The CSeries is designed for the 100- to 149-seat market. According to Bombardier, it will emit less CO2, fly quieter, and deliver energy savings over current in-production aircraft of similar size.
Since the CSeries aircraft programme was announced at the Farnborough Airshow in 2008, Bombardier has recorded firm orders for a total of 33 CS100 and 57 CS300 aircraft. Options have been placed on a total of 90 additional CSeries aircraft.
Bombardier Aerospace, Belfast, has completed the ultimate load test on the CSeries aircraft composite demonstrator wing, successfully replicating 150% of the most severe forces the wing is ever likely to experience in service.
The Belfast operation is responsible for the design, manufacture and integration of the complete wing for the CSeries aircraft, including all flight control surfaces and high lift systems. Production of the CSeries aircraft wings is due to get under way early in 2011 in a new 55 742 m2 purpose-built factory in Belfast, the first phase of which is nearing completion.
The aluminum-lithium fuselage test barrel, which arrived in Saint-Laurent, Québec, from China in August 2009, has successfully completed 60 000 fatigue cycles. Findings from the advanced test fuselage will be used by the design team to optimise the final production design.
Development wind tunnel tests conducted in ONERA F1 (Toulouse, France), ETW (Cologne, Germany) and ARA (Bedford, UK) are now complete. Detailed wind tunnel tests will continue throughout 2010 and final production wind tunnel tests will be conducted in 2011.
The Complete Integrated Aircraft Systems Test Area (CIASTA), located in Mirabel, 45 minutes north of Montréal, is progressing on schedule. The CIASTA is a systems-testing integration facility that will house a virtual CSeries test aircraft. The CIASTA building is now complete and the testing and rig infrastructure installation is in progress. The CIASTA will test aircraft systems for reliability and functionality one year before first flight and will continue to support systems integration during the flight test programme.
In March this year Bombardier announced the start of construction of the facility that will build the fuselage for the CSeries aircraft. This event was marked with a foundation stone-laying ceremony at the site in Shenyang, China. The 21 000 m2 facility will be operated by Shenyang Aircraft Corporation (SAC), a subsidiary of the state-owned aviation industrial entity, China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC). SAC is a key supplier in the Bombardier CSeries aircraft programme.
