Rolls-Royce And Thai Airways International Sign Testbed Agreement

Rolls-Royce has announced an agreement with Thai Airways International to deliver further testbed capacity to support its unprecedented Trent programme activity.

Rolls-Royce will use THAI’s testbed at Don Mueang Airport to support its Trent XWB engine programme. THAI will carry out maturity and cyclic testing on the engine, providing a fuller understanding of engine performance over a sustained period of operation.

Alongside sustained growth in engine production, Rolls-Royce is currently introducing three new large civil aero engines into service. The high thrust version of the Trent XWB; the Trent XWB-97 will enter service in the coming weeks on the Airbus A350-1000, the Trent 7000 will power the A330neo into service later this year, and the Trent 1000 TEN entered service in November last year, powering the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Ewen McDonald, Rolls-Royce, Senior Vice President – Customers, Civil Aerospace, said: “We are pleased to be working with THAI to support this engine test programme. This agreement reaffirms our commitment to the region and is another important building block in our growth story. By the early 2020s, one in two modern widebody passenger aircraft will be powered by Trent engines.”

Surachai Piencharoensak, Thai Airways International PCL.,Executive Vice President – Technical said: “We look forward to working with Rolls-Royce to carry out these tests. It is an important recognition of the skills of our engineering teams and a welcome addition to our workload.”

The 13-metre, 150,000lb thrust-capable testbed is currently used to carry out a limited number of engine pass-off tests.

Last month Rolls-Royce announced that it had secured the use of a testbed at the former Texas Aero Engine Services LLC (TAESL) facility in Fort Worth, Texas and last year it announced the development of a new testbed facility at its site in Derby, UK, as part of an ongoing commitment to support the growth in delivery of engines expected over the coming years.