was successfully run this month at GE's outdoor test operation in Peebles, Ohio. Additional tests this year at both Honda and GE will further demonstrate engine performance and durability, as well as improvements in the compressor and turbine areas.
"The improvements to the Honda engine are based on lessons learned by GE on its newer engine programs and on the continued efforts of Honda's engineering team," said Gary Leonard, president of GE Honda Aero Engines LLC. "Therein lies the strength of our cooperative effort. Honda's quick-turn design, prototyping and testing processes allow the two companies to take new concepts from design to test very quickly."
The emergence of small, less expensive business jets creates considerable opportunity for a highly reliable and durable jet engine to power them. Honda and GE envision annual sales of at least 200 of these aircraft, flown by owner-operators and fractional owners, as well as "air-taxi" operations serving small airports not serviced by major airlines.
GE Honda Aero Engines LLC teams GE Transportation, the world's largest manufacturer of jet engines, with Honda Aero, Inc., a wholly owned Honda Motor Co., Ltd. subsidiary, established to manage Honda's aviation engine business.
Honda (NYSE: HMC) is a leading manufacturer of automobiles and power products and the largest manufacturer of motorcycles in the world. Honda has more than 120 manufacturing facilities in 30 countries worldwide, which produce a wide range of products, including motorcycles, ATVs, generators, marine engines, lawn and garden equipment and automobiles.
General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) is a diversified technology and services company whose products range from aircraft engines and power generation equipment to financial services, medical imaging, television programming and plastics. GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs more than 315,000 people worldwide.