Our top 8 of 2018. The GE Aviation stories that made 2018 a big year for aviation.

GE Aviation’s original Queen of the Skies, the Boeing 747-100 Flying Test Bed, flew to its new home, the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.

This June marks the 50th anniversary of GE Aviation’s dramatic return to the airline industry by launching the original CF6 engine on the Douglas DC-10.  This seminal milestone put GE on a course to become one of the world’s commercial jet engine dynasties.  

Joseph Moore works days on the shop floor at GE Aviation’s fast-growing jet engine factory in Auburn – then teaches his experiences at night in the classroom. He’s one of several operations managers at GE’s Auburn site with a teaching role during the month-long vocational training sessions at Southern Union State Community College near Auburn to prepare GE’s growing foster of hourly workers.

How fast can Etihad Airways change a GE90 engine? They can do it Pretty Darn Quick (PDQ) and set another record.

GE Aviation recently received approval for its flight management system from the Boeing KC-46 tanker program. The approval is a result of Boeing securing an amended type certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the 767-2C aircraft configuration of the KC-46 aircraft.

The Boeing B-52 is a true timeless warrior, first entering service in 1955. It served as an icon of US air power beginning with the Cold War, and continues to support our warfighters today. The US Air Force plans to keep it in service until the year 2050 and the US Air Force has budgeted to move forward with a B-52 re-engining program in the Fiscal Year 2019 Department of Defense Budget Proposal.

Where in the world are parts coming for the GE9X engine? Find out about all the links in the GE9X Supply Chain.

Watch GE Aviation’s original Queen of the Skies, the Boeing 747-100 Flying Test Bed take one of her last flights and hear from those who knew and loved her.

Certification testing is underway on GE Aviation’s latest engine in development—the GE9X that will power Boeing’s 777X aircraft. Combine the technologies of the GE9X engine and you have an engine that will be 5% better in fuel efficiency versus any engine in its class. With almost 700 engines on order, the GE9X engine has quickly gained a following among airline customers around the world. For the GE Aviation team, we can’t wait to see the first GE9X engine tucked under wing of our flying testbed later this year.