Boeing's long-running battle to meet performance specification on the 787 is poised to enter a key phase as testing of a new set of improved engines from General Electric and Rolls-Royce gets under way.The original versions of both engines underperformed significantly in terms of fuel burn, falling short by 3-5%. But the two engine manufacturers are developing upgrades that will incrementally claw back the shortfall. The second of GE's two-stage GEnx-lB performance improvement package (PIP) upgrades flew for the first time on the company's 747 flying testbed on Feb. 3, while Rolls expects to begin the certification process for the latest Trent 1000 upgrade in May.
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