GE Aviation Rebrands ‘TechX’ Turbofan Engine as ‘Passport’

GE Aviation announced this week at EBACE that its TechX engine, which Bombardier selected for its Global 7000 and Global 8000, has been rebranded as “Passport.” The first model in what Cincinnati, Ohio-based GE hopes will be a series of turbofans in the 10,000- to 20,000-pound-thrust class will produce up to 16,500 pounds of thrust for the new Global jets. It will be called the Passport 20, according to Shawn O’Day, GE Aviation marketing director. The “integrated propulsion system” is expected to provide at least 8-percent lower specific fuel consumption than current turbofans in the same class, more than a 50-percent margin to the CAEP/6 regulations on emissions and operate some 13 EPNdb under Stage 4 noise requirements. Certification of the Passport 20 is planned in 2016. Among the Passport’s advanced technologies are a composite fan case and front fan blisk; a high-pressure ratio, 10-stage compressor; the latest generation twin-annular, pre-mixed swirler II (Taps II) combustor; a high-pressure turbine with advanced materials and cooling design; and a slim-line nacelle with an outward-opening lower cowl.