Whats up w/ this.
Airbus Replacing Two Rolls-Royce Engines On A380
Friday November 4, 7:08 AM EST
PARIS -(Dow Jones)- Commercial aircraft builder Airbus (ABI.YY) said Friday it is replacing two engines on A380 number one, the first of the double-decker superjumbos to come off the production line.
Airbus said the replacement of the two Trent 900 engines was requested by the engine builder, Rolls-Royce Group PLC (RR.LN), "as a precautionary measure," and follows a thorough review by Rolls-Royce of an earlier engine change.
The aircraft, which made its first flight at the end of April, was due to leave on a tour to Asia and Australia on Tuesday, starting in Singapore, but the departure has been postponed for three days.
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Airbus has three A380s currently undergoing flight tests. The third made its maiden flight on Thursday, and certification is planned for the last quarter of 2006 in time for delivery of the first aircraft ordered by launch customer Singapore Airlines Ltd. (S55.SG) before the end of the year, Airbus said in a press release.
Airbus is 80% controlled by European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co NV ( 5730.FR), with BAE Systems (BA.LN) of the U.K. holding the remaining 20%.
(MORE) Dow Jones Newswires
11-04-05 0708ET
Rolls-Royce plans to build about 350 Trent 900 engines, including those for the four test-bed A380s.
Rolls-Royce spokesman Martin Johnson said one of the engines of A380 number one was removed last week after an abnormally high temperature reading was observed.
Another of the aircraft's engines was removed some weeks ago and stripped for inspection to see how its components were reacting to the test program.
The aircraft that will be leaving on the Asian tour will thus have four completely new engines, Johnson said.
"There's nothing unusual in engines being switched or removed during a test program. It's a phase that's specifically designed to iron out technical issues before the aircraft goes into service," he said.
He stressed that no faults had been observed in the two engines that will be replaced in the coming days. "It's simply a precautionary measure due to the length of the flight to Singapore," he said, adding: "It's the prudent thing to do."
-By David Pearson, Dow Jones Newswires; +33140171740; david.pearson@ dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
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