Business

'Delight' at new learjet's first flight in america

BOMBARDIER has completed the first flight of its learjet 85 aircraft - the wings of which are made partly in Belfast. The manufacturer said the business jet "will redefine the mid-size segment" when it becomes available. The flight departed from Wichita-Mid continent international airport in the Us. The maiden flight lasted just over two hours and saw the aircraft reach an altitude of 30,000 feet and an air speed of 250 knots (287 mph). A spokeswoman for Bombardier aerospace in Belfast said: "We are proud and delighted that the new learjet 85 business jet has had a successful first flight, particularly given our involvement in the programme."

"We are manufacturing the composite wing skins and spar components for the aircraft using a patented advanced composite process developed by our engineers.

"this is similar to the process we are using to manufacture and assemble the wings for Bombardier's new cseries commuter aircraft.

"We believe the application of this new technology represents a step change in aircraft wing design and manufacture, and we are pleased that our employees' hard work and efforts have come to fruition in what is another historic milestone for our company."

Bombardier Business air-craft president Éric Martel said the maiden flight was "a very proud and thrilling moment ".

"incredible hard work and dedication from our people went into this aircraft development program. This includes our sites in Wichita, Querétaro and Montréal, as well as our facility in Belfast, northern Ireland.

"We are all very excited to see this new aircraft, the fastest and most spacious learjet aircraft, take to the skies, and we look forward to a very successful flight test program," he said.

Bombardier acquired learjet in 1990 and has since launched eight high-performance and fuel-efficient learjet aircraft.