LAS VEGAS—The first Rolls-Royce Pearl 10X flight-test engine is being installed on the company’s Boeing 747-200 flying testbed at Waco, Texas, as part of preparations for an airborne evaluation campaign starting later this year in Tucson, Arizona.
The new Pearl engine is under development for the ultra-long-range Dassault Falcon 10X and made its first run as a full powerplant with mount system, Spirit AeroSystems nacelle and engine buildups earlier this year. The engine is rated at 18,250 lb. of thrust, making it the most powerful member of the Pearl family.
“I wouldn't see any problems why we wouldn't do the flight tests by year-end,” says Rolls-Royce Business Aviation Director Dirk Geisinger. “We are already getting the next set of test engines ready, and we are preparing for the first shipset that will actually be going to Dassault as well,” he adds. The build-up of the flight-test engines supports Dassault’s schedule, which currently calls for entry into service in late 2025.
The engine surpassed the target thrust levels on its very first run and “is meeting or beating the specifications,” says Geisinger. “Thrust wise, it is the ‘beefiest’ engine we have ever done,” he adds.
Construction work on a Pearl 10X production support center has meanwhile been completed in Le Haillan near Bordeaux, France. The site has been developed to form part of the flight-test and production-support system for the new Dassault aircraft and will be officially opened in 2024, Geisinger says. “There was no need to rush it, but basically it is almost complete already,” he says.
In addition to the Falcon 10X, the Pearl family has been selected for Bombardier and Gulfstream ultra-long-range jets. The Pearl 15 is already in service powering the Bombardier Global 5500 and 6500, while the Pearl 700 has been selected for the Gulfstream G700 and G800. Rolls-Royce announced it had earned FAA type cross-validation certification for the Pearl 700 in September, a year after receiving EASA certification.
The FAA approval brings the aircraft program another step closer to entry into service and customer deliveries and Gulfstream expects G700 certification during the fourth quarter of 2023. Five G700 and two G800 are active in the flight test program. “They’re flying a lot and in the short strokes of the certification program now–so they’re really going for it,” says Justin Mills, Rolls-Royce director of large cabin sustaining programs at Gulfstream Aerospace.
Rolls, which has now delivered more than 3,600 engines of all types to Gulfstream, says it is also in the midst of a production build-up to support the coming wave of G700/800 deliveries. “Gulfstream has a very aggressive steep ramp-up curve,” notes Geisinger.
Pearl 15 production is also at rate to support the growing Global 5500/6500 fleet, with more than 200 engines already delivered to Bombardier. Rolls-Royce also recently marked the 2,000th engine delivery of all models to the Canadian manufacturer.
