Mike Arcamone, president Bombardier commercial aircraft, has reiterated his confidence in the CSeries programme, both in terms of the aircraft development and its sales effort.
Unveiling a conditional order for 15 aircraft on 8 July, taking its backlog to 153, Arcamone said that the airframer was still on track to achieve its target of 20-30 customers with 300 orders by the time the CS100 enters service in 2013.
"Today we unveiled [customer] number 12 and we are working with potential customers. We are not looking for one big order, but a big global diversified customer base in all regions."
Assembly of the first flight-test aircraft - FTV-1 - is proceeding to schedule, alongside tests of all the key components.
Rob Dewar, vice-president and general manager, CSeries, says its test system for its Liebherr Aerospace-supplied landing gear was commissioned last week. The two final test systems - for flight controls and high-lift systems - are due to be inaugurated in the next 10 days.
"We were driving really hard to get those done for the show, but we are still on track," he says.
It is also working with supplier Parker Hannifin to ensure the development of the aircraft's fly-by-wire controls keeps to its demanding schedule.
"We do have some challenges but we have made great progress with [systems supplier] Parker [Hannifin] and we are satisfied with that. It is key to have that tested and validated before we fly," says Dewar.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
