Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, has welcomed the delivery today of the first Boeing 787 Dreamliner to launch customer All Nippon Airways (ANA) as the beginning of a new era in air transportation. The aircraft, which will enter into revenue passenger service next month, is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines.

Mark King, Rolls-Royce President – Civil Aerospace, said: “We are very proud to power the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, an aircraft that represents a quantum leap in technology over the generation of airliners it will replace. It marks the beginning of a new era of cleaner and more efficient airliners and all of us at Rolls-Royce would like to congratulate Boeing and ANA on this major milestone for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.”

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s 21st century design features advanced composite materials which make up 50 per cent of the aircraft’s primary structure, including the fuselage and wings, making the aircraft much lighter. The aircraft is 20 per cent more fuel efficient than the airliners it will replace. Advances in engine technology account for the majority of the fuel efficiency improvements and also ensure that the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is quieter and cleaner.

The Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 is specifically designed for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and incorporates the latest aerodynamic, materials and coating technologies in an in-service airliner.

The Trent 1000 produces up to 74,000 lbs of thrust on take-off. The engine ran for the first time in 2006, powered the Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s first flight in December 2009 and has since powered 75 per cent of all test flights. The engine was fitted to five out of the seven aircraft in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight test programme which culminated in the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) awarding the Boeing 787 Dreamliner its type certification last month.

Key facts about the Trent 1000:

• Customers that have selected the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 to power their 787 Dreamliners include Air China, Air Europa, Air New Zealand, Air Niugini, Arkia, ANA, Avianca, Aviation Capital Group, British Airways, CIT, Delta, ILFC, LAN, LOT, Norwegian, Royal Brunei, and Virgin Atlantic.
• The Trent 1000 front fan is over 9 ft feet across and sucks in up to 1.25 tonnes of air every second at take-off.
• High pressure turbine blades inside the engine rotate at 13,500 rpm, with their tips reaching 1,200mph – twice the speed of sound.
• At take off each of the Trent 1000’s 66 high pressure turbine blades generates the same power as produced by a Formula One racing car. That is 800 horse power per blade.
• Temperatures inside the hottest parts of the engine are around half as hot as the surface of the sun.
• At full power air leaves the nozzle at the back of the engine travelling at almost 900mph.
• A Trent 1000-powered Boeing 787 Dreamliner on take-off is at least 3dB quieter than the generation of aircraft it will replace. A 3dB noise reduction is equivalent to halving the noise energy.
• The Trent 1000 engine is designed to fly for 20,000 hours before its first overhaul. This is equivalent to over 11 million miles flown, or 450 times around the world.

Rolls Royce press release