Boeing 787 Dreamliner sets speed, distance records

General Electric (GE, Evendale, Ohio, USA) on Dec. 8 announced that its GEnx-1B engine powered the Boeing 787 Dreamliner that set world records for speed and distance for the aircraft's weight class.

The 787, ZA006, aircraft powered by GE's GEnx-1B engines, departed Boeing Field in Seattle, Wash., USA, at 11:02 a.m. on Dec. 6 and set the distance record for its class (440,000-550,000 lb) with a 10,710 nautical mile (nmi) flight to Dhaka, Bangladesh, with credit for 10,337 nmi (19,144 km). This record had previously been held by the Airbus A330 based on a 9,127 nmi (16,903 km) flight in 2002.

After a two-hour stop for refueling in Dhaka, the aircraft returned to Seattle on a 9,734 nmi (18,027 km) flight. The aircraft landed at 5:29 a.m. on Dec. 8, setting a new record for speed around the world eastbound with a total trip time of 42 hours, 27 minutes. There was no previous around-the-world speed record for this weight class.

Flight routing on the first segment of the journey took the airplane from Seattle across the U.S. to Nantucket. After crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the aircraft entered European air space at Santiago, Spain, and proceeded down the Mediterranean, across Egypt and Luxor, across the Middle East and over India to Bangladesh. On the second segment, the Dreamliner flew over Singapore, the Philippines and Guam before entering U.S. airspace over Honolulu and returning to Seattle.

"GE Aviation is thrilled to be a part of the record-setting flights on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner," said Bill Fitzgerald, vice president and general manager, GEnx Program at GE Aviation. "These world records showcase the extreme reliability and durability of the GEnx-1B engines and the advanced technologies that are incorporated."