Bombardier expects to complete all the so-called data sets for the C Series airliner by year-end, as the Canadian company continues its deliberate march toward a second-half 2012 first flight of the 100- to 125-seat CS100. In fact, according to program vice president and general manager Rob Dewar, the program has progressed “well over” halfway through its detailed design phase, and several parts have already arrived at supplier sites and in Mirabel, Quebec, at Bombardier’s Complete Integrated Aircraft Systems Test Area (Ciasta)–a testing and proving facility designed to assess systems for reliability and functionality before the first prototype flies.
Dewar recently told AIN that the first wave of systems component delivery had begun, as suppliers began commissioning their rigs. Those suppliers need anywhere between three and six months to “mature” their own systems to ensure they function as planned. Once they do that, the systems arrive at the Ciasta, where Bombardier performs the integration tests.
