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Aviation History
2001
2001 - 3166.PDF
Bombardier Continental DESIGNED ___ . . Bombardier's new business jet has been designed to fill a niche in the super mid-size range and dominate a market for an expected 1,300 aircraft over 10 years GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC CUTAWAY / GIUSEPPE PICARELLA With a line-up ranging from the light Learjet 31A to the long-range Global Express, Bombardier had the luxury of designing its newest business jet to fill a specific niche in its product portfolio. As a result, everything about the aircraft is optimised around the US coast- to-coast mission, even its name - Continental. The niche the Canadian company iden tified was in the emerging super mid-size market, filling the gap in price and perfor mance between its mid-size Learjet 60 and large Challenger 604. With the Continental, the company aims to dominate a market expected to total almost 1,300 aircraft over 10 years. The Continental is the product of the most extensive market research Bom bardier has ever undertaken, says executive vice-president, engineering and product development, John Holding. The two-year process began in 1996 with a survey of chief executives to identify what they liked and disliked about current aircraft. This isolated the real drivers of value in the mid-size market and shaped the Continental. The resulting aircraft is relentlessly con ventional in its design and ruthlessly opti mised for its mission. "We had a very spe cific target - to fill a gap in our product line," says Continental product director Claude Chidiac. "We were very clear about what we wanted to do with this aircraft. It's aimed squarely at the continental mission." The Continental is also designed to a price point - under $15 million at 1998 prices. "Super mid-size aircraft are becom ing more expensive. There is a need for a true transcontinental aircraft that will not break the bank," says Chidiac. Existing super mid-size jets cost $18.6-18.8 million, while the Continental's closest competitor, Raytheon's Hawker Horizon, costs $16.9 million but is promoted as an interconti nental aircraft. "There was much more design-to-cost discipline," says Holding. "We established the price the market can bear, which drove us to design for a cost at which we can still make a profit. It's a challenging price, but we have achieved it without compromis ing the quality of the aircraft." Such cost considerations may be relatively new to business aviation, but Bombardier faces similar price pressures in its regional air craft, he says. The aircraft is also designed for low operating costs. "In other business aircraft, DOCs [direct operating costs] turn out what they are. We specifically looked at life-cycle costs," says Holding. This was achieved by keeping the aircraft simple, carefully selecting components and work ing closely with risk-sharing partners. The maintenance service plan available with the new Honeywell AS907 engine is a major contributor to the Continental's competitive DOCs. Fractional influences "DOCs are key to fractional ownership," says Chidiac. Fractionals achieve much higher utilisation rates than traditional business jet operators and experience from Bombardier's Flex jet programme strongly influenced the Continental's design. The first four or five production aircraft are des tined for Flex jet, Holding says, where they will accumulate hours quickly and lead the fleet in uncovering any early issues. Designing for the continental mission has resulted in an aircraft with a 5,700km (3,100nm) range, able to carry eight pas- Bombardier's Continental is relentlessly conventional in design and ruthlessly optimised for its US coast- to-coast 2000! 0 sengers coast-to-coast across the USA at Mach 0.8 against the strongest winds. At the same time, balanced field length is under 1,530m (5,000ft), thereby provid ing access to smaller airports, while initial cruise altitude is 41,000ft (12,500m) and maximum cruise altitude 45,000ft, allow ing the aircraft to climb quickly above crowded airspace. The cabin is among the largest in its class, 2.18m wide and 1.85m high (86in and 76in, respectively) with a flat floor large enough to provide double club seat ing for eight passengers, a forward galley and an aft toilet and baggage compart ment. The drag of the widebody cross-sec tion is offset by area-ruling of the aft fuse lage. Although acknowledging that speed is important for large business jets, Holding believes MO.8-0.82 is sufficient for the Continental's shorter missions. An all-metal airframe avoids the poten tial certification and ownership risks Bombardier sees in the composite fuselage of Raytheon's Hawker Horizon. "We made a key decision not to experiment with new technology, so we have a conventional metal airframe," says Chidiac. Holding 66 11-17 SEPTEMBER 2001 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.fliqhtinternational.com
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