Bombardier Aerospace

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Bombardier Aerospace is a division of the Bombardier group and the third largest commercial aircraft manufacturer in the world.

The aerospace division was launched with the acquisition of Canadair, at the time owned by the Government of Canada and a company that had recorded the then largest loss in history of any Canadian corporation. Politically, the Federal Government could not allow the Montreal, Quebec based company to close, and any hints that it might do so were met with media stories of the Government's Avro Arrow disaster. Quebec separatists have long complained that Federal Government does nothing for Quebec. The loss of many desirable highly paid jobs at Canadair would have confirmed their complaint. Image:Lufthansa.crj-100.d-aclp.arp.jpg

After acquiring Canadair in 1986 and restoring it to profitability, Bombardier acquired the money-losing Boeing subsidiary, de Havilland Aircraft of Canada based in Toronto, Ontario. A few years later in 1989, Bombardier, by then experts at buying companies cheaply and turning them around, acquired the near-bankrupt Short Brothers aircraft manufacturing company in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Shortly thereafter, in 1990 Bombardier acquired the bankrupt Learjet Company of Wichita, Kansas, builder of the world-famous Learjet business aircraft.

1 Aircraft
2 See also
3 External links

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Aircraft

Bombardier builds business jets, short-range airliners and fire-fighting amphibious aircraft and also provides defence-related services. Some of their aircraft designs originated in the design departments of Canadair or de Havilland Aircraft of Canada. The company has been adept at developing quiet turboprop airliners capable of using urban airports with relatively short runways and steep glide slopes.

Current production aircraft models include the Learjet family of aircraft, the Challenger 300, Challenger 605, Global 5000, Global Express, Dash 8 (now known as the Q series) and the CRJ series. The Learjets are light to mid-size business jets. The Challenger and Global Families of aircraft are larger jet aircraft with extended range. The Q series (Dash-8) are high-wing turboprop aircraft, while the CRJ is a low-wing, commercial jet with rear mounted engines. The CRJ is a derivative of the Canadair CL-600 Challenger business jet.

Both commercial aircraft models (The Dash-8 and CRJ) have similar 2x2 seating, overhead bin storage, lavatories, and galleys. The latest Dash-8 models have an advanced noise cancelling system that reduces noise considerably. This system has lead to the adoption of the name "Q-Series." In this designation, the original aircraft name is shortened, using only the sub-designation of the aircraft model. For example, the DeHaviland DHC-8-400 becomes simply the "Q400", with the "Q" standing for "Quiet."

These aircraft are selling well in a competitive market and are enabling some less popular routes (sectors in airline parlance) to be profitably served by scheduled air services with relatively low environmental impact at the airports. They have recently mounted and endured some unusual legal battles with a key competitor Embraer of Brazil focused upon allegations of unfair state assistance in export markets.

The current production amphibious fire-fighting aircraft is the CL-415, and it has a derivative amphibious utility aircraft.

Each model is available in different versions:

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Business Jets

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Canadair Regional Jets

Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet CRJ-100: 50 seats. Original model; Out of production
Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet CRJ-200: 50 seats. Enhanced version of the -100
Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet CRJ-700: 64-75 seats. Stretched -200
Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet CRJ-900: 86-90 seats. Stretched -700

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CSeries

During the development of the EMB-145 series, Bombardier had a plan for an 85-120 seat aircraft. This was the BRJ-X project. Instead of continuing development, the CRJ-900 was built instead. However the shelved project was revived, and reformulated into the CSeries.

In July 2004, Bombardier announced its intention of developing a new family of airliners named the CSeries and capable of carrying 110 or 135 passengers. For the first time, Bombardier would have been competing directly with the smallest offerings from the much larger Boeing and Airbus. Bombardier expected the aircraft to be available by 2010. In March 2005, Bombardier's board decided to promote the plane to airlines to garner advance orders, however the failure to secure any significant orders lead to the programme's cancellation in January 2006. [1]

In May 2005, Bombardier announced agreements with the Federal Government of Canada, the Provincial Government of Quebec and the Government of the United Kingdom of supports and loans for the C-Series project. Final assembly of the aircraft was to be at Mirabel Airport, outside Montreal, Quebec. Substantial portions of the aircraft were to be constructed at Bombardier facilities in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

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