GE Honda Gearing Up for HF120 Certification

By Chad Trautvetter

AINalerts >> July 2008
Engines

GE Honda Aero Engines has built and tested eight HF120 engine cores and eight turbofan engine configurations to prepare for formal certification testing later this year, the company said yesterday at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis. “We’re optimizing the engine configuration before certification testing,” noted GE Honda president Bill Dwyer. Testing and building of full turbofan engines have been conducted at Honda’s aircraft engine research and development center in Japan for about a year, verifying the engine design’s operability, thermal characteristics and component efficiencies. To date, the HF120 engine has demonstrated more than 2,100 pounds of thrust while exceeding fuel efficiency and durability targets, the company said. Next year, the HF120 engine will fly on a testbed, as well as on the HondaJet. Meanwhile, hardware has been released for HF120 engines for the certification program. FAA approval is planned for late next year. Production of the HF120, which has been selected to power both the HondaJet and Spectrum Freedom, is scheduled to begin next year at GE’s Lynn, Mass. facility. In 2010, HF120 manufacturing will then transition to Honda Aero’s new engine production facility in Burlington, N.C.

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