Bombardier's CRJ900 makes international debut at Paris 2001

Bombardier Aerospace's newest airliner, the 86-seat Bombardier CRJ900 Series, was unveiled to the world's press on Saturday at the 2001 Paris International Air Show.

Currently in flight test at the Bombardier Flight Test Centre at Wichita, Kansas, the aircraft made its first flight on 21 February 2001, only seven months after the Bombardier CRJ900 programme was officially launched at the Farnborough International Air Show in July, 2000.

The Bombardier CRJ900 arrived in Paris on 14 June, following the flight from Wichita, which included stops at Montr6al, Iqualuit and Keflavik. At the time of its arrival, the aircraft had flown a total of 147 hours on flights.

"The flight test programme is proceeding so well that we had no hesitation in interrupting it to bring the aircraft to Paris," said John Holding, executive vice-president, engineering and product development at Bombardier Aerospace.

The first all-new Bombardier CRJ900, SN 15001, is currently being assembled at Bombardier's Mirabel, Quebec facility and is scheduled for its first flight later in 2001.

The aircraft, serial number 15991, is CRJ700* SN 10001 with the addition of two fuselage plugs measuring 90 inches (2.29 m) and 62 inches (2.57 m) produced by Bombardier's Shorts unit in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The primary role of SN 15991 is to explore the flight envelope as well as serve as the main platform for aircraft systems evaluation. SN 15001 will be in production configuration and will be tasked with systems validation, baggage compartment certification and environmental noise testing. A third Bombardier CR1900, SN 15002, will be used for emergency evacuation certification.

The Bombardier CR1900 is a minimum-change derivative of the 70-seat CR1700, sharing the enhancements developed from experience gained with the pace-setting, 50-passenger CR1100/200* Series, such as the lower floor for increased headroom and raised windows for better sightlines and overall cabin ambience.

Certification is scheduled for the third quarter of 2002, with customer deliveries beginning in the first quarter of 2003.

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