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Flight tests of the Rolls-Royce Pearl 10X engine for the ultra-long-range Dassault Falcon 10X business jet have begun following delivery of the company’s Boeing 747-200 flying testbed fitted with the test engine to its Tucson facility in Arizona.
The aircraft, which was modified by L3Harris in Waco, Texas, was ferried to Arizona on March 29 and conducted engine tests during the 4-hr. 27-min. flight. The transit mission included more than an hour at altitudes greater than 45,000 ft., as well as a brief excursion over the Gulf of Mexico.
The Pearl 10X is mounted under the right wing, between the fuselage and inboard engine on a specially designed attachment hardpoint believed to resemble the standard engine pod ferry hardpoint located under the 747’s inboard left wing. The aircraft also unusually retains the Trent 1000 from an earlier test on the No. 2 engine position, with standard RB211-524s occupying the remaining three positions.
"Pilots and flight-test engineers will put the engine through its paces over the coming months," Rolls-Royce says. "The flight-test program will include engine performance and handling checks at various speeds and altitudes, inflight relights, tests of the nacelle’s anti-icing system and fan vibration tests at various altitudes."
Ground tests conducted up until now have included evaluation of the engine’s low-emissions combustor, which incorporates 3D-printed wall tiles made using an additive layer manufacturing process. Testing has also been conducted on the Pearl 10X’s new, higher-power extraction accessory gearbox. To date, the test program has accumulated more than 2,300 hr., both on the Advance 2 demonstrator core at the heart of the new engine design as well as the finalized Pearl 10X engine configuration.
The new Pearl engine made its first run as a full powerplant with mount system, Spirit AeroSystems nacelle and engine buildups in 2023. The engine is rated at 18,250 lb. thrust, making it the most powerful member of the Pearl family. Final assembly of the first Falcon 10X is expected to begin in the second half of 2024, with deliveries slated to kick off in 2027.
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