Overview
- GE Aerospace completed a ground validation at its Peebles Test Operation in Ohio over June 2–4 that ran a fully integrated megawatt-class hybrid-electric powertrain through simulated taxi, takeoff, climb and cruise.
- The test combined GE-developed motor-generators, converters, inverters and controls with a CT7 turboprop, Dowty propellers, Avio Aero gearboxes, BAE Systems batteries and an Aurora Flight Sciences nacelle to prove system-level operation.
- During the campaign the electric portion of the powertrain both drove the propeller and generated charge back to the battery, demonstrating the system’s parallel-hybrid architecture for managing power across flight phases.
- GE says the ground milestone clears the path to flight demonstrations but has not provided a new schedule for the previously planned Saab 340 flight trials and integration and certification steps remain to be completed.
- The work builds on more than a decade of GE and NASA testing and links to CFM International’s RISE goals by advancing hybrid, multiple-fuel and open-rotor concepts that could cut fuel burn and lower emissions for future commercial aircraft.