The Boeing 777X jet, which is set to take to the skies in 2020, will have Grand Rapids ties.

GE Aviation said yesterday that it has been selected by Boeing to provide the common core system, or CCS, and the enhanced airborne flight recorder for the aircraft, which will both be produced at the company’s Grand Rapids facilities.

GE Aviation’s Cheltenham, U.K. facility will produce remote data concentrators for the 777X.

The 777X has 300 orders and commitments from customers Lufthansa, Etihad, Qatar, Emirates, ANA and Cathay Pacific.

GE Aviation said it will be bringing the latest generation of both technologies from the 787 to the 777X.

"This is a critical win for GE to supply the avionics computing system for the Boeing 777X, building on the success of our common core system on the 787," said Alan Caslavka, president of Avionics & Digital Systems, GE Aviation. "With the 787 and now the 777X, we have made future civil and military programs more affordable by re-setting the avionics cost curve and doing away with escalating software development costs."

“Brain” of the jet

The CCS is often referred to as the "central nervous system and brain" of the airplane and hosts the aircraft’s avionics and utilities functions, eliminating several boxes and reducing hundreds of pounds of wire.

GE’s systems on both the 787 and 777X share common components and technologies and can be scaled up or down depending on customer needs.

The CCS' open system architecture significantly reduces the cost of modifying software, so that the developer may only be required to test and certify functions that have been altered.

Flight recorder

GE’s flight recorder for the 777X will record flight-crew audio, parametric flight data and data link communications. The data is stored in non-volatile, crash-survivable memory located within the recorder and can be retrieved and analyzed for maintenance or in the event of an aircraft issue. GE’s flight recorders are on thousands of military aircraft, as well as the Boeing 787.

The 777X jet

Design of the Boeing 777X is underway, and production is set to begin in 2017, with first delivery targeted for 2020.

The 777X family includes the 777-8X and the 777-9X.

The 777X will be the largest and most efficient twin-engine jet in the world, with 12-percent lower fuel consumption and 10-percent lower operating costs than the competition.

GE Aviation's engine division was the first partner announced on the program. The GE9X engine will be greater than 5 percent more efficient than anything in its class.

GE Aviation

GE Aviation is a world-leading provider of jet, turboprop and turboshaft engines, components and integrated systems for commercial, military, business and general aviation aircraft.