NEWS
airbus a350 XWB's rolls-royce
turbofan awarded type certification
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high-performance composites
A
irbus (Toulouse, France) reported on Feb. 7 that its
composites-intensive A350 XWB airliner has achieved
another important program milestone in its progress
toward aircraft type certification and full-rate production. The
European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA, Koeln, Germany)
awarded Engine Type Certification to the A350 XWB's RollsRoyce (London, U.K.) Trent XWB turbofan jet engine.
The certification covers Trent XWB engines that will power
the A350-800 and A350-900 aircraft. A newer version of the
Trent XWB, which will be capable of greater thrust, is currently under development for the larger A350-1000 variant.
Certification confirms that the engine has fulfilled EASA's
airworthiness requirements and is the last major engine milestone prior to the first flight of A350-900 MSN001, scheduled
for later this year. The engines that will power that aircraft are
being prepped for installation.
Since February 2012, the Trent XWB has been trialed on
Airbus' A380 Flying Test Bed (FTB) aircraft. FTB test results
indicate that the engine will meet the A350 XWB program's
efficiency and performance goals. Airbus' executive VP Didier Evrard claims, "These new engines together with the
aircraft's advanced aerodynamics and airframe technologies
will bring our airline customers a 25 percent step-improvement in fuel efficiency."