Qatar Airways engineers are the first in the industry to receive the training, using Rolls-Royce’s pioneering Trent XWB engine, which powers the Airbus A350.

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Edward Lowton
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Rolls-Royce and Qatar Airways use Virtual Reality to train engineers
23 April 2019
Rolls-Royce and Qatar Airways are using Virtual Reality (VR) to train engineers, in a first for the two companies.

The Trent XWB is Rolls-Royce’s largest engine. Such is the scale, it must be separated before engineers can transport it for maintenance and repair. Using HTC Vive equipment, engineers are immersed in the process, using sight, sound and touch to separate the two parts of the engine in a virtual setting.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, H.E. Mr. Al Baker said: “Qatar Airways is an airline of the future and we constantly strive to deliver innovation in every area of our business. Our ultimate goal is to provide our customers with a quality on-board experience every time they travel, and by adopting the latest technology in our engineering department we aim to ensure that they arrive at their destination smoothly and without disruption.
“We are very excited about the new Virtual Reality training tool offered by Rolls-Royce and we are proud that they chose Qatar Airways as their global launch partner.”
Steve Buckland, a Customer and Product Training Manager at Rolls-Royce who developed the VR training programme said: “Virtual Reality has a valuable application here. It’s going to save time, money, and frees up engines that could otherwise be on aircraft, keeping passengers moving.
“The future is exciting. We’re looking at creating holograms of an engine that we can use to teach in a classroom, or Augmented Reality that can be overlaid over a real engine to show technical information. Nothing will beat learning with an engine and this will never be replaced, but new technology is allowing us to be innovative with the ways we teach engineers.”
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