By the beginning of June, the first 84,000-pound-thrust Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engine had flown for more than 40 hours aboard the Airbus A380 flying testbed (FTB) as Airbus moves toward a first A350 flight “probably around mid-2013,” according to engine program director Chris Young. Trent XWB Serial Number 20990 had logged 43 hours and was scheduled to make two more flights before replacement by S/N21000, dubbed FTB2 (see box). Tests with the latter, which has updated parts and is said to have demonstrated the “lowest Trent XWB specific fuel consumption so far,” will be conducted using a revised instrumentation suite.
The Trent XWB-84 is fitted to a dedicated pylon in the inboard right wing (No. 3) position using a new mounting that suspends the powerplant from the fan and rear engine cases, rather than, as previously, from the now-unloaded core. Tests are being conducted jointly by Airbus and Rolls-Royce, giving both partners access to the raw data for the first time. Airbus pilots flew the initial air test and, subsequently, some Rolls-Royce pilots have taken part.
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