Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES
Rolls-Royce is close to completing the preliminary design phases of the Trent 600 and 900 engine programmes as it prepares to begin the final design of both as a "matched pair" over the next four months.
Leading the way by roughly two months is the Trent 600 for the Boeing 767-400ERX and 747X. Detailed design of the 68,000lb-72,000lb-thrust (300-320kN) engine is to start in November, with up to six development engines expected to be involved in the 15-16 month programme. R-R is discussing with Boeing the possibility of flight testing a Trent 600 on a 767 testbed, possibly in combination with an existing powerplant.
The first engine will be tested in May 2002, well in advance of the construction of the initial 767-400ERX, which is not due to enter manufacture until the following February. Engine certification is set for July 2003, giving a two month margin before the start of the aircraft's eight-month flight test programme. The engine will enter service in April 2004, if the Trent 600 is selected by launch customer Kenya Airways over the General Electric-Pratt & Whitney Engine Alliance GP7172 - detailed design of which is not scheduled to begin until March.
Detailed design of the Trent 900 for the Airbus A3XX is set to begin in January, with first engine to test scheduled for February 2003. Like the virtually identical Trent 600, of which the 900 is a slightly scaled up version, the certification programme is due to run to around 16 months and will involve six development engines.
Certification is set for May 2004, with entry into service expected around October 2005. Rolls-Royce expects to clear the engine to 80,000lb thrust, but will offer it derated to 68,000lb thrust for the A3XX-100, 70,000lb for the higher gross weight, 560t version and 75,000lb thrust for the 583t A3XX-100R extended range and -200 stretched versions.
The engine maker says talks with Airbus over a possible increase in fan diameter could be finalised "within weeks." Charles Cuddington, executive vice president airlines at Rolls-Royce says "...we are discussing it with Airbus, and clearly we don't know if it is the end of it from their point of view."
The Trent 900 is currently based around a 2794mm (110in) diameter fan, but the company says talks now revolve around a 2946mm diameter fan (Flight International, 12-18 September) "as the best way to match thrust requirements and noise." The fan change, which would increase bypass ratio to slightly over 8:1, would also entail changes to the core including revisions to the low pressure turbine.
• Rolls-Royce says operating time for its triple-shaft engine family, first pioneered with the original RB211 for the Lockheed L-1011TriStar, have exceeded 100 million hours.
Source: Flight International
