As the last Boeing 747 rolls out, Dave Kircher, General Manager of the GEnx program, reflects on the Queen Of The Skies. “In aviation everybody can probably tell you two things: the first time they flew anything and the first time they flew on a 747.”

At the Dubai Airshow this week, one of the most anticipated sights will be the Boeing 777X, Boeing’s new plane powered by the GE9X, the most powerful jet engine in the world. But thrust is just one of the engine’s many attributes. It’s also tough and the United Arab Emirates, a hot, desert country that also happens to be the base for two of the world’s largest airlines — Emirates and Etihad Airways — is an ideal place to talk about the engine’s brawn.

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 is being featured in a new series - GE In The Wild. Adam Savage and Alie Ward take an inside look into the development and application of world-changing technologies.

A group of southern Ohio elementary students recently got a unique opportunity to learn about math and science directly from Adam Savage, former co-host of the Discovery Channel television series MythBusters. GE Aviation’s Peebles Test Operation invited the nearby Peebles Elementary FIRST LEGO League team to meet Savage while he was on site filming a GE YouTube video that will come out this summer.

Watch a behind-the-scenes look at the making of GE's new commercial series, "Sarah".

Preparing for the first test of the world’s largest engine—GE9X—requires big equipment and investments at GE Aviation Peebles Ohio facility.