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17
Feb

Airbus A350 gets engine certification, to fly in summe

Europe’s Airbus said it was on track to carry out a maiden flight of its A350 airliner in the summer as European safety authorities approved the aircraft’s twin Rolls-Royce engines.

The Trent XWB turbofans developed for Europe’s latest passenger plane are the largest commercial jet engines ever built by the UK company, though its rival General Electric holds the record for the world’s largest engines, on the Boeing 777.

Engine certification by the European Aviation Safety Agency is a key step in the development of the mid-sized jetliner designed in response to the 787 Dreamliner and puts Airbus on course for a maiden flight in the summer, the planemaker said.

Airbus is designing three types of A350 with capacity for 270 to 350 passengers and incorporating a lightweight carbon-fiber design similar to the Boeing Dreamliner.

The Trent XWB engine will power two of the three Airbus versions, while Rolls-Royce is developing a more powerful version for the largest of the series, the A350-1000.

Airbus plans to deliver the A350 in the second half of 2014.

Reuters, February 7, 2013