Chapter 1058 Rolls-Royce tastes the sweetness

Later in the day.

Toulouse, France.

Compared with the "small fights" such as business jets and early warning aircraft discussed by Chang Haonan and Liu Yongquan, what is about to happen here will have a more far-reaching impact on the global aviation manufacturing industry.

Airbus A380 has completed the basic design and will soon begin production of the first prototype.

But before that, there is one important thing that needs to be determined.

So what type of engine will be used by the prototype numbered MSN001, or in other words, all five prototypes MSN001-MSN005?

Trent 900 or GP7200?

Although, for large passenger aircraft with wing-mounted engine layout, the engine model will not have a big impact on the aircraft design.

But when it comes to actual production, there are still differences in details such as the engine nacelle, wing mounts, and FADEC system, so the power solution for each aircraft must be decided before the order is confirmed.

In order to ensure production continuity, the power of the five prototypes will be the same as that of the first batch of production aircraft.

In other words, for Airbus, this choice will not only affect the subsequent test flight progress of the entire A380 project, but also determine the order of aircraft delivery and the usage evaluation of the first users.

Therefore, it must not be taken lightly.

Of course, such a major matter cannot be discussed by just the three parties sitting together in a meeting.

In other words, having two competitors, Rolls-Royce and Engine Alliance, sit together is itself a very abstract idea.

After all, neither the Trent 900 nor the GP7200 have started formal testing yet.

Even if the two sides do not fight, it will eventually become a pie-in-the-sky competition.

That would be meaningless.

Therefore, Party A can only send representatives to understand the situation from the two suppliers and finally make a decision.

Even so, we still have to consider how credible the promise made by Party B is.

After all, the A380 has already boasted of its first flight in 05 and operation in 07.

If the power is lagging behind, even a god can't save it.

The worst thing is that, judging from previous situations, the probability of this risk becoming a reality is getting higher and higher.

GP7200 is a new model whose project was launched in 2001.

Although the Engine Alliance has repeatedly guaranteed that the first flight can be achieved before the end of 2004, the degree of credibility remains questionable.

Although the Trent 900 was launched two years earlier and its overall design was derived from the mature Trent 800, it seems to be a safer choice.

However, in order to compete with the GP7200, which uses quietness as its selling point, it has radically adopted a series of new technologies in the turbine structure.

Hope to win more orders with low fuel consumption.

However, contrary to expectations, the radical design brought higher technical risks.

Last year, there were also rumors that the combustion chamber design might need to be revised to reduce the temperature before the turbine.

Not only will the construction period be affected, but the performance will also inevitably be reduced.

This is quite fatal for the first batch of users' evaluation.

Charles Champion, chief operating officer of the A380 program, has been worried about this for a long time.

The two engine suppliers have made him their key breakthrough target.

For example, today he needs to receive a group of visitors from Rolls-Royce.

In name, they wanted to visit the assembly plant in Toulouse, but in reality, Champion knew with his toes that this was definitely a routine public relations operation...

Of course, the other party is one of Airbus' core suppliers after all. As the chief operating officer, he still has to go to receive them even if it is difficult.

……

However, when Champiin, who was full of resentment, saw the person coming, he couldn't help but be stunned.

He knew the person leading the team.

And we have had contact many times in the past.

Tim Purdy.

Deputy Head of the Trent 900 Technical Team.

However, Champiin, who had been up all night for several days in a row, was still a little confused.

After seeing an old acquaintance, his first reaction was -

How did he get transferred to the public relations department?

Of course, Bodi's future and fate had nothing to do with him.

However, sudden changes in core positions such as deputy project manager may very likely mean huge problems for the entire project.

This is totally unacceptable for the A380.

So, after Bodie came forward and greeted Champein enthusiastically, he heard the other party leaning close to his ear and whispering in a furtive tone:

"Timmy, has something happened?"

"Why aren't you in the Trent 900 development team?"

This round of two consecutive quality performances completely confused Bodi, who was in high spirits.

I even forgot to pull back the hand I was holding.

After being stunned for a long time, he asked back in confusion:

"When was I not in the R&D team?"

"But they..."

Champiin winked at the person behind him.

A group of people who were clearly dressed like a PR team.

Besides, serious aerospace technicians would be sick of spending all day in the workshop, and would not ask for something as meaningless as "visiting the final assembly workshop".

Fortunately, Bodi had already guessed that the other party must have just misunderstood his intentions.

So he immediately explained:

"We just don't want to make too much noise. Most of them are from our R&D team. You know... It's a critical stage, so we need to keep it confidential."

