ROLLS-ROYCE has delivered the first of its new Trent 900 engines to Airbus in preparation for the start of flight trials. The latest Trent is being developed for the 555-seat Airbus A380. The first Trent 900 will be flight tested on an A340-300 flying test bed in Toulouse. This is part of ongoing functional and performance testing ahead of the Trent 900”s entry into commercial service on the A380 in Spring 2006. Although this is the first Trent 900 shipped to Airbus, other development engines have been involved in ground running on test beds in the UK and America. Environmental testing has shown the Trent 900 to be the world”s cleanest large turbofan engine measured by emissions per pound of thrust. Its significantly lower noise levels also means it is on target to be the quietest engine on the A380.
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