The first GE Honda HF120 engine has successfully started its initial test run at GE Aviation’s altitude test chamber in Evendale, Ohio, launching the test phase of the program.
The GE Honda HF120 engine was launched in 2006 and selected to power Honda Aircraft’s advanced light jet, the HondaJet, and the Spectrum Aeronautical “Freedom” business jet.
“This is a significant milestone and represents the transition from the design-definition phase to the test and certification phase of the HF120,” said Bill Dwyer, president of GE Honda Aero Engines. “Over the next several weeks, we will be mapping the engine performance and operability around the flight envelope while utilizing the full capability of the altitude test chamber.”
Thirteen HF120 development engines and two core builds will take part in the certification testing at six locations in the U.S. and Japan. Tests will include fan blade out, crosswind, stress and endurance testing. GE Honda also plans to test the engine on a flying testbed before flying on the customer certification aircraft. By entry into service, the HF120 will have accumulated more than 15,000 cycles of ground and flight testing, according to company officials.
HF120 engine production will initially begin at GE’s site in Lynn, Mass. and will later transition to Honda Aero Inc.’s recently completed engine production and overhaul facility in Burlington, N.C.
Rated at 2,095 pounds of thrust, the HF120 engine succeeds Honda’s original HF118 prototype engine, which has accumulated more than 4,000 hours of testing on the ground and in-flight. GE and Honda redesigned the engine for higher thrust and new standards of performance in fuel efficiency, durability, and low noise and emissions, officials note.
The HF120 technologies include:
- A wide chord, compound-swept front fan and two-stage booster along with composite outlet guide vanes.
- A high-temperature, titanium impellor in the compressor for maximum engine pressure ratio and stall-free performance.
- A reverse-flow configuration combustor and single-stage air-blast fuel nozzles.
- Advanced materials in the turbine as well as a two-stage low-pressure (LP) turbine and a counter-rotating high-pressure and LP spool shaft system.
In 2004, GE and Honda formed a 50/50 joint venture, called GE Honda Aero Engines, based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The joint company integrates the resources of GE and Honda Aero, Inc., a Honda subsidiary established to manage its aviation engine business.
For more information: GEHonda.com.
