4 ms·

Boeing doesn’t make engines, GE does

Scoundreller 7y ago
Engine Alliance (GE and Pratt & Witney) and Rolls Royce are the 2 players. Because engines are purchased separately from the aircraft, the buyers and engine manufacturers must be in a bind, since the buyer needs to pay for the engines for Boeing to fit them, whether the plane enters service or not.
- blackflame7000 7y ago
  I don’t think boeing uses Rolls Royce anymore after the Trent 1000 fiasco on the dreamliner. The GE9X is a fantastic engine and far quieter than the Trent engines. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dDU1cvANdDQ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dDU1cvANdDQ
ralph84 7y ago
Boeing doesn't make a lot of the components on their planes. The plane doesn't fly until Boeing is satisfied with how those components work.
- blackflame7000 7y ago
  Ok but having to overcome an engine problem isn't boeings problem its the manufacturers.
  - bigiain 7y ago
    That depends a bit on the "engine problem". This is, to my layman's understanding, could be considered an "engine problem" because how the newer more fuel efficient engines with their bigger bypass fans don't fit under the wings of the 737. That's not an engine manufacturers problem. (It makes more sense to classify it as an airframe design compromise problem, but it's about those big fat geared turbofans not working with the little landing gear legs which let them get the doors down nice and low, but put the wings too close to the ground to fit the more modern engines.)
    - blackflame7000 7y ago
      Why are you talking about the 737 when the response was to the design of the 777x which is the largest boeing not the smallest so talking about the engines under the wing doesnt make sense in the context.
- digikazi 7y ago
  You are of course, correct. My first engineering job fresh out of university was for GE. I worked at a (big) site in the British countryside in the Midlands. One of our clients was Boeing, and we made a lot of sensors for them: anything from landing gear stuff, cabin oxygen and pressure sensors... you get the picture. Quite a lot of them were ultimately destined for the 787. I also remember manufacturing sensors for Hamilton-Sunstrand... who would then fit them in 737 rudder assemblies and then sell them to Boeing. The whole subcontracting business was very byzantine in its complexity! I also distinctly remember Boeing execs coming over very frequently to give updates, feedback, etc.
bigiain 7y ago
Sure. But GE don't make "737MAX8 engines" specifically. They make the range of engines they have, and Boeing (and Airbus and Bombadier et al.) get to choose which one they want, given the constraints of their aircraft. You _could_ fit a 500cu inch big block V8 into a Miata. Bit it's not gonna handle the same as it does with a 2L 4 cylinder in it, and it's gonna stick out the bonnet.

Engine Alliance (GE and Pratt & Witney) and Rolls Royce are the 2 players. Because engines are purchased separately from the aircraft, the buyers and engine manufacturers must be in a bind, since the buyer needs to pay for the engines for Boeing to fit them, whether the plane enters service or not.

blackflame7000 7y ago
I don’t think boeing uses Rolls Royce anymore after the Trent 1000 fiasco on the dreamliner. The GE9X is a fantastic engine and far quieter than the Trent engines. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dDU1cvANdDQ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dDU1cvANdDQ

ralph84 7y ago

Boeing doesn't make a lot of the components on their planes. The plane doesn't fly until Boeing is satisfied with how those components work.

blackflame7000 7y ago
Ok but having to overcome an engine problem isn't boeings problem its the manufacturers.
- bigiain 7y ago
  That depends a bit on the "engine problem". This is, to my layman's understanding, could be considered an "engine problem" because how the newer more fuel efficient engines with their bigger bypass fans don't fit under the wings of the 737. That's not an engine manufacturers problem. (It makes more sense to classify it as an airframe design compromise problem, but it's about those big fat geared turbofans not working with the little landing gear legs which let them get the doors down nice and low, but put the wings too close to the ground to fit the more modern engines.)
  - blackflame7000 7y ago
    Why are you talking about the 737 when the response was to the design of the 777x which is the largest boeing not the smallest so talking about the engines under the wing doesnt make sense in the context.
digikazi 7y ago
You are of course, correct. My first engineering job fresh out of university was for GE. I worked at a (big) site in the British countryside in the Midlands. One of our clients was Boeing, and we made a lot of sensors for them: anything from landing gear stuff, cabin oxygen and pressure sensors... you get the picture. Quite a lot of them were ultimately destined for the 787. I also remember manufacturing sensors for Hamilton-Sunstrand... who would then fit them in 737 rudder assemblies and then sell them to Boeing. The whole subcontracting business was very byzantine in its complexity! I also distinctly remember Boeing execs coming over very frequently to give updates, feedback, etc.

bigiain 7y ago

Sure. But GE don't make "737MAX8 engines" specifically. They make the range of engines they have, and Boeing (and Airbus and Bombadier et al.) get to choose which one they want, given the constraints of their aircraft. You _could_ fit a 500cu inch big block V8 into a Miata. Bit it's not gonna handle the same as it does with a 2L 4 cylinder in it, and it's gonna stick out the bonnet.