National Air and Space Museum Archives

General Electric GE4 Super-Sonic Transport (SST) Engine Collection

Summary

Collection ID:
NASM.2005.0049
Creators:
General Electric Company
Dates:
bulk 1963-1971
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
0.18 Cubic feet
(1 box)
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Materials in this collection relating to the General Electric GE4 SST engine include the following: Master Engine Cross-section, GE4 Tool Flow Sheet, documents relating to production and assembly of the GE4, documents relating to the National Air and Space Museum's acquisition of the GE4 SST engine, miscellaneous draft correspondence concerning the GE4 and other General Electric projects, a drawing of the GE4 Experimental Bypass Engine, a drawing of GE Lift-Cruise Fan, three drawings of cruise fan engine installation, and Generalized Field Balance Procedure for Jet Engines. Also included is a drawing of a General Electric scramjet engine.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
The United States' Supersonic Transport (SST) program was initiated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 1963. The program aimed for a Mach 2+ aircraft capable of carrying approximately 300 passengers with intercontinental range. The US aimed to outstrip the British Aerospace/Aerospatiale Concorde and Soviet Tu-144 programs through the use of advanced technology and materials. By the late 1960s contracts had been let to prime contractors Boeing (airframe) and General Electric (engines) but the program was four to five years behind the European and Soviet efforts, which had graduated to supersonic flight testing while the US program had yet to pass beyond the mockup stage. In 1971 the slow pace of technical development, environmental concerns, high costs, and questions over the commercial feasibility of the aircraft led Congress to cancel the program.

Administration

Immediate Source of Acquisition
William L. Rowe, Gift, 2005

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access.
Preferred Citation
General Electric GE4 Super-Sonic Transport (SST) Engine Collection, Accession number 2005-0049 National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Conditions Governing Use
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Supersonic transport planes Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
High-speed aeronautics Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Airplanes -- Motors Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
General Electric GE4 SST Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Drawings Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Reports Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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