Cargolux has switched to Rolls-Royce engines for five Boeing 747-400 Freighter orders, plus two options, recently placed with Boeing.
The Luxembourg-based cargo carrier has selected the RB.211-524G/HT hybrid engine, despite the fact that the four 747-400Fs already in its fleet are powered by the General Electric CF6-80C2B1F, while its three 747-200Fs are also GE-powered. Deliveries of the new aircraft will begin in October 1998.
Meanwhile, R-R says that initial results from the first test of a hybrid RB.211-524G/HT with the Trent 700 high-pressure (HP) core are better than expected. The tests were carried out on a rebuilt Cathay Pacific Airways-owned RB.211-524G at Hong Kong Aero Engine Services' testbed site at Tseung Kwan O in Kowloon.
Initial results indicate that the RB.211-524G/HT has a turbine-gas temperature which is 10íC cooler than predicted, and a potential specific-fuel-consumption saving of more than the 2% originally expected. The engine is also more than 90kg lighter, leading to a shipset weight saving of almost 370kg per 747. Flight-testing will begin later this year.
Source: Flight International
