Now on Flying Testbed,
GE Catalyst Nears Ground Testing
GE
Aviation’s clean-sheet Catalyst turboprop engine is expected to begin its
ground testing on a flying testbed early next month followed by delivery of
the safety-of-flight engine to Textron Aviation before year-end, according to
a spokesman for the engine manufacturer. He also told AIN that the
engine has already been installed on a Beechcraft King Air 350 that is
serving as the flying testbed. So
far, GE Aviation’s Czech Republic facility has manufactured 10 Catalyst test
engines, three of which have been torn down and reassembled as part of its
testing program. “We’ve rebuilt three of them already: taken them apart,
checked all the parts, make sure everything…looks great, and then put them
back together,” the spokesman said. Combined,
the test engines have accumulated nearly 2,000 hours of run time, he added.
Textron Aviation’s clean-sheet Denali turboprop single is the launch platform
for the engine, which includes a number of 3D-printed parts, and its first
flight has been delayed as a result of hold-ups at GE Aviation. Last fall, GE
Aviation executives explained at the
2019 NBAA-BACE that newer testing standards and engine preparations for the
flying testbed were behind the program’s delays. Wichita-based Textron Aviation,
which will have three flight-test and three ground-test articles for its
Denali certification program, continues to decline to put a timeline on the
airplane’s development milestones. |
Ingen kommentarer:
Legg inn en kommentar
Merk: Bare medlemmer av denne bloggen kan legge inn en kommentar.