Bombardier has cleared the power-on milestone in the lead-up to the scheduled first flight of the CSeries flight test vehicle (FTV-1) by late June.
The test of the electrical distribution system was originally scheduled about two weeks ago, but was delayed by the discovery of about seven faulty or missing electrical connectors.
Rob Dewar, Bombardier's vice president and general manager of the CSeries, describes the power-on event as "one of the most exciting milestone events" in the programme's short history.
The company's focus now is on clearing safety-of-flight testing in the integrated systems test and certification rig, also known as Aircraft 0.
These tests include critical checks of the aircraft fly-by-wire controls. Bombardier previously applied fly-by-wire only to the rudder controls of the CRJ1000 regional jet, and only after a painfully long development programme. The CSeries fly-by-wire system controls the rudder, elevators and ailerons.
The components are supplied by Parker Aerospace and Rockwell Collins, and then integrated by Bombardier on the CSeries.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
