UK-based global major power and propulsion systems group Rolls-Royce announced on Wednesday that it had started flight tests of its latest aero engine, the Pearl 10X. This has been developed specifically to power French group Dassault’s latest business jet, and is the latest member of Rolls-Royce’s latest technology Pearl engine family.

“We are excited to enter into this important next phase of the engine development programme with the start of our flight test campaign,” enthused Rolls-Royce Business Aviation senior VP: Dassault Philipp Zeller. “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.”

The Pearl 10X, like all previous members of the Pearl engine family, was designed and developed and will be made in Germany, by Rolls-Royce Business Aviation, under the aegis of Rolls-Royce Deutschland. The Pearl 10X is the first Rolls-Royce engine ever to be selected to power a Dassault business jet.

The flight test programme is being executed in Tucson, Arizona, in the US, which is where the group’s flight test operations are based. The new engine has been mounted on the group’s own flying test-bed, a converted Boeing 747-200 airliner. The flight tests will include checks of the engine’s performance and handling, at a range of speeds and altitudes. The anti-icing system installed in the engine nacelle will also be tested. And fan vibration tests will be run, again at a range of altitudes.

The Pearl 10X is fitted with the company’s Advance2 engine core, coupled with a high-performance low-pressure system. Ground tests of both the Pearl 10X and the Advance2 core demonstrator totalled more than 2 300 hours. These included stringent tests of the new, and ultra-low emissions, additive layer manufactured combustor. Also rigorously tested on the ground was the power plant’s new accessory gearbox, which permits the extraction of higher additional power.  

This latest member of the Pearl family has a thrust of more than 18 000 lbf (just over 80 kN). It is 5% more efficient than the previous generation of Rolls-Royce business jet engines, and so reduces emissions when using conventional jet fuel. It is however compatible with 100% sustainable aviation fuels, for whenever the regulators authorise their use.