04 September 2013

How to change a Trent XWB engine on an A350 XWB only by a team of 3 people. Maintenance and safety focused development by Airbus.


We could watched it in April/2013 with the engines loading on the MSN1. Airbus has tailor-made an electrical hoist kit to precisely control load and ease positioning of engines, while improving safety for maintenance staff and the aircraft.

The electrical hoist kit replaces the manual hoists used on the currently used bootstrap, adding significant advantages including speed, better load control and man-hour savings.



The system is just as flexible as traditional manual bootstraps, with the electrical hoists cabled to a mobile power unit located in the control box.

One of the clear advantages is that rather than using up to 8 engineers, safe engine maneuvering may be performed by only 3; one on the control box at the front of the engine, and one to each side.


Click the picture to watch the video with 2 phases (lifting and approaching) of the positioning. The engines are lifted in perfect balance to the pylon, then 2 operators positioned laterally with hand-held devices smoothly position the engine in the final approach to the pylon.


The benefits of this easy-handling kit is a reduction of around 30% of the time needed for the removal or installation of outboard engines that implies lower maintenance costs while optimizing aircraft availability.

Engine characteristics for all of Airbus’ aircraft are pre-programmed, and can be easily selected on the central control unit’s touch screen.


Based on the article “Electrical hoist kit to ease engine mounting” published in Fast Magazine 52

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