Rolls-Royce yesterday completed the first ground run of its Trent 1000 engine, destined for the Boeing 787.
The Trent 1000 is one of two engines that will power the 787, the other being the General Electric GEnx. R-R says the engine ran "exactly to schedule" against the target date of 14 February, which was set in 2003 at the launch of the project.
“Initial testing is proceeding very smoothly, and everything we’ve seen is in line with expectations. We have delivered on our promise to our customers to run the Trent 1000 on time, and that’s really important to us. It’s just a great start to our programme,” says R-R director of Boeing programmes Dominic Horwood.
R-R plans to use six more engines in ground testing, and a further nine for its flight testing, which is scheduled to begin on a Boeing 747 test bed in the first quarter of 2007.
Each Trent 1000 is capable of generating about 0.5MW of electrical energy to power the increased number of electrical systems used in the 787, the engine manufacturer says. The manufacturer’s fifth Trent series engine will be developed with a range of thrust between 53,200lb and 75,000lb (236-333kN).
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All photos © Rolls-Royce |
Source: Flight International
