The first GE Honda HF120 engine has successfully started its initial test run at GE Aviation’s altitude test chamber in Evendale, Ohio, the company announced yesterday at the NBAA Convention. “This is a significant milestone and represents the transition from the design-definition phase to the test and certification phase of the HF120,” said GE Honda Aero Engines president Bill Dwyer. “Over the next several weeks, we will be mapping the engine performance and operability around the flight envelope while utilizing the full capability of the altitude test chamber.” To date, GE Honda Aero Engines has built and tested eight HF120 engine cores and 11 full engine demonstrators. During this testing, the engine exceeded its design goal of 2,095 pounds of thrust. Thirteen HF120 development engines and two core builds will take part in the certification testing at six locations in the U.S. and Japan. GE Honda also plans to test the engine on a flying testbed before flying on the customer certification aircraft, namely the HondaJet and Spectrum S.40. By the time of its planned certification late next year, the HF120 is expected to have accumulated more than 15,000 cycles of ground and flight testing.