Bombardier has completed flight testing the CSeries CS100 narrowbody, subject to Transport Canada’s final review and acceptance, the company announced Tuesday. Now finalizing the submission of the remaining documentation for Transport Canada approval, Bombardier expects to gain type certification by the end of the year.
Function and reliability (F&R) testing on the first production-configured aircraft began on November 7, while the company has released CSeries FTV5, which appeared at this month’s Dubai Airshow in the colors of launch customer Swiss, to begin demonstration flights for prospective new customers.
CS100 F&R flights began with a four-leg mission beginning and ending in Mirabel, Quebec, and including stops in Moncton, New Brunswick; Halifax, Nova Scotia; and St. John’s, Newfoundland. Meant to simulate typical flight routings and operational procedures, the F&R flights will take the CS100 to some 15 city pairs in Canada and 20 in the U.S., then to Europe for more testing.
“We are executing to plan and are in the final stage before obtaining the CS100 type certificate from Transport Canada,” said Bombardier Commercial Aircraft president Fred Cromer. “I heartily congratulate the many employees, suppliers and customers that have worked together to bring us all to this important milestone.”
Speaking on November 8 in Dubai, Cromer reported that the CS100’s better-than-expected hot-and-high performance would give it another 300 miles worth of range on a typical flight between Riyadh and Addis Ababa. Customers in the Middle East include Gulf Air, Iraqi Airways and startup carrier SaudiGulf Airlines. Cromer declined to convey expected delivery dates for any of those customers, nor would he offer a more specific date for delivery of the first CS100 to launch customer Swiss International Airlines. Bombardier has said only that it will deliver the airplane during the first half of next year.