Rolls-Royce has flown, for the first time, the composite blades to be used in its future UltraFan and Advance engine programmes.
The carbon-titanium blades have been integrated into a Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine – normally used on the Boeing 787 – and installed on a Boeing 747-200 testbed in Arizona.
Rolls-Royce is developing the Advance engine for introduction in 2020 while the UltraFan would follow five years later
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