Trent 500 engine on target for certification

The Rolls-Royce Trent 500, sole powerplant for ultra-long range Airbus A340-5001-600 aircraft, is now at the halfway point of its flying test bed programme and remains on target for engine certification in December.

The engine has completed 14 flights and a total of 24 flying hours on the converted A340-300 flying test bed based in Toulouse. The aircraft, which has the Trent 500 installed alongside three of its normal, smaller engines, flew to the Farnborough air show after completing hot condition testing in Tunisia and has been featured throughout the week in the static display.

Ian Kinnear, Trent 500 project director, said: "Following a perfect two and a half hour maiden flight on June 20, flight testing has gone according to plan and results continue to be extremely encouraging. The engine's performance is very much in line with our expectations."

The Trent 500's initial flight on the first A340 growth aircraft, the A340-600, will take place in early 2001. Three -600s and one A340-500 will be used in the programme to gain joint aircraft/engine certification.

Since the first Trent 500 engine ran in May 1999, seven development engines have achieved a total of more than 1,700 test bed hours.

Testing has included successful fan blade containment, over 2,200 simulated flight cycles recorded by a single engine, more than 200 hours of simulated altitude testing at the UK's Pyestock facility as well as water ingestion, testing under crosswind conditions and proving of thrust reverser systems.

To date, ten customers have placed orders and commitments for a total of 127 aircraft, resulting in advance Trent 500 sales of almost US$6 billion. The A340-600 and -500 models enter airline service in 2002 with Virgin Atlantic and Air Canada respectively.

The A34O-600 carries 380 passengers in three classes over a range of 7,500 nm (l3,900km), while the -500 is capable of flying 313 passengers 8,650nm1 (16,000km).

At the time of entry into service in 2002, Rolls-Royce will be delivering four Trent 500s every week.

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