Bombardier Receives Two STC for Tucson Completion Center

With the process of delivering completed aircraft one of the greatest challenges for manufacturers of ultra-long-range business jets, Bombardier has implemented measures to get more Global Express aircraft in the hands of operators.

Most importantly, Bombardier recently received two sets of Supplemental Type Certificates for interior work at its Tucson, AZ, Completion Center.

"To be able to complete and certify the aircraft in-house is a great advantage because it reduces our overall cycle time while ensuring high production quality and safety," said Jim Ziegler, Bombardier VP/GM, business aviation services and Learjet operations.

Bombardier has also added outside companies to help with Global Express completions, and recently designated Marshall Aerospace of Cambridge, England, as one of them. Marshall joins BFGoodrich in Everett, WA, and The Jet Center, Van Nuys, CA, as interior and avionics completion centers.

With Bombardier's own completion centers in Montreal and Tucson, the company's interior completion capacity has increased to 46 Global Expresses annually.

Bombardier delivered the 50th Global Express to its Montreal Completion Center in June, and as of early July the 14 aircraft in service had accumulated 5,300 flight hours and about 2,300 landing`-with a dispatch reliability of 97.92%.

"Given that we are very early in the program, I think this is the best entry into service of a clean-sheet design aircraft that we have been associated with in 30 years in aviation," said Jon Ellis, director of flight operations for operator Sprint.

And there are plans afoot to improve the dispatch reliability of the Global Express to the same level as the Challenger 604.

Part of the plan to accomplish that follows along on the expansion of Bombardier's worldwide service network for the Global Express: two facilities in North America (Bombardier's Tucson facility and Innotech-Execaire Aviation in Montreal), two in Europe (Lufthansa Bombardier Aviation Services in Berlin and Marshall Aerospace in the UK), and one in Asia (Jamco in Japan).

Internationally, the Global Express has been particularly successful at winning special mission contracts, the most significant being the UK's Airborne Stand-Off Radar (ASTOR) system. The UK Ministry of Defence will purchase five Global Expresses as the airborne platform for Raytheon's radar and communications systems for long-range ground surveillance.

Airframe modifications for ASTOR Global Expresses are being designed and manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace's Shorts division in Belfast. Radomes are being supplied by BAE Systems, and integration of the first aircraft is being done by a UK team at Raytheon Aircraft in Greenville, TX-with subsequent aircraft integration being done at Raytheon's Broughton plant in Wales.

Another important win in the special missions area was the GX's selection as Japan's Civil Aviation Bureau flight inspection and airways calibration aircraft. The aircraft received its interior at Marshall Aerospace, and then went to Aerodata Flugmesstechnik in Germany to receive its special mission payload before final delivery to the JCAB.

Bombardier credits several attributes of the Global Express to its success as a special mission aircraft: large cabin and floor space, increased ground clearance to support mission sensor installation, strong electrical power generating ability, and future growth potential.

"(The Global Express) continues a rich legacy at Bombardier Aerospace in this fast-growing field," said Global Express program manager Luc Fouquette. "Time and again, our products- including the Challenger and Learjet families of aircraft-have proven themselves as ideal platforms in their respective categories for special missions operations."

Other likely special mission assignments suitable to Global Express include electronic intelligence (ELINT) and signals intelligence (SIGINT) roles.

The Global Express has received letters of approval from 23 member countries of the European Joint Aviation Authorities since last year. Bombardier says such approvals give customers more flexibility for registering the aircraft in their country of residence and ensures better market acceptance of the airplane.

By Barry Rosenberg