Bombardier Aerospace
Bombardier Aerospace is a division of the
Bombardier group and the third largest aerospace workforce (behind
Boeing and
Airbus) and the fourth largest in yearly delivery of commercial airplanes (behind Boeing, Airbus and
Embraer).
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.
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Lufthansa CityLine CRJ-100. |
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.
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 and vibration supression (NVS) system that reduces noise considerably. This system has led 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:
Business Jets
Product list and details (date information from Bombardier)| Aircraft | Description | Seats | Launch date | 1st flight | 1st delivery | Scheduled to cease production |
| CRJ-100 | regional jet | up to 50 | | | 1992 |
| CRJ-200 | regional jet | up to 50 |
| CRJ-700 | regional jet | 64-75 | | 1999 |
| CRJ-900 | regional jet | 86-90 | | 2003 |
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 postponing of the programme's launch in January 2006. Bombardier has stated they would keep a small team of roughly 50 employees working on the C-Series marketing plan and including other risk sharing partners in the programme.[
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2]
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.
Q Series Turboprops
The
Q series is the latest iteration of the
De Havilland Canada Dash 8. The Q is for "quiet".
Product list and details (date information from Bombardier)| Aircraft | Description | Seats | Launch date | 1st flight | 1st delivery | Scheduled to cease production |
| De Havilland Canada Dash 8/Bombardier Aerospace Q100 | turbo prop | 33-37 | | | 1984 |
| De Havilland Canada Dash 8/Bombardier Aerospace Q200 Enhanced engines; "Hot/High" version of the -100 | turbo prop | 33-37 | | 1986 | 1989 |
| De Havilland Canada Dash 8/Bombardier Aerospace Q300 Stretched -100 series | turbo prop | 48-50 | | 1989 |
| De Havilland Canada Dash 8/Bombardier Aerospace Q400 Features 6-blade, low speed props for low noise | turbo prop | 68-78 | 1998 | 2000 |
Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet*
Official site*
Learjet Ambulance Jets
