The Bombardier CSeries flight test vehicle (FTV-1) is on schedule to make its first flight by June.
"The first CSeries aircraft is on target for its first flight by the end of June 2013, followed by entry into service a year later," says Bombardier Commercial Aircraft president Mike Arcamone in Toronto at a Porter Airlines press conference where the airline announced a conditional order for up to 30 CS100 aircraft.
The fly-by-wire testing is going as planned, he says.
"The fly by wire testing is advancing, and thus far we're pleased with the results," adds Arcamone.
The final software block was installed on all the systems suppliers' rigs, FTV-1 and the integrated system test and certification rig (ISTCR) at the end of March and is undergoing testing, says Rob Dewar, Bombardier's vice-president and general manager of the CSeries programme.
Systems installations on the FTV-2 flight test vehicle are ongoing, wings are being mated to the FTV-3 and the fuselage of FTV-4 is undergoing the assembly stage.
The aircraft is "moving closer" to obtaining the aircraft's safety-of-flight permit, the manufacturer says.
Bombardier will not be bringing the CSeries to the Paris air show this year because it does not want to remove it from a critical period of the testing phase, the manufacturer says.
The CS100 is expected to enter service in mid-2014, while the CS300 will enter service by the end of 2014.
Porter confirmed its order for up to 30 of the jets, which it plans to receive in 2016 pending certain conditions, including gaining approvals from authorities in Canada to operate the aircraft out of Toronto City Billy Bishop airport.
The Porter order brings Bombardier's total orders and commitments for the CSeries family to 382.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
