Rolls looks to double the time on wing for its Trent XWB-97 engine for the Airbus A350-1000 in a bid to address concerns about the durability of the powerplant.
Taking technologies from demonstrator programs like UltraFan, Rolls-Royce aims to significantly improve the durability of its latest Trent widebody engines.
Several airlines detailed fleet expansion plans as they announced orders and commitments at this year’s Dubai Airshow—transactions that largely favored Boeing.
After four days of intense back and forth over a potentially large order for Airbus A350-1000s, Emirates has agreed an order for 15 of the smaller A350-900s.
Emirates Airline President Tim Clark has effectively ruled out an order for A350-1000s if Rolls-Royce does not come up with major improvements to the Trent XWB-97 engine, including a significant thrust increase.
Following a series of commissioning runs with a Trent XWB turbofan and after almost three years of construction, Rolls-Royce has officially opened Testbed 80 at its Derby, England headquarters.
Rolls-Royce has discovered cracks in the intermediate pressure (IP) compressor blades of higher-time Trent XWB-84 engines during scheduled overhaul but said early detection will enable the speedy development of a fix.