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SPECIAL REPORT PARIS AIRSHOW
Boeing’s 787-10 undertook its
maiden flight in April. The 787-10
will be able to seat 330 passengers
in a two-class configuration.
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before declaring victory,” said Bernstein. to 15 per cent, compared with contemporary
Regardless of the GTF’s issues, its long-term engines in the same thrust class. With the
future is assured and it is one of a new wave GEnx-1B/-2B and Trent 1000 experience as a
of advanced turbofans that will dramatically base, GE and RR took their respective large
reduce environmental emissions and noise turbofan know-how to all new levels for the
for both narrow-body and widebody airliners development of the GE9X and Trent XWB-
for the rest of this decade and beyond. 97, respectively. The GE9X was selected
The major enabler of the progress by Boeing in March 2013 as the sole power
in aviation are the giant leaps in engine plant for the Boeing 777X. The engine, rated
technology, highlighted in the new e-book at 105,000lb, was designed to burn around
Greener Wings (available through iBooks). 10 per cent less fuel than the GE90-115B.
Two of the most important new commercial For the A350 family, Rolls-Royce developed
engine families to enter service on a growing the Trent XWB, the ultimate derivative of its
number of single-aisle aircraft in the 2016- well-honed triple-shaft Trent series and the
2017 period were the CFM International LEAP most fuel-efficient version to enter service.
and P&W’s PW1000G geared turbofan. Both The first XWB engine received European
engines were introduced into service with Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification
unprecedented speed and will significantly in February 2013, and entered service in
help civil aviation along the way towards late 2014, and achieved what RR described
its goal of achieving sustainable growth as the most trouble-free service debut in
by the middle of the century. Compared to modern times. The Trent XWB also provided
the CFM56-7B, which powered the Boeing Rolls with a springboard to two additional
737 Next Generation, the CFM LEAP was family members, the Trent 1000 TEN
designed to have 15 per cent better fuel (Thrust, Efficiency and New Technology)
efficiency, 50 per cent lower emissions of for Boeing’s 787 and the Trent 7000 for the
NOx (compared to CAEP 6 limits) and lower re-engined A330neo. The two new engines
noise levels. Pratt & Whitney’s PW1000G gave Rolls a vital step up in its competitive
battle with GE on the 787 and reinforced
its quasi exclusive position on the majority
of the new Airbus widebody family. For the
future Rolls-Royce devised a multi-phased
development strategy which it unveiled in
February 2014. The plan, which was expected
to see Rolls evolve away from the three-
shaft architecture at the heart of the Trent
big engine family since the first RB.211 was
designed in the 1960s, outlined an initial new
engine called Advance and a follow-on geared
derivative called UltraFan. Advance was
designed to have a bypass ratio in excess of
11:1 and a fuel burn at least 20 per cent better
than the current Trent 700 when it enters
service around the end of the decade. The
UltraFan would build on the Advance core
and incorporate an enhanced intermediate
pressure turbine to drive the fan via a power
geared turbofan (GTF) family ushered in a gearbox to boost propulsive efficiency.
new era for the engine maker, which spent The UltraFan will incorporate an enhanced
more than US$10 billion on research and intermediate-pressure turbine to drive the
development of the concept since the 1990s. fan via a power gearbox to boost propulsive
The fuel-saving potential of the GTF efficiency. The engine is targeted at a fuel
is largely due to the big increase in bypass burn improvement at least 25 per cent better
than the Trent 700.
ratio which boosted propulsive efficiency,
and reduced engine fuel consumption by up
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