The Trent XWB development engine, specially fitted with test sensors to measure hundreds of parameters, was mounted on the A380’s inner left engine pylon, replacing one of the aircraft’s Trent 900 engines. The crew on board this first flight were Airbus Experimental test pilots Terry Lutz and Frank Chapman, Experimental Test Flight Engineer Pascal Verneau and Flight Test Engineers Emanuele Costanzo and Tuan Do.

The Trent XWB development engine, specially fitted with test sensors to measure hundreds of parameters, was mounted on the A380’s inner left engine pylon, replacing one of the aircraft’s Trent 900 engines. The crew on board this first flight were Airbus Experimental test pilots Terry Lutz and Frank Chapman, Experimental Test Flight Engineer Pascal Verneau and Flight Test Engineers Emanuele Costanzo and Tuan Do.

The aircraft handling qualities were evaluated from low speeds to Mach 0.9. The engine not only operated flawlessly, but also demonstrated its new generation fuel efficiency and low noise.

February 19, 2012 - On Saturday the Airbus A350 XWB’s new engine the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB has successfully made its maiden flight aboard Airbus’ dedicated A380 “Flying-Test-Bed” aircraft. The aircraft took off from Airbus facilities in Toulouse and performed a flight of more than five hours during which the engine covered a wide range of power settings at altitudes up to 43,000ft.