{"id":359257,"date":"2024-10-21T19:03:17","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T23:03:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/?post_type=news&p=359257"},"modified":"2024-10-22T11:43:27","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T15:43:27","slug":"bombardier-global-8000-manufacturing-flight-testing-underway","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/news\/bombardier-global-8000-manufacturing-flight-testing-underway\/","title":{"rendered":"Bombardier Global 8000 manufacturing, flight testing underway"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By the time the business aviation community convenes again next year in Las Vegas, Nev., the first Bombardier Global 8000 might well be in service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Montreal-based company has completed 300 hours of flight testing on its next flagship aircraft, including the initial certification agency flight tests, and anticipates entry into service in the second half of 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re extremely happy with the results,\u201d Eric Martel, president and chief executive officer, told media in advance of the 2024 edition of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) conference and exhibition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manufacturing sites in Quebec, Texas, and Mexico, have begun production of major structural components, he said.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bombardier is positioning the Global 8000 as the fastest civil aircraft since the Concorde, with a top speed of Mach 0.94. and a range of 8,000 nautical miles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur customers will soon be able to step aboard an aircraft that sets the standard as the fastest and longest-range purpose-built business aircraft in history, allowing them to reach destinations farther and faster than ever before,\u201d said Jean-Christophe Gallagher, executive vice-president of aircraft sales and Bombardier Defense.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cConnectivity, comfort, and arriving refreshed are just as important today than speed and range, which is why we are proud that the Global 8000 will boast the best-in-class cabin altitude and offer Bombardier\u2019s signature smooth ride.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That high-end speed could unlock more city pairs for corporate travel, such as Dubai-Houston, Singapore-Los Angeles, and London-Perth. With four living spaces and a separate crew rest area, the Global 8000 will be capable of flying up to 8,000 nautical miles non-stop, the company suggested. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The in-flight experience will include passenger features introduced on the Global 7500 such as a full-size bed with stand-up shower in the en-suite, entertainment control and connectivity, an intuitive touch cabin management system, and Bombardier\u2019s l\u2019Op\u00e9ra directional audio sound system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Mark Masluch, Bombardier’s senior director of communications, addresses media during press day at NBAA-BACE 2024. Brent Bundy Photo <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The increased speed, range, and low cabin altitudes of the Global 8000 will be offered to Global 7500 customers as an upgrade package. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new aircraft\u2019s pending arrival is just one of several milestones the company is marking at NBAA. Since narrowing its corporate focus solely to business jets in 2020, Bombardier has seen total revenue increase from $5.6 billion to over $8 billion this year, and expects to exceed $9 billion in the near future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Martel said much of that growth could come from expanding its services and defence portfolios, which generate about 28 percent of revenue, but could reach 50 percent by 2030, making Bombardier a \u201cmuch more diversified\u201d operation, he noted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday, we are in a very solid position,\u201d he said. \u201cAt the same time, we are changing the profile of our company. In 2030, this company will be much bigger. Our revenue will continue to grow.\u201d Revenue from the services division is about $2 billion, double from just a few years ago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In December 2023, the U.S. Army awarded Bombardier Defense a contract for one Global 6500 aircraft, with options for two more, to serve as a prototype for the High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System (HADES), an intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platform providing deep-sensing capabilities in multidomain operations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is one of the many examples of an application of a Bombardier aircraft for very important missions,\u201d said Gallagher.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a flexible company that is \u201cnot shy about doing the hard things,\u201d Bombardier is bringing \u201ca breath of fresh air\u201d to a defence sector struggling with rigid procurement practices. \u201cWe have been constantly adapting our aircraft to fit these missions and the customers\u2019 needs. I think we are starting, slowly but surely, to be recognized by a very different type of customer than what we have had before,\u201d he said, which could see the defence division grow significantly in the coming years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even as the Global 8000 approaches entry into service, the Global 7500 is still marking records, including for range, speed, and take-off performance. And with the Challenger 3500, unveiled in 2021, on the verge of its 100th delivery, and the Challenger 300 series approaching 1,000 aircraft, responsive aircraft support is critical for future success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bombardier has 5,000 business jets in service and in need of worldwide service. The company has recently added one million square feet to its service capacity at 100 locations. More than 70,000 parts per month move among its suppliers, distribution hubs, and service centres. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge logistics machine,\u201d noted Paul Sislian, executive vice-president of Bombardier Aftermarket Services & Strategy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With about 300 aircraft requiring service on a daily basis, the company\u2019s challenge is to have the \u201cright footprint\u201d globally, to be \u201cwhere our customers need us to be,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bombardier said it has completed 300 hours of flight testing on its next flagship aircraft, including the initial certification agency flight tests, and anticipates entry into service in the second half of 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":359255,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[35,99318],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-359257","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-aviation","category-oem","entry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/359257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=359257"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/359255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=359257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=359257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiesmag.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=359257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}