Dépêches

BP Technology at Work: Air BP Lubricants and the Boeing 787 Air BP Lubricants has Helped to Power the Boeing 787 Dreamliner(TM) Aircraft's First Flight

Dépèche transmise le 20 juillet 2010 par PRNewswire

KEELE, England, July 20, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Rolls-Royce has chosen BP Turbine Oil (BPTO) 2197 as the oil for Boeing's most advanced passenger aircraft. BPTO 2197 is lubricating the Dreamliner's Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines during the aircraft's flight-test programme. BPTO 2197 lubricated the inaugural Boeing 787 flight on December 15, 2009. Since then, the four Trent 1000 powered Boeing 787 flight test aircraft have accumulated more than 1100 successful flight hours.

BPTO 2197 is currently the only approved oil for the highly advanced Trent 1000 engine. BPTO 2197's thermal margin was chosen by the engine designers as they seek fuel efficiency in ever hotter and lighter engines.

Air BP Lubricants worked with Rolls-Royce to certify the use of BPTO 2197 in the Trent 1000 engine, monitoring its performance in various rig and engine tests per FAA / EASA approved validation process.

Rodger Harris, Global Sales Director for Air BP Lubricants, said: "Rolls-Royce chose a product in which the industry has the utmost confidence. BPTO 2197 has been flying for 14 years and has accumulated 160 million successful engine flight hours. Rigorous flight evaluation and technical expertise have provided the basis for the significant market growth realised today. We are delighted and excited to enable a new generation of more fuel efficient aircraft to take off."

Ron Yungk, Global Aviation OEM Manager for BP, explained the strong technical basis for Rolls-Royce's choice: "BPTO 2197 was the first oil brand qualified to the new SAE AS5780A specification in addition to its HPC classification indicating higher performance in thermally stressful applications.

Before being introduced to flight, BPTO 2197 passed many other OEM requirements, including the applicable military specification (MIL-PRF-23699, HTS Class) as well as BP's own proprietary rig validation protocols.

The thermal margin BPTO 2197 provides has been proven in many aircraft applications, resulting in industry recognition that BPTO 2197 is the benchmark oil formulation for thermal and oxidative stability."

Ron added: "BPTO 2197 costs just a few hundred dollars per aircraft. It is an unseen and essential component that performs under extreme conditions, to boring predictability, day in, day out, ensuring safe operation of some of the hottest engines ever created. It is never changed per se, just topped up as needed, giving the confidence needed to operate without lubricant concerns between heavy maintenance intervals of 6 to 8 years."

The Dreamliner is revolutionary in its use of new materials such as fuel saving carbon fiber composites, which comprise approximately half of the aircraft, and an unprecedented globally diverse supply chain.

More than 850 Dreamliners have been ordered so far making the Boeing 787 the fastest selling aircraft in history.

Issued on behalf of BP Aviation Press Office by Michelle Gomes. For enquiries from the media, journalists and researchers only, the BP Aviation Press Office can be contacted on:

CONTACT: Michelle Gomes, Account Manager, THE PR FIRM LIMITED, Telephone:+44(0)1782-443-080, Mobile: +44(0)7917-638236, E-mail: