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Europrop International (EPI) has achieved a double
success, delivering the last of the four TP400-D6 flight
test engines which will power the first Airbus A400M and
reaching the milestone of 1,000 hours of engine ground
testing.
 The final engine for the first aircraft was dispatched
last week and has now arrived at the final assembly line of
the A400M military transport aircraft in Seville. The
installation of the engines onto the first flight test
aircraft is now underway and this will involve integration
with the propeller and nacelle. The first flight of the
A400M is scheduled to take place during summer time.
In addition to the flight test programme, a number of
TP400 engines continue to undergo extensive performance and
operability tests throughout Europe on EPI partners’
indoor and outdoor test facilities demonstrating the engine
characteristics and durability.
Nick Durham, the President of EPI, said: “This has
been a challenging programme and the delivery of the first
ship-set of TP400 flight test engines is an important
milestone and, combined with the rapidly increasing rate of
ground testing, shows that we are really making significant
progress.”
“We can now look forward to a flight test programme
which proves that we have designed an engine that satisfies
all the performance criteria and sets new standards for a
turboprop of this size”, said Philippe Petitcolin,
non-executive Chairman of EPI.
In parallel to the work in Seville, the TP400 Flying Test
Bed engine is about to commence ground vibration testing at
Marshall Aerospace in Cambridge, UK, prior to first flight
on a modified C-130 aircraft.
Challenges remain and EPI is confident and fully
committed to working with Airbus Military to resolve them in
a timely manner and make the programme a success.
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