Champi was a little embarrassed when he realized that he had made a big mistake. He could only pat his bright forehead:

"Okay... I haven't had enough rest these past two days, so I'm a little confused..."

Then he changed the subject very smoothly:

"You just said 'most' are your people, that means..."

“And of course the commercial and legal teams.”

At this point, Bodi couldn't help but straighten his back:

"In fact, that's the main reason I came to visit today."

"Ok?"

At this time, Champiin's last bit of sleepiness was finally thrown away, and he immediately became alert:

"Is it related to the progress of Trent 900?"

Since Luo Luo brought a full team here, it means that they believe there is a high probability of achieving a breakthrough at the contract level during this trip.

Regardless of whether it is really possible or not, since the other party has such confidence, there must have been some major progress.

Bodi showed a confident smile:

"Yes, we'll talk about it in detail later."

Champion made a prompt decision:

"The conference room on the top floor is still empty. It's absolutely reliable..."

However, before he could finish, Bodi interrupted him with a raised hand:

"No need."

"Just follow the normal process of receiving the PR team and take us around the workshop."

Obviously, the explanation about keeping a low profile just now is not just lip service...

The group soon arrived at the final assembly workshop which was ready.

Because the production of the first prototype has just begun and is far from the final assembly stage, the workstations reserved for the A380 are still somewhat empty.

Only some background boards and promotional materials such as banners remain.

It should be used for the celebration ceremony when the official assembly is completed.

"Mr. Champion..."

However, Bodi's voice suddenly stopped as soon as he opened his mouth to say half a sentence.

Out of the corner of his eye he noticed one of the boards.

There are about a dozen national flags painted on it.

Of course, this is not surprising for a multinational project like the A380.

The meaning is also easy to understand.

These are the countries that participated in the core tasks during the research and development and production of this model.

But here's the thing.

There was a striking red on it...

There was a thunderclap in Bodi's head, almost making him fall to the ground.

"Mr. Bodie?"

Champiin, who hadn't heard the following words for a long time, turned back in confusion and saw Bodi staring straight in a certain direction, wondering what he was thinking about.

"Why is there a Chinese flag?"

Bodie asked with some difficulty.

For a moment, he even thought that the news that Trent 900 chose China as its second-tier supplier had been leaked.

Champiin didn't know the twists and turns here, he just felt a little confused, frowned and explained:

"Since 1998, Airbus's extreme environment simulation laboratory has been established in Chengdu, China. They are involved in the A380's de-icing and lightning protection design... Of course, this part of the work does not account for a large proportion. The reason why the Chinese flag is placed here is mainly to take care of the market over there... What's wrong?"

"No...it's nothing."

Bodie shook his head and breathed a sigh of relief:

"Back to business."

"We at Rolls-Royce have officially confirmed that the first prototype of the Trent 900 will be delivered for flight testing before March 2004. We hope that you can cooperate with our production schedule and prepare the aerial test platform in advance."

In fact, Airbus has an A340-300 with the left wing inner engine removed, which is specifically used for testing new aircraft engines and does not require so-called "advance preparation."

The reason why Bodi said this was to target his competitors.

After all, there is only one test platform, which is used for the Trent 900. The GP7200 can either wait or ask Boeing for help.

It's always a slow step, one step at a time.

By then, even if Airbus wanted to show favoritism, it would be impossible.

Second time...

It’s also for the show effect.

You know, in the past two years, Airbus has repeatedly revealed its nature as the devilish Party A in order to ensure the first flight schedule.

Both Rolls-Royce and the Engine Alliance have suffered a lot of frustration due to progress.

Today I can finally hold my head high.

Moreover, in order to avoid the suspicion of making empty promises, Bodi added a special sentence at the end:

"In fact, the production of parts for this test machine has already begun at the end of last year, and it is now about to enter the final assembly stage. However, for the sake of confidentiality, the progress has not been disclosed."

Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, he saw Champiin's whole body shook.

"March…2004?"

The latter's eyes widened slightly.

For an established company like Rolls-Royce, although they can brag about it in PPT, it is impossible for them to tinker with the prototype.

Therefore, entering final assembly is a clear time node.

It is completely different from the empty talk in the past.

However, to be on the safe side, Champiin asked:

"Why is the progress so fast suddenly?"

"Because we... uh... have acquired a new technology, there is no need to modify the plan. We can directly put it into production according to the original design."

Bodie straightened his back even more.

Although he also felt that it was a bit embarrassing for a company like Rolls-Royce to ask China to manufacture its core products.

I was also worried that there might be quality risks in the parts produced by Huaxia.

I also wondered if choosing suppliers outside the West would affect user reputation...

But this moment.

It doesn't matter anymore.

Really fragrant!