Bombardier Aerospace (Montreal) has announced Al Qahtani Aviation Company (Dammam) has signed a firm purchase agreement for 16ย CS300ย aircraft with options for an additional 10ย CS300ย jetliners. The aircraft will be operated by SaudiGulf Airlines, a newly launched national carrier from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Al Qahtani Aviation Company and SaudiGulf Airlines are both owned by Saudi Abdel Hadi Abdullah Al-Qahtani & Sons Group of Companies (Tariq Al-Qahtani and Brothers).
In other news,ย Bombardier Aerospace has confirmed itsย CSeriesย aircraft program is making solid progress and initial performance results are in line with the companyโs expectations. However, based on the thorough review of theย CSeriesย program after the first flight of theย CS100ย on September 16, 2013, the flight test phase will require more time than originally anticipated to ensure, amongst other things, that the aircraft has the overall system maturity to support a successful entry-into-service. Theย CS100aircraftโs entry-into-service is now scheduled for the second half of 2015 and will be followed by theย CS300ย aircraftโs entry-into-service approximately six months afterwards.
โWe are taking the required time to ensure a flawless entry-into-service. We are very pleased that no major design changes have been identified, this gives us confidence that we will meet our performance targets,โ said Mike Arcamone, President, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. โWhile the process has taken more time than we had expected, our suppliers are aligned with the programโs schedule and together, we will continue to work closely to move the program steadily forward. With the first flight of flight test vehicle 2 (FTV2) successfully completed on January 3, 2014, theย CSeriesย aircraft program will continue to gain traction over the coming months.โ
Bombardier Aerospace (Montreal) yesterday (September 16) had a successful first flight of its new CS100 airliner. The company issued this statement:
Under perfect weather conditions, Bombardier Aerospace celebrated the successful first flight of itsย CSeriesย aircraft, a major milestone in the companyโs highly anticipated development program that will provide operators with an all-new family of aircraft specifically designed for the 100- to 149-seat market segment. The maiden flight marks the start of theย CSeriesย aircraftโs flight test program leading up to the first customer delivery, and was also the first flight for Pratt & Whitneyโs new Geared Turbofanโข PurePower engine as part of an aircraft certification program.
The historic flight ofย CSeriesย flight test vehicle one (FTV1) โ aย CS100ย jetliner bearing Canadian registration markings C-FBCS โ was conducted under the command of Captain Charles (Chuck) Ellis, Chief Flight Test Pilot, Bombardier Flight Test Center. Capt. Ellis was assisted by his colleagues,ย Capt. Andris (Andy) Litavniks and Andreas Hartono in the roles of First Officer and Flight Test Engineer, respectively. The flight departed from MontrรฉalโMirabel International Airport at approximately 9:55 EDT and returned at approximately 12:25 EDT.
โDuring its maiden flight,ย CSeriesย FTV1 reached an altitude of 12,500 feet (3,810 metres) and an air speed of 230 knots (426 km/h). In-flight tests included flap and landing gear retractions and extensions; in-flight maneuvers that included a simulated landing; and early validation of the flight control system. Additionally, weโre also delighted that many of our guests commented on the impressive and quiet performance during takeoff and landing,โ added Mr. Dewar.
The firstย CSeriesย aircraft was greeted by more than 3,000 Bombardier employees and Board members, customers, partners and suppliers, upon its return to the companyโs Montreal Mirabel, Quรฉbec facility, where the final assembly line for theย CSeriesย aircraft program is now under construction.
A total of fiveย CS100ย flight test vehicles, all of which are currently in various stages of assembly, will join the flight test program in the coming months.
Top Copyright Photo: Gilbert Hechema/AirlinersGallery.com. CS100 (BD-500-1A10) C-FBCS (msn 50001) departs from YMX on its successful first flight.
Video:
Bottom Copyright Photo: Rockwell Collins. A view of the CS100 cockpit.ย Rockwell Collinsโย Pro Line Fusionยฎย avionics andย Primary Flight Control Computerย (PFCC) played a key role in the successful first flight of Bombardierโsย CSeriesย commercial aircraft.ย Rockwell Collinsโ Pro Line Fusion is featured on 16 aircraft platforms ranging from turboprops, light jets, intercontinental business jets, and commercial aircraft to military tanker and special missions platforms. The scalability of Pro Line Fusion is unmatched in the industry.
Pro Line Fusion for the CSeries aircraft, designed with five 15.1-inch diagonal LCD displays, provides an open architecture that enables extensive situational awareness capabilities, comprehensive integration with aircraft systems such as Rockwell Collinsโย MultiScanโขย weather radar and optional single or dualย Head-up Displayย (HUD), and a growth roadmap to future air space requirements. Performance-enhancing capabilities that Pro Line Fusion will bring to the CSeries aircraft include RNP AR 0.1 and Category IIIa/b autoland, which couples with Rockwell Collinsโ PFCC for Bombardierโs fly-by-wire (FBW) flight control system.ย Rockwell Collinsโ PFCC provides an enabling platform to execute complex aircraft control laws, optimize aircraft fuel efficiency, improve passenger safety and enhance overall passenger ride comfort.
Bombardier (Montreal) today issued this statement:
Further to the Definitive Agreement (DA) signed on March 21, 2012 covering program commonalities between theย C919ย andย CSeriesย aircraft and the Letter of Intent (LOI) signed on November 13, 2012 signaling the beginning of Phase II of their strategic collaboration, Bombardier and the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd (COMAC) wish to announce the signing of a DA covering four distinctive projects. The DA is to be executed as part of the second phase of the partiesโ long-term collaboration on leveraging commonalities between theC919ย andย CSeriesย airliners.
The four initiatives COMAC and Bombardier will collaborate on are: 1) specific areas of theย CSeriesย aircraft flight test activities pertaining to non-flying tasks, 2) implementing and maintaining the common items that were achieved as part of Phase I, 3) sales and marketing, and 4) certain areas of customer services related to training, technical publications and parts distribution.
The second phase of COMAC and Bombardier’s cooperation is expected to contribute further to enhancing the competitiveness of not only theย C919ย andย CSeriesย aircraft programs, but also of both COMAC and Bombardierโs overall businesses, and will help with maximizing both partiesโ cost savings and market shares, while allowing customers of theย C919ย and theย CSeriescommercial airliners to realize cost benefits from the operation of both aircraft families.
Bombardier (Montreal) has reported to Reuters its new CSeries airliner is on schedule for its first flight later this month from Montreal’s Mirabel Airport. The company will report on new orders at the Paris Airshow which runs from June 17-23.
Theย Bombardier CSeriesย is a family ofย narrow-body,ย twin-engine, medium-rangeย jet airliners. The 110-seatย CS100ย and the 130-seatย CS300 are the two models being marketed. These were initially named C110 and C130, respectively.
This new CSeries jet competes with theย Boeing 737 Next Generationย (737-600, 737-700),ย Airbus A318 andย A319ย andย Embraerย ERJย 195. Bombardier claims the Cseries will burn 20% less fuel per trip than these competitors.
Copyright Photo: Gilbert Hechema. The first CSeries, the pictured CS100 (BD-500-1A10) registered C-FBCS (msn 50001) dubbed “FTV1” (Flight Test Vehicle 1), was rolled out of the Mirabel factory in this green primer paint and is being prepared for its first flight later this month (please click on the photo for the full size view).
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