First flight of the CRJ1000, the final member of Bombardier's regional jet family, has slipped to "later this year," the airframer tells Flight.Bombardier did not specify a cause of the delay or if there was any impact on the late 2009 entry into service for the 100-seat aircraft.
At the Farnborough air show in July, Bombardier was quoted as saying the flight flight of C-FRJX, the first CRJ1000, would occur "very soon."
Bombardier had previously maintained that the first flight would take place by the end of this summer.
The aircraft, the longest member of the CRJ family, is a 128-foot 4.7-inch stretch of the original 50-seat CRJ200 aircraft.
Bombardier currently offers standard, extended range, and EuroLite variants of the CRJ1000 with ranges of 1,488 nm, 1,688 nm, and 1,030 nm respectively.
To date, the CRJ1000 has earned 39 firm orders from four customers - Adria Airways, Air France subsidiary Brit Air, Italian Operator Myair and an undisclosed operator.
Flightglobal.com and Air Transport Intelligence will be reporting on this more as the day progresses.
UPDATE 7:14 PM: Bombardier has backed away from its earlier statement and significantly clarified what was meant when it said first flight is "later this year." The Canadian airframer now says that first flight of the CRJ1000 will take place within weeks.
"We are en route to an entry-into-service date during the fourth quarter of 2009. We have undergone engine and systems tests. Following completion of all systems tests and safety of flight certification, we'll get into taxi tests followed by first flight."Runway Girl has a full report.
on August 27, 2008 6:09 AM | Reply
'Slippage of first flight' is becoming the exception rather than the norm...787, Superjet 100, CRJ 1000, A400, with the MRJ, C-series and A350 coming down the pike.
Manufacturers need to set more realistic timelines for bringing product to market. There is a need to balance the expectations of the marketing folk with the realities from engineering and production. Otherwise credibility tanks
on August 27, 2008 8:38 AM | Reply
'First flight slips..' is becoming more of the norm than the exception. Ditto the 787, Superjet 100, A400M and CRJ 1000.
Manufacturers should set more realistic timelines for bringing product to market. Marketing is often out of step with engineering/production; promises go unfulfilled and credibility tanks
With the C-series and A350 coming down the pike, let's see if they buck the trend or continue it.
on August 28, 2008 4:56 PM | Reply
A 128 foot stretch of the crj200?
That is one long dong!