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Flight Testing Of GE's CF34-8 Growth Engine Under Way

April 05, 2001

EVENDALE, OHIO - Flight testing of GE's new CF34-8 Growth engine is successfully under way, with completion on April 2 of the first flight, during which the engine performed flawlessly.GE's 747 flying testbed, with the CF34-8 Growth engine mounted as a fifth engine, took off and landed at the GE Flight Test Center at Mojave, California, in a flight that lasted 6 hours and 41 minutes.Plans call for the engine flight testing to continue until June, as part of the overall test program leading to certification by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration of the entire Growth series, targeted for the second quarter of 2002. The Growth series includes the CF34-8C5, -8D, and -8E engines.The Growth engines, each of which produces maximum takeoff thrust of 14,500 pounds, are designed to power new, larger regional twinjets slated to enter revenue service over the next two years: the CF34-8C5 for the 86-passenger Bombardier CRJ900, the CF34-8D for the 70-passenger Fairchild-Dornier 728JET, and the CF34-8E for the 70-passenger Embraer ERJ 170.The CF34-8C1 engine, which produces 13,790 pounds of takeoff thrust, is already in service, powering two 70-passenger Bombardier CRJ700 aircraft of launch customer Brit Air of France.CF34-8 engines have proven to be regional aviation's most popular new engines, with 11 customers already having placed firm orders valued at nearly $3 billion.