Learjet 85 Production Officially Begins, Certification in 2013

Bombardier Aerospace announced today that production of the new Learjet 85 has officially begun and reaffirmed its commitment to a 2013 certification.

“It’s all been about trying to tune the manufacturing recipe to allow repeatability,” Acs said. “We looked for quality, and that gives you confidence to go [forward]. So we’re proud to say we’re going.”

By James Wynbrandt • Contributor - Business Aviation

October 10, 2011

Bombardier Aerospace announced today that production of the new Learjet 85 has officially begun and reaffirmed its commitment to a 2013 certification. With the aircraft level critical design review completed, “The next natural step is fabrication, taking parts and putting them together,” said Ralph Acs, v-p and general manager, Learjet, Bombardier Business Aircraft. “We’ve got a lot of momentum, a lot of great work has been completed and we’ve got a solid, experienced team.”

The Learjet 85 is made almost entirely of composite materials. The fuselage will be constructed in Queretaro, Mexico; the wing components in Belfast, Northern Ireland and wing assembly in Queretaro; and additional components made in Montreal, Quebec, with final assembly taking place in Wichita. Forty-one suppliers around the world will make parts for the aircraft. In recent months Bombardier has been setting up the production facilities, putting tooling in place and building parts to perfect manufacturing techniques. Several test fuselages and key elements of the composite structure have been produced to validate manufacturing and assembly processes, and production of the first-flight test vehicle is under way.

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