Bombardier CS300 makes maiden flight
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Bombardier‘s new 150-seat passenger jet, the CS300, took to the skies for the first time on Friday.
The new fuel-efficient aircraft, which is expected to challenge the popular Airbus A320 and Boeing 737, took off from Montreal’s Mirabel International Airport on 27 February for a five-hour test flight.
The pilot, Captain Andris Litavniks, said the aircraft performed well. He was also the co-pilot on the inaugural flight of the CS100 – the smaller 110-seat version of Bombardier’s CSeries programme.
“It’s a pilot’s aircraft and handled exactly as predicted by simulation,” said Capt. Litavniks. “Pilots will find it easy to transition from the CS100 to the CS300 aircraft or vice versa, which will greatly reduce training costs for operators using both models.”
Bombardier now has one CS300 and five CS100 aircraft being tested. The CS100 is expected to be certified in the second half of 2015 and enter service shortly afterwards. The CS300 aircraft is expected to follow about six months after the CS100.
Rivalling today’s popular single-aisle jets, Bombardier claims the CS300 aircraft offers “the best seat-mile cost in its category”.
To date, Canada’s Bombardier has taken firm orders for 243 CSeries aircraft, the majority of which are CS300s. Major customers include Korean Air and Lufthansa.
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