Bombardier has completed on schedule wing and fuselage mating for the first Continental super mid-size business jet at its Learjet plant in Wichita, Kansas. Installation of the Honeywell AS907 engines is imminent.
John Holding, Bombardier's executive vice president for engineering and product development says: "The programme is proceeding as planned and the first aircraft is on target to fly before the middle of next year leading to certification in 2002 and first 'green' deliveries by the fourth quarter of that year." Assembly of the second prototype is also expected to begin soon.
The $14.25 million Continental is set to become the first of the current range of mid- and super mid-size aircraft under development to enter the market. Raytheon's Hawker Horizon and Cessna's Citation Sovereign are scheduled to enter service in 2003 and 2004 respectively. To gain a head start, Bombardier set the Continental's certification programme at 39 months, shorter than any previous all-new aircraft certification by the company. The process involved initiating, with its risk-sharing partners, the joint concept definition phase before the aircraft's formal launch in June last year. In a bid to avoid later changes, it involved Transport Canada in the aircraft's design reviews.
Bombardier has chalked up over 100 orders for the eight passenger Continental. It forecasts an overall market of more than 1,000 "new generation" super mid-size business aircraft by 2012.
Source: Flight International
