Lufthansa Technik and Lufthansa Cargo test loading of Trent XWB

Together with Lufthansa Cargo, Lufthansa Technik AG has reached
another important milestone in its preparations for the entry into
service of the Airbus A350 in Lufthansa German Airline’s fleet: In a
test carried out in Frankfurt under real-life conditions, a Trent XWB
aircraft engine provided by Rolls-Royce was loaded into a Boeing
777F. This successful loading trial means that now the seamless
logistics of providing spare engines via air freight are assured. When prepared for loading, the engine and its transport stand weigh eighteen tons. The engine weighs seven tons (dry weight) and is five meters long; the fan is three meters in diameter. As a result, the engine could only be transported via special flight with an Antonov An-124, an Airbus Beluga or a Boeing C-17. As an alternative, Rolls-Royce developed a completely new type of transport stand upon which the engine can be placed and divided into two large modules. On this split engine stand, the large-volume fan can be separated from the rest of the engine within a single day. The individual modules are then optimally prepared for transport together with the other tools required for engine replacement, and can be loaded. The unit that results from this approach can also be transported in freighters from the Boeing 747 and 777 aircraft families.