A jet engine on a test bed is worth more than most buildings. So the photographer in the room has to understand the room. We made this series inside the Rolls-Royce Singapore aerospace facility at Seletar Aerospace Park. It runs from the engine test cell to the fan blade plant. Every frame here was made around the site’s live work and its safety rules.
The Seletar campus, outside in
Rolls-Royce opened the Seletar campus on 13 February 2012. It puts engine assembly, engine testing, fan blade manufacture and training on one site. As a result, it is the company’s largest facility in Asia. So we began outside, because the scale is part of the story.
Inside the Trent engine test cell
The test cell is the heart of the site. A finished Trent engine hangs from an overhead cradle for its test run.
On the assembly line and in the fan blade plant
Next door, technicians build the engines. Across the campus, the plant makes hollow titanium fan blades. This was the first Rolls-Royce wide chord fan blade plant outside the UK. The last three frames in this section tell one story: a blade comes out of the furnace, a robot polishes it under a water jet, and a technician checks every step.
Training the people who build them
The Regional Training Centre was the first of its kind for Rolls-Royce in Asia. Here, for example, trainees practise rigging and lifting on the training floor.
Why this series works for an aerospace client
Industrial photography has one job here. It must show that these people and this process are worthy of an asset like a Trent engine. That means the right PPE, the right procedure and real work, not a set. See more of our industrial photography and videography in Singapore. Then follow the NEA waste management series from Tuas to Semakau, or our industrial videography on the same sites.
Common questions about aerospace photography in Singapore
Can a photographer work inside a restricted aerospace facility?
Yes, with planning. Tuckys Photography shot this series inside the Rolls-Royce Singapore aerospace facility under the site’s safety rules and in full PPE. Nothing in a test cell moves for a photograph, so the work carries on around the camera, not the other way round.
What is the Rolls-Royce Singapore aerospace facility at Seletar?
It is the company’s largest facility in Asia. It opened in February 2012 at Seletar Aerospace Park on a 154,000 square metre site. The campus holds four units: the Assembly and Test Unit for Trent engines, a fan blade plant, an Advanced Technology Centre and a Regional Training Centre. The first Trent 900 built there left for Airbus in December 2012.
What should aerospace facility photography show?
People, process and plant together. An engine on its own is a product shot. However, an engine with technicians in the correct PPE, following the correct procedure, is proof of stewardship. That is what an aerospace client or a future recruit wants to see. So Tuckys Photography frames the work, not just the machine.
Where is Tuckys Photography based?
Tuckys Photography is based in Yishun, Singapore, a short drive from Seletar Aerospace Park. The studio has photographed industrial and commercial work since 2002. Clients include Rolls-Royce, the National Environment Agency and Dell Technologies.
Planning a shoot inside a plant, hangar or test facility? Contact Tuckys Photography or email enquiry@tuckys.com.
