August 19 marks National Aviation Day in the United States, celebrating the development of flight. First proclaimed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939, the annual observation falls every year on Orville Wright’s birthday – born Aug. 19, 1871. We have received questions why GE Aviation’s blog, telling our ongoing story of innovative work with state-of-the-art jet engines and integrated systems, is called The Bike Shop. That too is a hat tip to the founding fathers of flight and the innovative work they did.

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.

GE Aviation CEO David Joyce wore jersey number 18 when he took the mound on Monday to throw out the Reds’ Opening Day ceremonial first pitch in Cincinnati. Joe Alllen, the general manager of GE's Global Operations in North America, served as catcher.