LYNN – The Sikorsky VH-92A – a Marine Corps helicopter that serves as Marine One and is tasked with safely transporting the president of the United States – stopped by Lynn’s GE Aerospace building on Western Avenue Tuesday afternoon.
Marine One is powered by two GE Aerospace CT7-8A6 engines, a variant of the reliable CT7/T700 engine family. The CT7/T700 family has a legacy of powering U.S. and allied rotorcraft missions for over 40 years.
The CT7-8A6 engines that power the next-generation presidential helicopter are produced at GE Aerospace’s facility in Lynn. The Lynn facility, with over 130 years of history, is one of GE Aerospace’s founding sites. GE Aerospace’s CT7/T700 engines have accumulated more than 130 million flight hours globally in diverse environments.
According to Alexis Kievning, GE Aerospace’s communications specialist, the reason for this fly-in visit is simple: “Our customers come to visit the site, we give them a tour, and employees get to see the aircraft fly.”
Roughly 30 people watched as the helicopter landed for its fly-in visit. One of those people was Lynn resident Jerry Powers, who formerly worked at GE Aerospace until about 2002. Powers emphasized that “GE was good to me” and thanked the military for its role in protecting Americans.
Powers said GE Aerospace is much-needed in Lynn because “it brings a lot of jobs to Lynn.” Powers continued, “It brings a lot of skill trades. We need the skill trades back. We need the machinists … assemblies, welders, carpenters. We need them all.”
