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A400M engine ground runs begin |
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Wednesday, 02 July 2008 |
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Marshall Aerospace has begun ground run testing of the Airbus Military A400M engine and propellers at its Cambridge test bed.
Ground runs of the Europrop International (EPI) TP400-D6 engine and Ratier-Figeac propellers that will be used on the Airbus Military A400M aircraft have begun at Marshall Aerospace's flight test bed in Cambridge, England.
The engine/prop combination was installed upon a Marshall-owned C-130 test aircraft, and revealed itself to be one of the most powerful ever combinations to be designed and produced during first runs.
Engineers used tests, modeling and simulations to gather data on the engine starts, nacelle ventilation, intake distortion, noise behaviour and vibration stress. It is estimated that 30 hours of total ground running will be required before the aircraft is cleared for flight.
Nick Durham, president of EPI, said: "We now look forward to working together with Airbus Military and Marshall on the flight test programme, and demonstrating that the engine satisfies the performance criteria and sets new standards for a turboprop of this size."
Airbus rolled out the A400M last month. The military airlifter is the first to have been produced in Europe for over thirty years, and Airbus has, to date, received 192 orders for the aircraft from defence forces in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Belgium, South Africa and Turkey.
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