GE-P&W Engine Alliance is a 50:50 joint-venture company formed by General Electric (GE) and Pratt & Whitney (P&W), to develop a power plant for the proposed Boeing 747-500X and -600X growth models. The engine, which will compete with the Rolls-Royce Trent 900, is being offered for Airbus' proposed A3XX ultra-high-capacity airliner.
The decision by the USA's two largest engine manufacturers to co-operate in the development of a new engine took the industry by surprise. The move effectively leaves GE's GE90 with the Boeing 777 as its only application, while P&W had been expected to offer a derivative of its successful PW4000 series. Both companies, along with the UK's R-R, are keen to avoid the three-way fight for market share, which has dogged their 777 sales campaigns.
The first member of the joint venture's planned GP7000 family of engines, which will eventually cover the 311-356kN range, is the GP7176, rated at 338kN. The engine's development is tailored to meet the requirements of the 747-600X programme, with certification of the GP7176 planned for late-1999, followed by service entry in December 2000. Engine configuration will be frozen by the end of this year, and the first full engine run will occur in mid-1998.
P&W are responsible for the 2.8m-diameter fan, low-pressure (LP) compressor and LP turbine. GE has the high-pressure (HP) compressor, combustor and HP turbine.
Source: Flight International
