Rolls-Royce Completes The Flight Testing Program For The Pearl 10X Engine

According to FlightGlobal, late last month, Rolls-Royce officially completed the final flight test of the testing program for the Pearl 10X turbofan engine. This powerful engine will be utilized on a new ultra-long-range business jetbeing developed by Dassault Aviation called the Falcon 10X. Rolls-Royce has been developing the Pearl 10X engine for years, although it began the flight test program just over six months ago, in late March of this year.

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Rolls-Royce Pearl For Dassault Falcon 10X Takes Flight On Boeing 747 Test Bed

The Pearl 10X will be used on the new Dassault Falcon 10X.

Engine flight test program

Specifically, Rolls-Royce has been testing the Pearl 10X turbofan engine since March 29 of this year. Rolls-Royce flight tested this engine onboard its dedicated testbed aircraft, a Boeing 747. This Boeing 747-200B flying testbed is registered as N787RR. Per ch-aviation, this Boeing aircraft is over 44 years old and was first utilized by Cathay Pacific in the early 1980s. The aircraft was also utilized by Air Atlanta Icelandic, a charter and cargo flight provider based in Iceland. However, in June 2005, Rolls-Royce acquired the aircraft to flight-test new engine programs.

Rolls-Royce began flight-testing its new engine onboard its Boeing 747 in late March of this year. This aircraft utilized the new Pearl 10X engine on one of its pylons, while the others remained the aircraft’s normal engines. The majority of these flight tests were conducted from the Rolls-Royce testing facility located near Tuscon International Airport (TUS) in Tuscon, Arizona.

During the flight test development program, Rolls-Royce engineers performed a wide variety of tests. This includes engine and handling checks at different speeds and altitudes, as well as inflight relight capabilities, anti-icing system tests, and fan vibration tests, among other tests.

The Pearl 10X to be utilized on the Dassault Falcon 10X

Dassault Aviation intends to utilize the Rolls-Royce Pearl 10X on its newest aircraft. This aircraft will be an ultra-long-range business jet known as the Falcon 10X, and it is being brought to market to compete with several other popular aircraft in the industry, such as the Bombardier Global 7500, the largest purpose-built business jet, and the Gulfstream G700, which was certified earlier this year.

Photo: Dassault Aviation

The Dassault Falcon 10X was officially announced in May 2021, and it was originally planned to be introduced in 2025. This aircraft is set to be the largest aircraft that Dassault has produced for the business aviation industry. It will also feature a newly designed carbon fiber wing along with the new Pearl 10X engines, which will provide the aircraft with over 18,000 pounds of thrust each. This will help the aircraft achieve the following performance specifications: