N3 Engine Overhaul Services (N3), the joint venture between Lufthansa Technik AG and Rolls-Royce plc. set up for the purpose of maintaining and repairing aircraft engines, has been authorised to maintain and repair the engines of the Airbus A350. The federal aviation office (LBA) awarded N3 the operating license as a part 145 maintenance organisation for the Rolls-Royce large engine type Trent XWB.
Approval has been secured on schedule, before the planned delivery of the first Airbus A350 to Deutsche Lufthansa, which is expected in winter and will be based in Munich. Lufthansa Technik will provide all aircraft maintenance and spare parts for the Deutsche Lufthansa Airbus A350 fleet. As part of this extensive maintenance concept, N3 Engine Overhaul Services is responsible for maintaining the Trent XWB engines.
It is expected that N3 will start receiving planned deliveries of Trent XWB engines in Arnstadt in the coming years. N3 mechanics are currently using a Trent XWB training engine to test tools and to apply assembly processes, approved by LBA.
N3 Director and General Manager Alexander Stern stresses that: “With the operating license for the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engine we have secured our future. The A350 engine will become a dominant feature of N3 Engine Overhaul Services’ business in the coming years. Thanks to our high reliability and efficiency, we are an important partner in the maintenance network of our parent companies.”
The operating license for the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB adds a fourth engine model to the Thuringian company’s product portfolio. At the same time, N3 is also building up its repair capacity for engine components. For instance, the company has also become the first and only company in Europe to be awarded the right from Rolls-Royce to carry out Blisk repairs (Blisk is a component within the high-pressure compressor) on Trent XWB engines. N3 will also perform repairs to the components used to mount the Trent XWB engine to the Airbus A350. Investments are being made in specialised machinery for these new repair processes.
