Abhishek Sadaphul : a young Mauritian engineer contributes in setting up the A330neo

Recently, Mauritius acquired the new A330neo. It has without doubt captured the attention and hearts of many people. We all know that the new carrier will benefit the country. But very few know that one of our young Mauritian talents, Abhishek Sadaphul, has contributed enormously in the engine Trent 7000 fitted in the plane from its first phases of testing to the engine and aircraft being certified and delivered to the airlines. The young man is a Performance Lead Engineer at the prestigious British company Rolls-Royce PLC.

A young Mauritian settled in the United Kingdom, Abhishek Sadaphul is the pride of our small country. As a Performance Lead Engineer, he is at the core discipline of the engineering function, leading the design, integration and understanding of whole engine Performance attributes. He participated in the Trent7000 first flight. The first flight itself is the time whereby the engine is integrated in the airframe and flown for the first time after several years of continuous development and testing. “I provided my support on a daily basis. I looked after many important aspects and also optimising strategy to further reduce noise, fuel burn and ensure to extend engine life as much as possible, as at this time on the other end, the customer was Airbus. I assisted from the first flight, engine certification and aircraft certification. The first engine for production was fitted in the TAP Aircraft.” He reveals that seeing A330neo being delivered to Air Mauritius made him so proud because in part, this was a representation of his hard work and the teams who have worked around the clock to get the engine delivered and safe for its passengers.

He explains that the A330neo (New Engine Option) is one of the newest aircraft that Airbus has produced and can carry 287 passengers on board for all the three classes but a load of 440 passengers for an all economy. “Both aircraft A350 and A330 have high efficient engines (Trent7000 and Trent XWB 84K) and low noise. The aircraft has improved aerodynamics and structural design such as the A330neo sharklets and similarly, the engine has an improved logic software with new materials. This aircraft has also much more flexibility since it can operate from short to long range and also can be changed from a 220 passengers seating and 3 board class and to a high density passenger format of 440 passengers. A quick conclusion - this new aircraft will benefit the airline since it is more efficient and also enable the airline to provide much more affordable prices due to lower cost in operation of the aircraft.”

Working at Rolls-Royce 

The young man, an engineer working for Rolls-Royce, has been having an amazing experience. Every day, he says he meets extraordinary people who not only are highly capable engineers but are also amazing people themselves. “The best thing to be at Rolls-Royce is that every day, you are kept challenged and busy. The nicest thing in being an engineer is not to give up things you love, for example, in my instance, I am back into playing football for the Rolls-Royce FC and also running. In Rolls-Royce, wherever you are placed, you always get the opportunity to achieve something or to move forward not only as an individual but also as a Team. At the end of the day, Rolls-Royce feels more like a family, as you spend most of the time with your colleagues”

He describes life at Rolls-Royce as a roller-coaster.  “The most amazing things is that you are not left in a corner and trying to get a problem solved but it’s more like everyone contributes to get it done. As a performance engineer, I always get to meet all types of people ranging from top management and also to specific function department people performing tests as well as clients who are the end consumer of the Rolls-Royce product.”

What can he bring to Mauritius? 

During his career, the young man has gained a lot of experience and now he can offer various new solutions, innovative concepts and also approaches to improve a process and new design. As an engineer, he wants to stand out from others to make a better, healthier world for the future. “My skills as a Performance Engineer could benefit Mauritius. I would love to share not only my technical skills but also the personal skills developed so far to help other engineers. For example, power plant engineers in Mauritius can benefit from my knowledge, especially in devising new methods and technologies.

Interesting pathway 

Abhishek was born in Italy, but he ended up in Mauritius to continue his secondary education. After his HSC, he decided to start a career in aerospace engineering. He received a scholarship from Politecnico Di Torino (Polytechnic School of Turin). In 2011, he started his studies at Politecnico Di Torino, which is today one of the top 10 aerospace schools in Europe. “In my first two years, I was selected for one year of exchange programs at City University in the UK. After successfully completing my studies in the United Kingdom and Italy, after an intensive selection process, I was awarded by Royal Aeronautical Society, UK, out of 100 to pursue a double degree programme at Cranfield University, also known as Performance Research Center of Rolls-Royce.”