Aircraft
CRJ1000 avoids hiccups in run-up to first flight
As analysts and pundits debated the merits and launch prospects of Bombardier’s C Series airliner, the Canadian manufacturer quietly went about its busines

As analysts and pundits debated the merits and launch prospects of Bombardier’s C Series airliner, the Canadian manufacturer quietly went about its business readying yet another version of its CRJ series for first flight. Plans called for the only CRJ1000 prototype to take to the skies by the end of last month or early this month, in time to allow a 14-month flight test schedule to culminate in certification and delivery to launch customer Brit Air during next year’s fourth quarter.

By now Bombardier has accumulated considerable experience certifying CRJs, the latest accounting for the fourth major variant of the now 16-year-old platform. So when virtually no news about possible delays surfaced between the time Bombardier launched the program in March last year and the days leading to expected first flight, the accomplishment went largely unnoticed.