General Electric F404/F414

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Image:GE F404 engine.jpg The General Electric F404 and F414 are a family of afterburning turbofan engines in the 10,500-22,000 lb_f (85 kN) class (static thrust). The series are produced by GE-Aviation. Partners include Volvo Aero (which also builds a variant of the F404 as the Volvo RM12.) The F404 was developed into the larger F414.

1 F404 development history
2 F414 Development History
3 Applications
4 Specification (F404-GE-402)
5 External links

[edit] F404 development history

GE developed the F404 for the F/A-18 Hornet, shortly after losing the competition for the F-15's engine to Pratt & Whitney, and losing the Light Weight Fighter competition to the P&W-powered YF-16. For the F/A-18, GE based the F404 on the engine they developed for the YF-17, enlarging the bypass ratio from .25 to .4 to enable higher fuel economy. In an unorthodox move, the Navy specified the requirements in order as:

Operability
Reliability and maintainability
Cost
Performance
Weight

GE also analyzed "throttle profiles" and found that pilots were changing throttle settings far more often than engineers previously expected; putting undue stress on the engines. GE also sought with the F404 to avoid compressor stalls and other engine failures, and would respond quickly to control inputs; a common complaint of pilots converting from propeller planes to jets were that early turbojets were not responsive to changes in thrust input. GE executives Frederick A. Larson and Paul Setts, also set the goal that the new engine would be smaller than the F-4's J79, but provide at least as much thrust, and cost half as much as P&W's engine for the F-16.<ref name="Orr">Kelly, Orr (1990). Hornet: the inside story of the F/A-18. Novato: Presido Press. ISBN 0-89141-344-8.</ref>

Due to a fan designed to smooth airflow before it enters the compressor, the F404 has high resistance to compressor stalls, even at high angles of attack. It requires less than two shop visits per 1,000 flight hours and averages 6,500 hours between in-flight events. It also demonstrates high responsiveness to control inputs, spooling from idle to full afterburner in 4 seconds. The engine contains an in-flight engine condition monitoring system (IECMS) that monitors for critical malfunctions and keeps track of parts lifetimes.<ref name="Jenkins">Jenkins, Dennis R. (2000). F/A-18 Hornet: A Navy Success Story. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-134696.</ref>

Based on the success of the F404, the Air Force directed GE to develop a derivative for use on its F-16 and F-15 as an alternative to the Pratt & Whitney F100.<ref name="Orr" /> GE developed the F404-GE-402 to provide more power for the Swiss export models of the F/A-18; the engine was subsequently adopted by the Kuwait for their Hornets, and eventually by the U.S. on late-model C and D Hornets.<ref name="Jenkins"/>

[edit] F414 Development History

GE evolved the F404 into the F412-GE-400 non-afterburning turbofan for the A-12 Avenger II. After the cancellation of the A-12, the research was directed toward an engine for the Super Hornet. The F414 uses the core of the F412 and its full-authority digital engine control (FADEC), alongside the low-pressure system from the YF120 engine developed for the Advanced Tactical Fighter competition.