Rolls-Royce announced on Monday that its Trent XWB-84 turbofan engine has now logged more than 10 million flight hours. The engine, which entered service in 2015, powers the Airbus A350-900. According to Rolls-Royce, the XWB-84 is currently used on aircraft operated by over 30 airlines on routes “from short-range segments to ultra-long-range flights of more than 18 hours.”
“Reaching 10 million flying hours is another great achievement for the Trent XWB,” said Chris Cholerton, Rolls-Royce Civil Aerospace president. “It is the latest in the Trent family to reach this milestone and has done so faster than any other Trent engine, in just over seven years of operation. We are incredibly proud of the Trent XWB as it continues to set new benchmarks on sustainability, reliability, and versatility.”
As previously reported by AVweb, Rolls-Royce delivered the 1000th Trent XWB–84 in November 2021. The company noted that the Trent XWB uses 15 percent less fuel than its first Trent engine and is capable of operating on 50 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Rolls-Royce reports that the engine has consistently achieved a better than 99.9 percent dispatch reliability.
One of the benefits of retirement and impending old age is the privilege of sitting in my easy chair and musing, and in doing so I think often of the contributions of Mr. Rolls and Mr. Royce to the West – especially their series of aviation piston engines of the ‘thirties and ‘forties – and of course, the remarkable series of gas turbine engines. One never knows from just where greatness will come; when seven-year-old Elon Musk was bombing around South Africa on his bicycle, did his parents ever imagine his place in the world? Doubt it.
Major hat tip to Rolls-Royce for their commitment to being the best.
“The company noted that the Trent XWB uses 15 percent less fuel than its first Trent engine and is capable of operating on 50 percent sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). ”. Why did the marketing people at RR ruin an otherwise good report with patronage to the enviro extremists? Note they mention nothing about the fuel consumption when using plants for fuel which people and livestock could otherwise eat. If it’s anything like ethanol, it’s terrible. Ethanol has only 70% of the energy per gallon compared to Mogas, which itself has slightly more than leaded Avgas. Eat plants, frack everywhere!
Yawn. Death, taxes, and Kent M whining every time an AVweb article mentions any attempt to take the long view in regards to the planet.
The average jet airliner burns one gallon of fuel per second. How many gallons were used to attain to 10 million hours? How many of those hours spent, were really necessary?
They are talking fleet operational hours, not hours of testing.
Who cares?