A MIGHTY WIND THIS NEW JET ENGINE PROVES BIGGER IS BETTER

摘要

WhOever sai d sIz e isn't everything never had to push a giant airplane across the sky. That's why GE's new turbofan engine is enormous: Built using lightweight carbon fiber and 3-D printing, the GE9X is as wide as a Boeing 737 fuselage (yes, it's a plane engine the size of another plane) and will eventually power Boeing's 777X, the biggest twinjet ever. Despite its heft, though, the behemoth is cleaner, quieter, and more fuel-efficient than its predecessors. Flight-testing starts this year, and by 2020 you might see a GE9X from seat 36A.