Rolls-Royce is expecting to achieve 330-minute ETOPS certification for the Trent 7000 in time for the new engine type’s planned entry into commercial service on TAP Portugal’s first Airbus A330-900neo in October.

Having submitted by the beginning of July all 130 required certification reports to EASA for type certification of the Trent 7000 and expecting to receive type certification in July, Rolls-Royce (Chalet D3; Hall 4, Stand 41394) is conducting a 3,000-cycle ground-test program at NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi to provide the engine-reliability validation needed to allow EASA to certify the Trent 7000 for 330-minute ETOPS operations, according to Chris Davie, Trent 7000 program manager.

Rolls-Royce expects to complete the Trent 7000 330-minute ETOPS testing by early August, after which it must strip down the engine, remove and inspect all of its components, and provide the required ETOPS certification reports to EASA. The manufacturer hopes to complete the reporting process by the end of September and to obtain 330-minute certification in time for the engine’s entry into commercial service in October, said Davie.

Peter Johnston, Rolls-Royce v-p customers-Airbus, said the basic Trent 7000 certification flight-test program, which involved more than 1,400 flight hours in 250 flights performed by three A330neos, had been “like running a train—we don’t think we have seen a flight-test program quite so smooth in the past.” Johnston noted that when operating the Trent 7000 certification flight tests, Airbus did not need to use the spare Trent 7000 Rolls-Royce delivered to Toulouse to support the program if needed, adding, “I think it has not even come out of its bag.”

One reason Johnston gives for the trouble-free test program is that the new technologies in the Trent 7000 derive from the Trent XWB engine powering the Airbus A350 XWB, which has accumulated about 1.8 million flight hours in service and has never experienced an in-flight shutdown. A second reason is that the Trent 7000’s fan diameter, turbomachinery, and stage count are identical to those of the Trent 1000 Ten powering the Boeing 787-10. This engine that entered commercial service in November and to date has proved very reliable in service, according to Johnston.

In addition to the different mounting the Trent 7000 requires for the A330neo compared to the Trent 1000 Ten on the 787-10, the main differences between the two engines is that the former’s auxiliary gearbox differs from latter's because it does not need to provide the same high levels of electrical power. The Trent 7000 also has a bleed-air offtake, whereas the Trent 1000 Ten for the all-electric 787-10 does not.

Davie and Johnston confirmed that in certification testing the Trent 7000 met the design specificatio, including being 10 percent more fuel-efficient than the Trent 700 powering the A330ceo family. The Trent 7000 is also a quieter engine than the Trent 700 and has greater revenue-generating capability in that it allows the A330neo family to fly more passengers further than the A330ceo.