Extra, extra - it’s a Trent

Engine certification is planned for the end of 2011. The testing programme to achieve certification, including flight testing using the in-house A380, will run throughout 2011. First flight of its application, the Airbus A350 XWB aircraft, will be at the beginning of 2012, and a flight test programme, powered of course by Trent engines, will continue through to EIS of the A350-900 in 2013.

The Trent XWB has already passed the 1,000-engine order milestone. And, maintaining the record set by each of its predecessors in turn, it has also become the fastest-selling Trent of all time.

First entry into service in mid-2013 will be the 314 seat A350-900. The next in line the following year is the 270 seat A350-800 and at the end of 2015 comes the largest of the trio, the 350 seat A350-1000.

In parallel, Rolls-Royce is also placing a high premium on engine maturity by entry into service, and by the time the Trent XWB begins commercial operations, its predecessors will have 65 million flying hours in the bank.

The Trent XWB features a number of family firsts. Blisks (discs with integral blades, manufactured as a single component) are being used, resulting in significant weight savings. In the eight-stage intermediate pressure (IP) compressor, the front stage will be a blisk, as will the first three rows of the six-stage high pressure (HP) compressor.

To help meet the demand for greater output from the IP turbine, the decision was taken to move to a two-stage configuration, as opposed to the single stage used in all other Trents.

The latest technologies and design advances will be incorporated into the Trent XWB's Phase 5 single annular combustor, designed to minimise NOx while maintaining low levels of hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO).

The Trent XWB has the lowest carbon emissions of any widebody engine, and will be the most fuel-efficient engine in the market,’ says Ian Crawford, Director of Airbus Programmes for Rolls-Royce.