Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 TEN engine takes to the skies

The Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 TEN engine has taken to the skies for the first time, starting a series of test flights. The engine – sporting its “Perfect TEN” bowling graphic on the nacelle – flew on the Rolls-Royce Flying Test Bed aircraft, a Boeing 747, at Tucson, Arizona, USA. The Trent 1000 TEN (Thrust, Efficiency and New Technology) will power all variants of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner family. The engine draws on technologies from the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engine and Advance engine programme, delivering thrust and efficiency improvements. The engine powered the Spirit of Excellence, an extensively modified Boeing 747-200, which has provided Flying Test Bed support for Rolls-Royce new engine programmes since 2007. Test engines are installed on the inboard pylon of the aircraft, which is equipped with extensive instrumentation to allow sophisticated measurements to be taken of engine performance in flight. Use of the Flying Test Bed ensures that the engine is mature and ready for intensive test operations on the aircraft it will power in service.