The World’s largest jet engine “GE Aviation’s GE9X” has taken to the skies for the first time over the Mojave Desert in California.

The jet’s engine was attached to the wing of the company’s “Flying Test Bed” based at an airstrip in Victorville, California.

It completed a four-hour test flight to check the essential features and to begin trials for official certification for service.

The engine is reported to be very huge as compared to all previous models as extensive composites were used in building the fan blades and the fan face.

It was developed for Boeing’s 777X next-generation wide-body passenger jet.

However, in order to make the GE engine lighter, the company says, the 3D printed nozzles, new light and heat-resistant ceramics, and the fan blades were reduced from 22 to 16.

This they said, allowed them to expand its fan size to 134-inches with the entire engine being as wide as a Boeing 737 fuselage making it the world’s largest jet engine.

According to the company, it can push 100,000 lb of thrust and it’s also 10 percent more efficient than the GE90 engines currently being used for the 777s.

GE Aviation, said currently, there are already 700 orders for the GE9X in the books from a number of customers including Emirates, Etihad Airways, Cathay Pacific, Lufthansa, and Qatar Airways.

The company is currently working on the backup electrical system for the 777X while several more months of testing is required to determine the performance of the GE9X.

Source: New Atlas