Company Support For The 25-Year-Old Design

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft has launched its Extended Service Program (ESP) to extend the economic life of the Dash 8-100 turboprop to 120,000 flight cycles from the original 80,000 flight cycles. The launch customer for the Dash 8-100 ESP is Widerøe’s Flyveselskap AS of Norway.

The Dash 8-100 aircraft entered service in December 1984, and today - as its 25th anniversary approaches - there are an estimated 240 in service throughout the world. Bombardier estimates the near-term market for the ESP would be the approximately 100 Dash 8-100 aircraft which have flown 50,000 or more cycles.

“The first Dash 8-100 aircraft in our fleet entered service in 1993 and have each done about 60,000 cycles so the Extended Service Program will give the airplanes another 10 or 12 years of useful life,” said Lars Kobberstad, Chief Executive Officer of Widerøe.

“The Dash 8-100 aircraft is a robust and reliable turboprop and the extension program will further enhance its operational value to customers,” said Benjamin Boehm, Vice-President, Programs, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. “The ESP will be accomplished through structural and engineering analysis, utilizing extensive fatigue and test data that has been accumulated on the Dash 8 aircraft, and will be initiated through a Service Bulletin, which will make reference to a new Maintenance Supplement.”

As launch customer, Widerøe will incorporate the Service Bulletin and Maintenance Program Supplement and arrange for the replacement of some structural and systems components as identified by the Service Bulletin.

While initially aimed at the Dash 8-100 aircraft model, the ESP could be expanded to apply to the Dash 8-200 and Dash 8-300 aircraft as they approach the 80,000 cycle mark. Mr. Boehm said that third-party facilities are interested in offering other Dash 8-100 upgrades such as new interiors and the addition of a modern “glass” cockpit with large LCD displays.

FMI: www.bombardier.com