High Art

Really great look at the GE Engines for use on the Boeing 777 aircraft. This story is courtesy of GE Reports!

Few people come to New York’s Museum of Modern Art looking for a GE machine part. But here it is. Gleaming in the museum’s Architecture and Design Collection are the graceful curves of a composite blade from the GE90-115B jet engine, the most powerful jet engine ever built. That bit of trivia comes from another surprising source, the Guinness Book of World Records, which in 2003 included the engine for generating 127,900 pounds of thrust. How much is that? Consider that the Redstone rocket that took the first American, Alan Shepard, to space had just 78,000 pounds of thrust, and the combined thrust of all eight engines that power the huge B-52 Stratofortress bomber clocks at 136,000 pounds. The GE90-115B is so big, 128 inches in diameter, a small car can fit inside.

Many parts of the engine are made by American workers. The curvy fan blade, for example, comes from a high-tech GE composite plant in San Marcos, TX. Take a look at our map that flags all the American towns where parts of the engine are made, and lists many other surprising facts. And next time you fly a 777, be sure to look out of the window.