Propulsion Highlights of 2020

Graham Warwick

E-Fan X Hybrid-Electric Propulsion Flight Demonstrator

Airbus concept

Airbus and Rolls-Royce in April canceled the E-Fan X hybrid-electric propulsion flight demonstrator as they scaled back R&D spending in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rolls is planning to complete ground testing.

MagniX All-electric Propulsion

MagniX

On May 28, a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan converted by MagniX to all-electric propulsion with a 560-kW motor made a 30-min. first flight from the AeroTEC Flight Test Center at Moses Lake, Washington.

Velis Electro Trainer

Pipistrel

Pipistrel in June received the first certifications for an all-electric aircraft and its electric motor; the two-seat Velis Electro trainer was awarded type certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.

Supersonic Propulsion

Virgin Galactic concept

Rolls-Royce was selected in August to study propulsion systems for Boom Supersonic’s proposed Mach 2.2 Overture airliner and for a Mach 3 passenger transport being studied by Virgin Galactic

Hydrogen Fuel-cell Power Train

DLR concept

German aerospace center DLR and MTU Aero Engines in August agreed to develop a hydrogen fuel-cell power train for flight testing in a Dornier Do 228 regional aircraft beginning in 2026.

Fuel-cell Propulsion

Universal Hydrogen concept

In August, startup Universal Hydrogen unveiled plans to modify the de Havilland Canada Dash 8-300 to fuel-cell propulsion with MagniX electric motors, to kick-start demand for its hydrogen infrastructure.

Zero-emissions Airliners

Airbus concept

Airbus in September unveiled three concepts for zero-emissions airliners that could enter service in 2035. All three “ZEROe” designs use liquid-hydrogen fuel, burned in modified gas-turbine engines.

Testbed Helicopter

U.S. Army

The U.S. Army flew a Boeing CH-47 Chinook testbed helicopter for the first time on Sept. 22, fitted with 7,500-shp General Electric T408 turboshafts replacing the standard 5,000-shp Honeywell T55s

General Electric GE9X

GE Aviation

Rated at up to 110,000-lb. thrust and powering the Boeing 777X, General Electric’s GE9X received FAA certification on Sept. 25 after nine engines logged 5,000 hr. and 8,000 cycles of testing.

Tupolev Tu-160M Bomber

United Aircraft Corp.

Russia’s modernized Tupolev Tu-160M bomber flew with upgraded NK-32-02 engines on Nov. 3. Redesigned compressor and turbine blades and improved cooling increase the afterburning turbofan’s fuel efficiency.

In a year that saw a substantial increase in activity around electric-aircraft propulsion, one of the biggest milestones of 2020 involving a turbofan engine was FAA certification of GE Aviation’s GE9X engine for the Boeing 777X, its 134-in.-dia. fan making it the largest commercial turbofan to date. Here are some of the propulsion highlights of 2020.