Trent XWB Engine Ready For First Flight

A couple of spare engines are being shipped to Toulouse to support the A350 XWB (eXtra Wide Body)  flight-test programme in case an installed engine is damaged, for example by foreign object ingestion. Rolls-Royce engineers will fly on many A350 test flights to monitor engine performance.

"The engines are ready and capable to go to their limits from day one, should Airbus choose to do so," says Young. "The program - which we're fully supporting with our initial flight-compliant engines - has a very clear aim to make sure that first flight is prior to the Paris air show."