Special Delivery: CTEC Welcomes GE9X Engine to Training Center
June 30, 2020 | by Deborah Case
GE's Customer Technical Education Center (CTEC) facility in Cincinnati, Ohio, recently received a GE9X engine for use in customer training classes. The engine arrived in mid-April and is being installed for its first customer training class scheduled for November.
“Everything on the GE9X is big—nothing is small,” said Eli Lessing, retired New Product Introduction Program Manager for Training at CTEC, who was on the team that coordinated the engine’s move into the training center. “We needed a lot of space to accommodate the engine.”
The CTEC team has work to do before the first group of customers enter the training center later this year. The team had to mate the fan to the propulsor and attach the engine to a new pylon that mirrors the pylons under the wing on Boeing's 777X aircraft. Then comes the stress test of the training material.
“Before customers come for training, our instructors will develop their class material and then stress test the course with the help of GE's On Wing Support, Product Support and Field Service teams,” explained Lessing.
The Entry Into Service training courses will include line maintenance, boroscope and boroblend repair procedures as well as fan stator removal and installation. The CTEC team is also working Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) training courses to supplement the in-person training. This engine also will be instrumental in developing LEAN maintenance practices that will be implemented in customer training modules and GE training procedures.
The GE9X engine is currently conducting its final engine certification test—called the Initial Maintenance Inspection or IMI. The IMI test supports the maintenance intervals, which are the maximum hours or cycles that an engine should operate in service before maintenance and are specified by the GE9X program.
“Everything on the GE9X is big—nothing is small,” said Eli Lessing, retired New Product Introduction Program Manager for Training at CTEC, who was on the team that coordinated the engine’s move into the training center. “We needed a lot of space to accommodate the engine.”
The CTEC team has work to do before the first group of customers enter the training center later this year. The team had to mate the fan to the propulsor and attach the engine to a new pylon that mirrors the pylons under the wing on Boeing's 777X aircraft. Then comes the stress test of the training material.
“Before customers come for training, our instructors will develop their class material and then stress test the course with the help of GE's On Wing Support, Product Support and Field Service teams,” explained Lessing.
The Entry Into Service training courses will include line maintenance, boroscope and boroblend repair procedures as well as fan stator removal and installation. The CTEC team is also working Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) training courses to supplement the in-person training. This engine also will be instrumental in developing LEAN maintenance practices that will be implemented in customer training modules and GE training procedures.
The GE9X engine is currently conducting its final engine certification test—called the Initial Maintenance Inspection or IMI. The IMI test supports the maintenance intervals, which are the maximum hours or cycles that an engine should operate in service before maintenance and are specified by the GE9X program.
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GE Aerospace is a world-leading provider of jet and turboprop engines, as well as integrated systems for commercial, military, business and general aviation aircraft.
