GE Honda Aero Engines close to completing FAA certification testing on HF120 engine

GE Honda Aero Engines is close to completing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification testing on its HF120 engine.

In the past six months, the HF120 engine successfully cleared crosswind testing and the 150-hour block endurance test.

The final test for the engine, medium bird ingestion, is scheduled to be complete in July.

GE Honda Aero Engines stated that 95% of the certification documents to the FAA have been submitted with more than 84% already approved.

GE Honda Aero Engines president Terry Sharp said that the 150-hour block endurance test is very difficult and puts an engine through conditions that it will never experience in the field.

"We are extremely pleased with the engine’s performance during the tests and the condition of the HF120’s endurance test hardware," he said.

"We anticipate finishing testing in July with engine type certification from the FAA expected in the fourth quarter."

The HF120 will feature a wide-chord, compound-swept front fan and two-stage booster, as well as composite outlet guide vanes, titanium impeller in the compressor and a compact reverse-flow configuration combustor and single-stage air-blast fuel nozzles.

Thirteen HF120 engines have logged more than 7,300 hours and in excess of 9,700 cycles during development and certification testing at nine locations, which included the accumulation of 3,000 cycles on one engine as part of its endurance validation programme.

The validation programme considers flight cycles prior to the entry-into-service of the engine.

The HF120 engine, which is rated at 2,095lb of thrust, succeeds Honda’s HF118 prototype engine, which logged more than 4,000 hours of testing on the ground and in-flight.

GE and Honda have redesigned the engine in such a way that it provides higher thrust and new standards of performance in fuel efficiency, durability, and low noise and emissions.

According to GE Honda Aero Engines, the supply chain is ramping up HF120 engine production, with components being stocked.

Initially, the production of HF120 engine will be carried out at the GE’s facility in Lynn, Massachusetts, and will then be moved to Honda Aero facility in Burlington, North Carolina, following engine certification.

GE Honda plans to set up a customer service and support programme, which will include a network of GE Honda authorised service providers, a 24/7 GE Honda Operations Center, field technical managers and customer team managers.

The company noted that it will offer long-term engine service agreements with comprehensive maintenance and support services.

The GE Honda HF120 engine programme was launched in 2006, with the engine chosen to power Honda Aircraft advanced light jet, the HondaJet.

GE Honda Aero Engines, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, was established in 2004 as a 50/50 joint venture between GE and Honda.

It integrates the resources of GE Aviation and Honda Aero, a subsidiary of Honda established to manage its aviation engine business.

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Image: An HF120 engine mounted on the wing of a Honda HA-420 HondaJet. Photo: courtesy of Michael Pereckas.