Rolls-Royce has carried out a successful test flight of its 747 Flying Testbed aircraft using 100 per cent Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) on a Trent family engine.
The aircraft flew for just under four hours from Tucson airport in Arizona, passing over New Mexico and Texas, with a Trent 1000 engine running on SAF. The remaining three RB211 engines ran on standard jet fuel and initial indications from Rolls-Royce confirm there were no engineering issues.
Validation of the latest test adds to ground-and-air tests carried out on Trent XWB and Pearl engines.
The flight was carried out in collaboration with Boeing, which provided technical support and oversight on aircraft modifications and assurance the aircraft systems would operate as expected with 100 per cent SAF. World Energy, the world’s first commercial-scale SAF production company, provided the low-carbon fuel for the flight.
Read more here