Rolls-Royce has delivered the 100th Pearl 15 engine to its customer Bombardier in Montreal, Canada.
The engine, developed and built in Dahlewitz near Berlin, Germany, is the first member of the successful Pearl engine family and the exclusive option for Bombardier’s latest business jets, the Global 5500 and Global 6500.
The engine was custom-designed for these aircraft, which have the longest range and the largest cabin in their category and feature Bombardier’s signature smooth ride technology.
Nuno Taborda, Senior Vice President Production Programmes, Rolls-Royce Deutschland, said: “This engine delivery milestone is important for us – demonstrating the programme’s maturity and confirming our confidence in the potential of the Pearl family. I would like to thank everyone at Bombardier for their continued close teamwork with us to make this aircraft and engine such a great success.”
Paul Sislian, Executive Vice President, Operations and Operational Excellence, Bombardier, added: “Thank you to the dedicated teams at Rolls-Royce for their innovation and commitment to excellence. This milestone delivery signals the success of the Global 5500 and Global 6500 business jets since their entry into service, and the Pearl 15 engine contributes to providing our customers with an outstanding flight experience and a smooth ride.”
The Dahlewitz site, which has delivered more than 1,800 engines overall to Bombardier to date, started production in June 1995 and today employs approximately 2,500 people. As Rolls-Royce’s Centre of Excellence for Business Aviation engines, the site has an important role in our global manufacturing and development footprint.
In addition to the Pearl family, the BR710 and BR725 business jet engines are also assembled at the facility. Dahlewitz is also home to the development and testing of Rolls-Royce’s new power gearbox for the UltraFan® demonstrator. This demonstrator is the basis for a potential new family of UltraFan engines, which will be able to power both narrowbody and widebody aircraft and deliver a 25% fuel efficiency improvement compared to the first generation of Trent engine.