Rolls-Royce and Thai Airways International sign testbed agreement

Rolls-Royce has announced an agreement with Thai Airways International to deliver further testbed capacity to support its unprecedented Trent programme activity. Rolls-Royce will use THAI’s testbed at Don Mueang Airport to support its Trent XWB engine programme. THAI will carry out maturity and cyclic testing on the engine, providing a fuller understanding of engine performance over a sustained period of operation. Alongside sustained growth in engine production, Rolls-Royce is currently introducing three new large civil aero engines into service. The high thrust version of the Trent XWB; the Trent XWB-97 will enter service in the coming weeks on the Airbus A350-1000, the Trent 7000 will power the A330neo into service later this year, and the Trent 1000 TEN entered service in November last year, powering the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The 13-metre, 150,000lb thrust-capable testbed is currently used to carry out a limited number of engine pass-off tests.
Last month Rolls-Royce announced that it had secured the use of a testbed at the former Texas Aero Engine Services LLC (TAESL) facility in Fort Worth, Texas and last year it announced the development of a new testbed facility at its site in Derby, UK, as part of an ongoing commitment to support the growth in delivery of engines expected over the coming years.