![\"Global](\"https:\/\/www.aircharter.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Global-7000-1024x576.jpg\")
Global 7000<\/p><\/div>\n
The Global 7000\/8000 program is to become the crown jewel of the manufacturer\u2019s business aircraft fleets. Bombardier has been taking an \u201call hands on deck\u201d approach to getting the Global 7000, the first of the program, to market by the second half of 2018. Unveiled in 2010, the Global 7000 has suffered delays as Bombardier struggled to manage cash flow among several research and development programs in recent years. The 8000, meanwhile, is waiting in the wings while Bombardier works to get the Global 7000 to market.<\/p>\n
\u201c<\/span>First flight is a major gate to continue building the program\u2019s momentum, and will also trigger some much needed cash from deposits due from order holders,\u201d said industry analyst Rolland Vincent.<\/p>\n But despite those cash flow issues Ouellette said there has been no compromise on the aircraft. With four distinct living spaces and a 54-foot, seven-inch-long cabin, the 7000 will be larger than any other Global (and any other purpose-built business jet, for that matter), something that Ouellette said makes it \u201csegment defining.\u201d It is also showing that it can meet the 7,400-nm range and a speed of Mach 0.925.<\/p>\n The $72.5 million jet has been a strong seller by all indications. Bombardier officials noted that the Global 7000\/8000 program has contributed significantly to its backlog, which stood at $17 billion at midyear.<\/p>\n While Bombardier does not disclose orders, Vincent, who is president of Rolland Vincent Associates, estimates that Bombardier has accumulated orders for about two hundred Global 7000\/8000s, the vast majority being for the Global 7000. \u201cI am sure they are keeping theGlobal 8000 on their long-term radar, but the market has clearly spoken that cabin trumps range when we are out at these numbers,\u201d he said, referring to the 8000\u2019s shorter cabin but longer range. \u201cThe interior of the Global 7000 is pretty spectacular, and Bombardier has been demonstrating tremendous leadership in developing the cabins of the future. It has nicely leveraged its early-on experience with widebody Challengers to raise the bar in aircraft interiors.\u201d He cautions, however, that competitors are \u201cfast following.\u201d<\/p>\n The Global 7000 customer base has held strong, even with the two-year delay in the program announced last year. Bombardier has continually kept customers informed about the progress of the program, shoring up their loyalty.<\/p>\n The program is \u201cprogressing well,\u201d Ouellette said. All safety-of-flight testing that led up to the first flight had been accomplished by mid-October. He noted the company had been methodical, ensuring complete ground testing to make sure that when the aircraft entered flight test, it would be \u201cless in discovery mode and more in validation mode.\u201d<\/p>\n Bombardier moved FTV1<\/span>, which is testing basic performance, into a dedicated hangar that focuses strictly on \u201ceverything we need to do from an experimental point of view,\u201d Ouellette said, adding, \u201cIt\u2019s a highly instrumented <\/div><\/div> The program took a step forward this past spring when the GE<\/span> Passport engine received certification. That also facilitated \u201cgoing from discovery to validation,\u201d he said, and \u201cgives us strong confidence\u2026as we go into flight-tests.\u201d<\/p>\n In October, the Wichita-based flight-test team had been in Toronto, where the aircraft was assembled, to ease the handover into flight-test. Initial flights were to take place in Toronto, before the aircraft moved to Wichita to embark on the full flight-test program.<\/p>\n The flight-test program will use five aircraft. Ouellette emphasized that alongside FTV1<\/span> there has been \u201ca lot of focus on subsequent FTV<\/span>s.\u201d In fact all remaining FTV<\/span>s are in various stages of production. FTV2<\/span>, which will be used for engine testing, is nearly complete, with engines and landing gear installed and the floorboards beginning to close. The aircraft has already had initial power on.<\/p>\n FTV3<\/span>, which will be used for avionics\/electrical checks, has the cockpit installed, fuselage and wings joined and landing gear installed. FTV4<\/span>, which will primarily test the interior, is also in final assembly with the wing joined and the center fuselage received. FTV5<\/span> \u201cis on its way,\u201d added Ouellette. \u201cIt\u2019s a full pipeline.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond the aircraft production, the company is taking special care to ensure that progress with the interiors matches the pace of the aircraft. With the 7000\u2019s four-zone cabin, he said, the company has a \u201cstrong focus on this program to do things differently on the interior.\u201d<\/p>\n Bombardier has received a complete shipset of furniture, which Ouellette stressed \u201cis not a mockup. It\u2019s a real one that passed flammability so it can fly.\u201d The components will undergo testing in a rig specifically designed to represent the aluminum fuselage of the 7000. \u201cWe reinvented the way we do this,\u201d he said. The cabinets will be installed for form, fit and function testing, including for natural movement and deflections of the fuselage. \u201cOnce that\u2019s done and we\u2019ve ironed out all the bugs, we can take that shipset and put it into FTV4<\/span> and go fly. The only thing we can\u2019t simulate on the ground is flying.\u201d<\/p>\n This testing is particularly important to ensure that the Global \u00a07000 program remains on track for its timeline, he said, noting that Bombardier has folded \u201ca lot of innovation into this. To meet the second half of 2018, lessons learned on the completion side have shown us that we want to do this a year ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n While the Global 7000 assembled in Toronto, the aircraft will be completed at Bombardier\u2019s center in Montreal that outfits other Globals and Challengers. Executives say they will share more detailed plans for support and maintainability as the flight-test program matures, but they have hinted that maintenance intervals will be longer than anything reached with current-production aircraft.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Source:\u00a0Ain Online<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bombardier\u2019s flagship Global 7000 felt the wind beneath its wings for the first time on November 4, completing a two-hour, 27-minute maiden flight from the company\u2019s facility in Toronto. Under the control of captain Ed Grabman, copilot Jeff Karnes and flight-test engineer Jason Nickel<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":29506,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aircharter"],"yoast_head":"\nFLIGHT-TEST PROGRESS<\/strong><\/h2>\n