Building Will Be Constructed To LEED Environmental Standard

Bombardier Aerospace Tuesday celebrated the ground breaking for the first CSeries aircraft building in Québec, Canada. Located at Mirabel, 45 minutes north of Montréal, the Complete Integrated Aircraft Systems Test Area (CIASTA) is a testing and systems-proving facility that will house a virtual CSeries test aircraft. The CIASTA will test aircraft systems for reliability and functionality one year before the first prototype aircraft flies.

Attended by Bombardier’s employees, suppliers, partners, customers and the media, the groundbreaking lays the path for the new aircraft’s entry into service in 2013. “It’s a red-letter day for the program and an important day for Bombardier Aerospace,” noted Guy Hachey, President and Chief Operating Officer, Bombardier Aerospace in his remarks to the assembled guests. “Today we begin work on the facilities that will be the site of the first CSeries test aircraft. Eventually we will erect a complex of  buildings here that will total 860,000 square feet – that’s the size of 15 football fields – to produce the CSeries family of aircraft.”

The CIASTA will be constructed as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) building, the first such building for Bombardier Aerospace in the world. LEED is a third-party certification program and an internationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings. The design and construction of the CIASTA is on track and is expected to be ready for test rig assembly next year. Wieland-Dafco Québec Inc. and Ghafari Associates LLC have been contracted to construct the building.

Bombardier C300 Artist's Concept

“We seek consistency and uniformity when it comes to being greener whether it’s our aircraft or the facilities in which they are tested and built,” said Mr. Hachey. The CIASTA will house, among other things, the CSeries aircraft Integrated Systems Test and Certification Rig (ISTCR) or Iron Bird as it is usually called. This will be the first complete test vehicle enabling earlier product maturity. Flight control systems, avionics, electrical and environmental controls will be tested one year ahead of the actual flight test program. Other test articles will include an Interiors Rig, a Systems Integration Test Stand (SITS), an Engineering Simulator (ESIM) and Flight Controls Integration Lab (FCIL).

The first CSeries aircraft test article - a fuselage test barrel - arrived ahead of schedule at its Saint-Laurent, Québec site from China on August 19, 2009. The test barrel is now being prepared for fatigue testing including pressure cycle testing representative of the life of the aircraft.

Since launching the CSeries family of aircraft at the Farnborough Air Show in July 2008, Bombardier has recorded firm orders for 50 CS100 and CS300 aircraft from Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Lease Corporation International Group.

FMI: www.bombardier.com