Bombardier CSeries FTV1 on the ramp at Mirabel Airport (YMX) Photo: Bombardier Aero
UPDATE: September 15th, 7:30 PM ET
Bombardier has just confirmed that the first flight of CSeries Flight Test Vehicle 1 (FTV1) will happen tomorrow morning, Monday, September 16th. Winds are expected to be light and the sky mostly clear. Remember to follow me @airchive – I’ll be live-tweeting the event starting at 8:00 AM ET. Bombardier has set up a webcast of the first flight HERE, with pre-flight activities starting at 9:30 AM ET.
PREVIOUS UPDATE: September 14th
Late on Friday, Bombardier announced that the first flight of CSeries Flight Test Vehicle 1 (FTV1) is expected to take place this Monday, September 16th. Of course, the test flight team will be looking for optimal weather and aircraft readiness before making the decision to fly. The timing for the flight is expected to be set sometime on Sunday.
I’ll be at Mirabel on Monday to cover this exciting event for our friends at Airchive.com and I’ll be live tweeting on @airchive, so follow along there!
Bombardier posted a new video, hosted by Marc-Andr Pelletier, Principal Engineering Specialist. Mr. Pelletier explains how “shimmy” testing was done on FTV1’s landing gear. A couple of things stood out for me in the video. With Mr. Pelletier standing under the wing, I was surprised at how big FTV1 looks. And the awesome high-speed taxi run that starts at 2:18 doesn’t have any music in the background, just the quiet sound of FTV1’s PW1500G geared turbofans. I can’t wait to see and hear FTV1 on Monday.
Stay tuned; we’ll keep you updated.
Do Bombardier not do a raising then lowering of the nose at take off speed, like Boeing do as a last test before first flight?
Hi Mike,
Yes, Bombardier did those tests during the high-speed taxi runs. If you look carefully in this video, you can see the nosewheel lift slightly. It wasn’t a large rotation, just a small movement. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYz20ipaNwI
Can’t wait Howard!