The A330 story opens a new chapter today as the brand new A330neo variant completes its maiden flight successfully landing at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, France. The A330-900 variant completed a 4hr 10min flight kick-starting 1,100 hours of testing.
The wide-body A330neo family is composed of two models; the A330-800 neo and A330-900 neo aircraft. Airbus expects to obtain EASA and FAA Type Certification around mid-2018.
The flight was also the maiden flight for the Rolls Royce Trent 7000 engine, a successor to the Trent 700 on the existing A330. The Trent 7000 engine is an exclusive powerplant designed for the A330neo family, derived from the Trent 1000-TEN, manufactured for the Boeing 787 incorporating technology from the Trent XWB which Rolls-Royce designed for the Airbus A350.
The new Trent 7000 engine has a 2.84m fan, and a 10:1 bypass ratio, and is capable of delivering 68,000-72,000lb (302-320kN) of thrust, cutting specific fuel consumption by 10%.
Rolls Royce says that the bypass ratio is the largest for any member of its Trent family. The three-shaft engine features an eight-stage intermediate pressure compressor and a six-stage high-pressure compressor.
In addition to the maiden A330neo flight, Airbus has opened its A330 Completion and Delivery Center (Airbus CDC) in the north China port city of Tianjin, making it the first such center for its wide-body aircraft outside Europe.
The center is fully capable of completing and delivering the A330neo aircraft, according to Airbus China which provides Airbus a tangible asset to market to Asia based customers.
Airbus A330neo technology illustration:
Airbus 330neo ACJ variant:
To-date no ACJ variant orders of the A330neo have been reported.
