✈️ Rolls-Royce tests its most powerful aviation engine

Rolls-Royce makes luxury cars, but it is also the world's second-largest maker of aircraft engines after GE Aerospace.

This week, the iconic British automaker announced it has started testing its most powerful aviation engine to date – the Pearl 10X.

China’s space industry, meanwhile, is looking to challenge SpaceX’s domination. The country’s main space contractor, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), is building reusable rockets. What’s more, it just announced it will catch its reusable rocket boosters out of the sky using an innovative tightwire method. Let’s dive into the details.

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AEROSPACE ENGINEERING SPOTLIGHT

Iconic engine and automaker Rolls-Royce has just announced the start of the flight test campaign for their aviation engine, the Rolls-Royce Pearl 10X.

The Pearl 10X is the newest member of Rolls-Royce’s powerhouse Pearl engine family. The Pearl 10X will power the Dassault Falcon 10X, Dassault Aviation’s newest flagship aircraft. It will be the first Rolls-Royce engine to power a Dassault aircraft.

The Pearl 10X will feature the Advance2 engine core. According to Rolls-Royce this, combined with a high-performance low-pressure system, will result in 18,000lb of superior thrust. Ongoing tests will determine whether the engine is compatible with 100% sustainable aviation fuel.

The first flight test of the engine took place aboard the company’s dedicated test aircraft, a Boeing 747 Flying Test Bed (FTB). FTB is located in Tucson, Arizona. It is designed in such a way that it can be easily fitted with different engine prototypes for testing campaigns.

In the coming months, engineers will put the Pearl 10X through its paces with performance checks at several different speeds and altitudes. The tests will also include inflight relights, tests of the nacelle’s anti-icing system, and fan vibration tests at different altitudes.

FTB uses more than one engine for redundancy as the main test engine is put through its paces. During the upcoming flight tests, FTB will become a five-engine aircraft. The Pearl 10X will be joined by a Trent 1000 and three RB211s.

“We are excited to enter into this important next phase of the engine development program with the start of our flight test campaign. All the tests completed to date confirm the reliability of the engine and show it will meet the performance requirements,” said Senior Vice President Philipp Zeller, Dassault Aviation, in a statement.

PODCAST

Last week we asked “Would you fly on a supersonic airliner?” here are the results

🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ No Way.(5%)

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🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ Only when the price has gone down significantly.(5%)

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