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Technology update
Trent 500 makes first voyage on A340-300
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The Rolls-Royce Trent 500 engine made its maiden flight onboard
an Airbus A340-300 test aircraft.
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Mounted in place of one of four CFM International CFM56-5C4 engines,
the Rolls-Royce Trent 500 engine has made its maiden flight onboard an
Airbus A340-300 test aircraft. The Trent 500, which is part of
A340-500/-600's first propulsion system, began its flight at Blagnac
airport in Toulouse, France, and was airborne for approximately 2 h,
30 min. According to Airbus, the propulsion system behaved exactly
according to expectations and the pilots were able to explore the flight
envelope of the aircraft to its maximum operating speed of 345 kts or
Mach 0.86. "We experienced no problems whatsoever with the new engine.
This flight marks another successful milestone in the A340-500/-600
program," said Engineering Test Pilot Ed Strongman.
The propulsion system is made up of the Rolls-Royce Trent 500 engine,
Aircelle's nacelle, and various subsystems. It was mounted on the
inboard left wing of the test aircraft in May to begin a compact flight
test campaign of more than 50 flight test hours over a period of two
months.
The 60,000-lb-thrust Trent 500 is a derivative of the Trent 700, the
powerplant for the A330. It has already undergone 1500 h of ground
testing.
With 129 firm orders and commitments, the A340-500/-600 program remains
on schedule for engine type certification by the end of the year and
first delivery in 2002.
Frank Bokulich
Aerospace Engineering August 2000
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