It’s time for the massive engine showdown! I was finally able to capture all three 777 engine takeoff sounds on camera! We have the Pratt & Whitney PW4000, the Rolls Royce Trent 800 and the General Electric GE-90! Now it’s your turn to pick which sound is the best of the three! I expect to see a ton of comments as all three engines are awesome! May the best engine win! Time stamps below for each engine if you need a second look!
Pratt & Whitney: 0:07 Rolls Royce: 1:45 General Electric: 3:24
A few things to note when looking at the engines from the front:
-Rolls Royce engines spin “clockwise” (3 spool)
-PW/GE spin “counterclockwise” (2-spool)
-A RR engine will always have a pointy spinner cone with a thin yellow or white spiral -GE and PW (CF6/PW4000) usually have a “domed” spinner cone with PW using a single “hash mark” and GE using a “swirl”
One can tell on an Airbus A330, GE CF6–80E1 engines have a pointed exhaust core at the back, PW4168/4170 core is more blunt compared with the CF6’s core. The Rolls Royce Trent 700 on the other hand has a unique shape, it features a mixed exhaust core, shaped like a hairdryer.
The fan and inlet, the GE and PW almost look similar, having 34 fan blades in total, whereas the RR features it’s iconic spiral fan core along with 26 fan blades.
GE engine sound on idle is relatively a hum, spooling it up on takeoff power sounds more like an electric buzz saw. PW sounds about the same, only the takeoff spool up sometimes some kind of a loud “hiccup” hum signalling a takeoff roll, than the full thrust sounds like a refrigerator. The RR is the best hands down, the quietest engine, idle the engine sounds faint, then a gentle “howl” signalling a takeoff, the spool up sounds relatively slower compared with GE and PW. The full thrust sounds more “musical” compared with GE and PWs.