CRJ-1000 Makes First Flight

Bombardier's long and skinny CRJ-1000 prototype took to the Canadian skies for the first time during its maiden flight yesterday from their production facility at the Mirabel Airport in Montreal, Quebec. During the 25 minute flight, the CRJ-1000 reached an altitude of 30,000 feet and flew at a maximum speed of 260 knots. "We put the gear up, operated the flaps and slats and exercised our new 'fly-by-wire' rudder," says Jacques Thibaudeau, one of the test-flight crew members. Bombardier is saying it handles much like the CRJ-900 so transitioning flight crews to the larger 100-seater should be no problem. After a few more flights, the prototype will be flown to Bombardier's Test Flight Centre at Mid-Continent Airport in Wichita where it will be joined next year by the first production aircraft for its flight operations review and certification process. Entry into service is expected in the fourth quarter of 2009. Hopefully, the PointNiner crew will get a chance to see her during the testing phase like we have with the other CRJ stretches as Wichita is just down the road from our base of operations.



Pictures: Bombardier
[Bombardier via Flight Global]

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First CRJ-1000 Heads Outside

Bombardier's first and only CRJ-1000 broke its cover here and headed out for what looks like a tank of Jet A at Mirabel Airport in Montreal. One thing's for sure...this ain't your daddy's Challenger jet. In fact, it's twice as long! This stretched out flying tube is longer than a classic 737 now. Entry into service is expected next year.

Photo Credit: Justin Jones via Airliners.net

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Bombardier finally launches the CSeries

This announcement wasn't too much of a surprise, but it is good news nonetheless for Canadian manufacturer Bombardier. The much delayed, nearly shelved, redusted and refined C-Series aircraft was finally launched today at the Farnborough Air Show with launch customer Lufthansa signing a letter of intent for 60 aircraft. What was almost bigger news than the launch was Bombardier's announcement to build the C-Series final assembly plant at its Mirabel-Montreal site instead of a proposed Kansas City plant as hoped by this blogger. I am glad to see that highly contentious decision finalized though, just for the sake of seeing a C-Series aircraft in the air soon. Powered by the revolutionary Pratt & Whitney Geared Turbofan, the new C-Series of aircraft is being touted by Bombardier as "the greenest single-aisle aircraft in its class." Its 2 x 5 seating will lend to two initial developments of the C-Series. Both a 110-seater and a 130-seater aircraft are planned but I'm sure that could be adapted as is the thing to do with this manufacturer. Bombardier sees a market for 6,300 aircraft in the 110 to 149-seat category which they would love to fill with C-Series. Bravo, Bombardier. It's about time. Now, if we can only get Northwest to retire their DC-9s for some of these.

Here's what she'll look like in Lufthansa colors. Nice.
(photo credit: Flightblogger)

(via Bombardier)

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