Gregory Polek has spent his entire career in aviation journalism with AIN, starting as a proofreader and assistant to then-managing editor Mary Mahoney in 1995 after serving an internship with&nbsp;New Jersey Monthly&nbsp;magazine and completing his B.A. degree in English/Writing at New Jersey’s William Paterson College. By 1997 Polek accepted a position as an associate editor, covering the regional airline beat for&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;in place of retiring industry veteran Don Anderson. The assignment took Polek across North America and Europe to profile regional airlines varying in size and mission from the likes of floatplane operators Kenmore Air and Chalk’s Ocean Airways to regional jet operators such as SkyWest and American Eagle. Today, in his dual role as Air Transport Editor and International Airshow Editor, Polek writes, edits, and manages AIN’s commercial aviation content while overseeing each of the company’s daily international air show publications in Paris, Farnborough, Singapore, and Dubai. Most recently Polek has assumed oversight of daily coverage of the Helicopter Association International’s annual Heli-Expo convention.

Senior Editor

Gregory Polek

Ground testing has started on a GEnx engine that contains ceramic matrix composite (CMC) components in the high-pressure turbine (HPT) and combustor as part of the technology maturation program for the GE9X engine destined to power the Boeing 777X, GE announced Tuesday.

 


“For the GE9X, GE is applying its extensive knowledge of CMCs to the engine’s hot section,” said Bill Millhaem, general manager of the GE90/GE9X engine programs. “The GEnx engine testing campaign, which began in late January, will allow us to demonstrate the functionality and durability of the full suite of CMC hot section components and help the team lock down the final design for the new GE9X engine by mid-2015.”

 


The GEnx engine on test at GE’s Peebles, Ohio testing facility contains inner and outer combustor liners, high-pressure turbine (HPT) stage 1 shrouds and stage 2 nozzles. GE plans to test CMC HPT stage 1 nozzles with the demo engine’s second build.&nbsp;

 


Other, non-CMC parts for the GE9X under evaluation include the next-generation HPT stage 1 blades with new cooling technology and low-pressure turbine titanium aluminide (TiAl) blades produced at Avio Aero, a GE Aviation business, using a new 3-D additive manufacturing process.

 


The GEnx engine has undergone more than 350 endurance cycles so far as part of the demo testing.

 


CMCs consist of silicon carbide ceramic fibers and ceramic resin, enhanced with proprietary coatings.&nbsp;More durable than metal, CMC components contain one-third the density of typical metallic parts, making them lighter and longer-lasting. Also more heat-resistant than metals, the material requires 20 percent less cooling air, which improves overall engine efficiency.

 


GE Aviation’s facility in Newark, Delaware, has mastered the manufacturing process for CMCs in its laboratory, and plans call for GE’s newly opened Asheville, North Carolina factory to become the first involved in the mass production of CMC components.

 


GE and its partners expect to spend more than $500 million on technology maturation and product development for the new GE9X engine this year. Along with the CMC demo testing, schedules call for this year’s technology maturation testing to include additional high-pressure compressor testing and the first demonstration core test.

 


The GE9X engine will occupy the 100,000-pound-thrust class. Key features include a 134-inch diameter composite fan case and 16 composite fan blades; a next-generation 27:1 pressure-ratio 11-stage high-pressure compressor; a third-generation TAPS III combustor for high efficiency and low emissions; and CMC material in the combustor and turbine.

 


GE has collected orders for almost 700 GE9X engines since its launch on the Boeing 777X last year. It expects to conduct the first full engine test next year

 


and start flight testing in 2017, in time for scheduled certification in 2018.

News and developments about aircraft engines, including turbofan, turboprop, turboshaft and piston.

GE Starts Ground Testing of CMC Parts on GE9X

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News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

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News about environmental issues relating to aircraft operations, including noise issues, emissisions, and regulations. See Fuel for biofuel.

Issues regarding financing of aircraft; aviation insurance; tax issues for aircraft operators; new companies and people in the aviation financing and insurance industries.

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

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News and issues about aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), covering all segments of the aviation industry; and modifications for aircraft and engines. Subjects include product support of aircraft, engines and avionics, MRO company mergers, acquisitions, announcements and personnel, Airworthiness Directives, Supplemental Type Certificate approvals and other topics.

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

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