Rolls-Royce has received European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification for its Trent XWB engine that will power the Airbus wide-body, twin-aisle A350 XWB jetliner.
EASA executive director Patrick Goudou handed over the certificate to Rolls-Royce Trent XWB programme director Chris Young at EASA headquarters in Cologne, Germany.
This marks a final major milestone for the Airbus A350 XWB programme prior to the maiden flight of the airliner later this year.
Certification covers Trent XWB engines that will power the A350-800 and A350-900 variants, while a higher thrust version of the engine for the A350-1000 is currently being developed.
Since February 2012, the Trent XWB has powered a series of test flights on an Airbus A380 flying test bed aeroplane.
Rolls-Royce civil large engines president Eric Schulz said: "Test results show we have produced the world’s most efficient large civil aero engine and we now look forward to the first flight later this year."
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By GlobalDataWith the first engine test bed run, the certification testing of Trent XWB began in 2010 and has involved 11 individual engines running for over 3,100 hours.
The certification testing was a global programme and included icing tests in Canada, hot weather trials in the UAE, altitude and crosswind tests in the USA, endurance tests in Spain, and performance testing in the UK.
Specifically designed to operate on the A350 XWB and all versions of the jetliner, more than 1,200 Trent XWB engines have been sold to 35 customers globally.
Featuring advanced aerodynamics, design and technologies, A350 XWB is a line of mid-size wide-body jets, and according to Airbus, it will offer a 25% reduction in fuel consumption and decreased operating costs compared with rival aircraft in the segment.
Scheduled to enter service in 2014, the A350 XWB has logged 617 firm orders from 35 customers worldwide.
Image: The certification testing of Rolls-Royce’s Trent XWB engine began in 2010 and has involved 11 individual engines running for over 3,100 hours. Photo: H Goussé / Airbus SAS.
