Rolls-Royce Trent 500

Trent 500
A Trent 500 turbofan mounted on an Airbus A340-600 of Lufthansa.
Type Turbofan
National origin United Kingdom
Manufacturer Rolls-Royce plc
First run May 1999
Major applications Airbus A340
Developed from Rolls-Royce RB211

The Rolls-Royce Trent 500 is a high-bypass turbofan aircraft engine, developed from the Rolls-Royce RB211 and is a member of the Trent family of engines.

Design and development

In 1995, Airbus began considering an engine for two new long-range derivatives of its four-engined A340 aircraft, designated A340-500/-600. The existing -200 and -300 models were powered by CFM International CFM56 engines. However, the CFM56 was at the limit of its development capability, and would be unable to power the new A340-500/-600. In April 1996, Airbus signed an agreement with General Electric to develop a suitable engine, but decided not to proceed when General Electric demanded an exclusivity deal on the A340. After a contest with Pratt & Whitney, Airbus announced on 15 June 1997 at the Paris Air Show that it had selected the Trent 500 to power the A340-500 and -600.[1]

The Trent 500 first ran in May 1999 and achieved certification in December 2000. It entered service on the A340-600 with Virgin Atlantic Airways in July 2002 and on the ultra-long range A340-500 with Emirates in December 2003.[lower-alpha 1] After production of the Airbus A340 ended in 2011, a total of 131 A340-500/-600 have been delivered with 524 Trent 500 engines altogether; Lufthansa is the largest operator, with 24 delivered A340-600.[2]

The Trent 500 powers the Airbus A340-500 and A340-600.[3] It was certificated at 60,000 lbf (270 kN) thrust, but derated to 53,000 lbf (240 kN) as the Trent 553 to power the A340-500, and to 56,000 lbf (250 kN) as the Trent 556 for the A340-600 and A340-500HGW. However, a 60,000 lbf (270 kN) version is installed in the A340-600HGW (High Gross Weight), a higher-performance version of the A340-600. The Trent 500 has the same wide-chord fan as the Trent 700, together with a core scaled from the Trent 800.

Applications

Specifications (Trent 556)

Trent 500 engines on the left wing of an Iberia A340-600
Four Trent 500 engines on a Virgin Atlantic A340-600

Data from [4][5][6]

General characteristics

Components

Performance

See also

Related development

Related lists

References

Notes
  1. Air Canada had been expected to be the launch customer for the A340-500 in May 2003, but just before this on 1 April 2003 the airline filed for bankruptcy protection which resulted in delivery of its two A340-500s being delayed. This allowed Emirates to be the first airline to operate the type.
Citations
  1. "Airbus A340-600". Flug Revue (in English and German). 21 March 2000. Archived from the original on 3 September 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2017. Concrete studies began in April 1996, when Airbus and General Electric signed an exclusive agreement to study engine requirements for a stretched A340. GE pulled out in February 1997, but Rolls-Royce came in with an offer for the Trent 500, and this engine was confirmed on a non-exclusive basis in June 1997.
  2. "Airbus Orders & deliveries" (Excel). Airbus. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
  3. "Press Packs" (PDF). [Rolls-Royce]. February 2002. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
  4. Gas Turbine Engines. Aviation Week & Space Technology 2009 Source Book. pg. 122.
  5. "Trent 500" (PDF). Rolls-Royce plc. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
  6. "Trent 500 infographic". Rolls-Royce plc. 2 October 2014. Archived from the original on 15 April 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2017.
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