Rolls-Royce has begun flight testing its Pearl 10X turbofan that will power Dassault’s ultra-long-range Falcon 10X, the engine manufacturer announced this morning.
The third in Rolls-Royce’s Pearl program (the Pearl 15 powers the Bombardier Global 5500/6500 and the Pearl 700 is on the Gulfstream G700/G800), the 18,000-pound-thrust engine for Dassault's flagship airplane is being flown on Rolls-Royce’s Boeing 747-200 testbed in Tucson, Arizona. According to Rolls, the engine will undergo performance and handling checks at a range of speeds and altitudes, inflight relights, trials of the nacelle’s anti-icing system, and fan vibration assessments.
The testbed is fitted with five engines for these trials, comprising the Pearl along with a Trent 1000 and three RB211s. Fitted with test equipment, the flights can gather up to 20 GB of performance data per day. Flight trials come as the program has accumulated more than 2,300 test hours, including both on its Advance2 core demonstrator and the Pearl 10X engine configuration. The Pearl 10X features Rolls-Royce’s Advance2 engine core.
Ground tests have involved the ultra-low-emissions ALM combustor, which Rolls-Royce said is compatible with 100 percent sustainable aviation fuel, as well as the new accessory gearbox that enables a higher additional power extraction. Rolls-Royce noted that the Pearl 10X—the most powerful business aviation engine in its portfolio—surpassed target thrust levels on the first test run.
“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,” said Philipp Zeller, Rolls-Royce’s senior v-p for Dassault, Business Aviation.
The Pearl 10X will provide 5 percent increased efficiency and lower noise levels compared with Roll's BR700-series business aviation engines.
Flight trials kick off as the Falcon 10X is anticipated to come together this year, with service entry scheduled for 2027, two years behind the original timeline.