LAS VEGAS—GE Aerospace is setting up for deliveries of additional Passport engines to Bombardier as the Canadian manufacturer begins assembly of the first ultra-long-range Global 8000 production model.
“The engines are ready to go,” says Melvyn Heard, business aviation general manager for GE Aerospace Commercial Engines and Services. Mechanically identical to the Passport version powering the Global 7500, some of which were modified for the 8000 test program, the engines incorporate updated full-authority digital engine control software for the latest application.
“It allows now for that capability on the Global 8000 to get that increased range as Bombardier has added another 300 nm onto the aircraft,” Heard says. “That’s in addition to being able to actually push the throttle up to Mach 0.94 on the aircraft—all using the same engine. The only thing we're doing is a software adjustment on the engine to get the capability they need for the aircraft.”
Due to enter service in late 2025, the Global 8000 will feature a range of 8,000 nm at a long-range cruise speed of Mach 0.85, allowing it to connect city pairs such as London-Perth and Singapore-Los Angeles.
In operation on the Global 7500 since late 2018, the Passport is “just doing great,” Heard says. “We’ve got close to190 aircraft in service now on the 7500, and we had enough forethought when we developed the engine that whatever increased capability the aircraft would actually need, as they always do, we wanted to make sure the engine had that capability to do that.”
First run in 2013, the engine is also maintaining its competitiveness, Heard says. “It's about 2-3% more fuel-efficient than anything out there in this class category right now.”
In other sectors of GE’s business jet portfolio, the engine-maker is marking the 20th anniversary of its HF120 joint venture with Honda for the HA-420 HondaJet. “It's been a great program for us,” Heard says. “We have over 250 aircraft in service right now in that very light jet space,” he adds.
The long-running CF34 program also continues to be a stalwart for GE says Heard. “Believe it or not, after 40 years, we're still in production with that engine right now,” he says. First run in 1971 as the TF34 military engine for the A-10 attack aircraft, the commercial CF34 made its test debut in 1982 and has been used on a variety of regional and business jet applications‑most of them associated with Bombardier and Embraer.
“Now we're still using it on the Challenger, 650 and have over 15 million flight hours in the business aviation space alone so it's been a great platform for us,” Heard notes.
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