GE opens $50M aircraft engine test centre

Winnipeg — GE announced the opening of a new $50 million Aircraft Engine Testing, Research and Development Centre (TRDC) in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The new centre will perform icing certification testing on GE’s jet engines, as well as develop advanced testing methodologies and equipment for GE Aviation’s aircraft engines.

The 122,500-square-foot facility, located at the James A. Richardson International Airport in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is a partnership between GE and StandardAero, a US-based MRO and aviation service businesses that will maintain and operate the certification test center.

The center is designed to test gas turbine engines up to 150 inches in diameter and up to 150,000 lbs. of thrust, and has capabilities to accommodate high performance engines. The facility utilizes a state-of-the-art noise reduction system with 50-foot high noise attenuation walls, 16-foot diameter augmentor tube, and 51 foot high exhaust stack.

In addition, the facility incorporates a translating wind tunnel to enable future expansion of the facility for year-round testing in other areas, such as performance and endurance testing, bird ingestion, ice crystal and mixed phase testing.

The centre will initially include 10 employees, with the potential to grow to 50 employees over the next five years. The company says its investment in the GE Aviation Engine Testing, Research and Development Centre supports GE’s Industrial Regional Benefits program in Canada.
www.ge.com
www.standardaero.com