Rolls-Royce Trent XWB passes test milestones

The Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engine has passed a significant milestone on the journey to support the first flight and entry into service of the Airbus A350 XWB aircraft. The engine has completed a 150-hour endurance type test at INTA (Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial) in Madrid, Spain. Based on the internal condition of the engine, speeds and temperatures were increased from the original target during the test. The engine has now been sent back to Rolls-Royce in Derby for a complete strip down and analysis to confirm durability and component performance predictions following the test. The engine will also be available for examination by existing and potential customer airlines. Rolls-Royce currently has eight Trent XWB engines in its test programme one of which was recently delivered to Airbus in Toulouse for flight testing on an A380 flying test bed later this year.