S.S. White Flexible Rotary Shafts Activate Thrust Reverser Actuation System On GEnx Jet Engine Powered United Airlines 787- 9

Piscataway, New Jersey --- The world’s next generation stretched commercial aircraft, the first Boeing 787-9 powered by GEnx jet engines delivered to United Airlines, incorporates S.S. White flexible rotary shafts to help power the aircraft engine’s Thrust Reverser Actuation System (TRAS).  The TRAS operates by opening deflectors along the rear sides of the aircraft’s GEnx nacelles to slow the aircraft down after landing to insure a safe arrival.  The company is also supplying the flexible rotary shafts to support the extended aircraft’s rudder pedal adjustment.   

S.S. White provides a set of three flexible rotary shafts per engine that are activated to synchronize the actuation system that opens both halves of the thrust reverser panels upon landing.  These same flexible shafts also help lock the TRAS system to prevent it from inadvertently engaging during flight.

In addition, all aerospace flexible shaft products are designed to one of the industry’s highest performance criteria by utilizing a unique computer modeling program developed by S.S. White called PERFLEXION.  This program allows the design engineers to fully model the behavioral characteristics of the wire bundles within the shaft core and arrive at an optimum product that provides maximum bending flexibility and torsion strength while allowing minimal torsion deflection with up to a 30 percent improvement above accepted industry standards.

S.S. White Technologies is a world leader in the design; engineering, manufacture and testing of a wide variety of flexible shaft products for the aerospace, medical, automotive and industrial markets around the globe.    Almost all of the commercial and military aircraft platforms in the air today (except Russian) and more than one-half of US manufactured cars rely on S.S. White Technologies flexible shaft products.  The company currently has manufacturing facilities in the United States, the United Kingdom and India.