A400M Engine Testbed Faces Tight Schedule

"EADS before July is hoping to reach its 50 flight hour target on the Marshall Aerospace C-130 serving as the flying testbed for the A400M's TP400D turboprop engine. The goal to reach that milestone in the second quarter is not easy, though. So far the testbed has flown about 15 hours since its first flight in mid-December. Improving weather should allow the pace of flight testing to increase, however. Also due this quarter is improved engine hardware for the first flight A400M, with the goal of starting static engine ground runs in the third quarter, EADS officials say." Next