Trent 1000 blade issue causing 787-9 headaches

Rolls is testing a new fan blade starting in June. They're expecting a short term increase in affected aircraft, but are speeding the process of developing a new blade up. They hope to send the first parts out by the end of the year.

www.flightglobal.com...

And we're not done yet. Rolls just announced it found a "similar"issue in a Package B engine. The issue was found with high time engines, resulting in a one off inspection, and the precautionary redesign of certain parts of the engine.

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a reply to: Zaphod58


Well, if anybody ever complains about jet engines and manufacturing issues you can point them to the below article.

If I ever complain about how long it is taking for bench lab tech to make it out into the real world, you can slap me upside the head with this article too!

It is a detailed description of the manufacturing process for ceramic parts at their Advanced Blade Casting Facility. Starting from the method of wax casting ceramics from ancient history, they go into detail about how they control the growth of the ceramic part to keep it a single crystal as they cast it. Truly amazing stuff!

TheEngineer.co.uk - Jewel in the crown: Rolls-Royce’s single-crystal turbine blade casting foundry.

It is good news they found the issue before letting out the door! Who would have thunk making a jet engine was so complicated??

For UK, or VPN, users. A BBC documentary about the Trent engine...

How to build a jumbo jet engine

On top of having to fix the issues that are still affecting the 787 engines, an entirely new problem has cropped up. Rolls-Royce has issued a Service Bulletin with instructions to de-pair engines that have reached 24,000 hours or 8,000 cycles. Those engines can be paired with engines that have fewer than 17,000 hours and 5,000 cycles. Engines that have reached 24,000 hours AND 8,000 cycles can't be paired with engines that have reached either threshold.

Engines that have reached the 24,000/8,000 threshold appear to be particularly affected by a new engine surge that is still being investigated.

www.flightglobal.com...