GE Aviation (et power)

General Electric will modify a former JAL Boeing 747-400 into a new flying testbed as part of plans to upgrade its test facilities in preparation for Leap-X and other next generation engines. The ex-Japan Airlines aircraft, acquired in December 2010, will be converted into its new role under a $60 million plan announced by GE on Feb 24.

First flown in 1994, the CF6-80C2-powered 747-400 is a veritable spring chicken compared to the current 747-100 flying testbed which GE bought in 1992. The former Pan Am 747-100 celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2009 and is the oldest version of the 747 still flying in the U.S. and the fifth oldest in the world.

General Electric (GE) has completed an analysis of ultrasound
inspections on all four Boeing 787s powered by an engine that failed in
ground taxi tests six weeks ago.

The results of the ultrasounds have not been disclosed publicly, but
all six GEnx-powered 787s delivered to three airlines are still
operating, the manufacturer says.

GE has forwarded the data from the ultrasound checks on the GEnx-1B
fleet to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which is still
investigating the root cause of the incident in North Charleston, South
Carolina. on 28 July.

Ultrasound inspections on 92 GEnx-2Bs, the powerplant for 26 delivered Boeing 747-8s, remain ongoing, GE says.

GE ordered the inspections after the NTSB traced the GEnx-1B engine
failure on 28 July to cracks in the fan mid shaft assembly. The cracks
caused the assembly to break up, which forced the first stage of the
low-pressure turbine to collide with trailing stages.

The fragments from the stages were ejected out of the engine nozzle
as designed, avoiding the more serious problem of parts escaping the fan
case that shields the passenger cabin of the aircraft from such debris.

But the incident put a spotlight on the integrity of the fan mid
shaft design, which is supplied by Japan's IHI. Such failures are
extremely rare. GE has recording only a handful of cracking incidents on
fan mid shaft assemblies over several decades of service on the
manufacturer's other commercial engines, which include the CF6
powerplant for widebodies such as the Boeing 767 and Airbus A330.

It is still not clear what caused the cracks to develop inside the
fan mid shaft assembly. In rare previous failures on the CF6, GE
discovered that they were caused by contaminants, oil leaks and other
components wearing unexpectedly against the fan mid shaft.

"The voluntary inspection to the -1B and the -2B fleets provide GE
Aviation with additional engineering data to use in the investigation
with the NTSB, Boeing and IHI to determine the cause of the fan shaft
fracture," GE says.

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/boeing-787s-continue-flying-after-ultrasound-checks-on-ge-engines-376353/

Avio will strengthen GE's global supply chain
capabilities as its engine production rates continue to rise to meet
growing customer demand, GE said in a statement on Friday.
Avio, which supplies engine parts for the Eurofighter Typhoon and engine makers GE and Rolls Royce Holdings Plc (RR.L), was acquired in 2006 by Cinven in a deal that valued the company at about 2.6 billion euros.
The deal will not include Avio's aerospace unit.
Avio's
revenues in the aviation sector were 1.7 billion euros in 2011, with
more than 50 percent derived from components for GE and GE joint venture
engines.