Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines, the most efficient flying in the world today, have powered the Airbus A350 XWB aircraft to the skies for the first time this morning in Toulouse, France.
The Trent XWB is Rolls-Royce’s newest large engine and the fastest selling Trent engine ever, with more than 1,300 sold a year before the aircraft enters passenger service.
Rolls-Royce started the Trent XWB programme in 2006 and four years later ran the engine for the first time on a test bed. Since then, it has been tested all over the world including climate extremes from +42C in Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates to -23C in Iqaluit, Canada.
The programme has involved around 2,000 scientists and engineers working together on hundreds of test rigs to bring 18,000 individual components together.
The first flight of the engine today is a very important stage in the programme and a proud moment for the company.
Tony Wood, President of Aerospace at Rolls-Royce, commented: "We congratulate Airbus on today’s huge achievement and look forward to supporting the A350 XWB to a successful entry into service and beyond. Our own employees are very proud that they have delivered a global engine programme that has achieved new levels of efficiency."
Today’s first flight is the culmination of many years of work by a Rolls-Royce team which has combined the best elements of the existing Trent engine family with technologies specifically designed for the new Trent XWB. It is part of the Trent family's continual development, delivering a series of small but vital improvements to each Trent engine design that enhance aerodynamics, enable the engine to operate at greater temperatures and pressures, and reduce the number of parts and overall weight.
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