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Rolls-Royce shared on Wednesday that it had successfully begun its flight test campaign for the Pearl 10X engine, which was chosen by Dassault to exclusively power its new flagship aircraft, the Falcon 10X. Testing began successfully on the company's Boeing 747 flying testbed and marks a milestone in the Pearl 10X program.
The Pearl 10X engine is part of Rolls-Royce's effort to grow the business aviation market. The engine is the newest member of the Pearl engine family and the first Rolls-Royce engine to power a Dassault business jet. The French aircraft manufacturer chose the Pearl 10X for its new Falcon 10X, solidifying Rolls-Royce's position as a leading engine manufacturer in the business aviation market.
Pilots and flight test engineers will put the engine through a series of tests in Arizona over the coming months. The flight test program includes engine performance and handling checks at different speeds and altitudes, inflight relights, tests of the nacelle's anti-icing system and fan vibration checks at various altitudes.
The development program has included extensive testing of the new ultra-low emissions ALM combustor, which is 100 percent compatible with SAF, as well as with the new accessory gearbox that allows for higher additional power extraction. The engine surpassed its target thrust levels on its first test run and will be the most powerful BizAv engine in the Rolls-Royce portfolio.
The program has been advancing as expected, successfully accumulating over 2,300 testing hours on both the Advance 2 demonstrator and the Pearl 10X engine configuration. The Pearl 10X features the Advance2 engine core, which is the most efficient core available in the BizAv sector, combined with a high-performance low-pressure system to provide superior thrust of more than 18,000 lbs. Compared to previous Rolls-Royce BizAv engines, the Pearl 10X offers a five percent higher efficiency while delivering excellent low noise and emissions performance. The engine offers market-leading combustion of power and efficiency. This combination allows customers and operators to have premium access to airports as well as fly ultra-long-range connections while traveling close to the speed of sound.
"We are excited to enter into this important next phase of the engine development program with the start of our flight test campaign," said Philipp Zeller, Senior VP of Dassault Business Aviation. "All the tests completed to date confirm the reliability of the engine and show it will meet the performance requirements to power Dassault's flagship, the Falcon 10X."