CSeries CS300 First Flight

Bombardier’s first flight-test vehicle for the 135-seat CS300 version of the new CSeries airliner, aircraft FTV7, made its first flight from Mirabel, near Montreal, on Feb 27. Credit: Bombardier

Accompanied by a Bombardier CRJ900 acting as the chase plane, the first CS300 flew for 4 hr., 58 min., reaching a maximum altitude of 41,000 ft. and a speed of 255 kt. Credit: Bombardier

Bombardier says the aircraft and its systems performed as expected and, with no post-flight modifications required, FTV7 completed its second flight on March 3. Credit: Bombardier

The first of two CS300 test aircraft joins four CS100s in the flight-test program, which has logged more than 1,000 hr. since the CSeries’s first flight in September 2013. Credit: Bombardier

Andy Litavniks, copilot for the CSeries maiden flight, was pilot-in-command for the CS300 flight, with co-pilot Christophe Marchand and flight-test engineers Anthony Dunne and Mark Metivet. Credit: Bombardier

The first and final test aircraft for the 110-seat CS100, aircraft FTV5, is expected to fly later in March. FTV5 is the first CSeries with a complete passenger interior. Credit: Bombardier

The second CS300 test aircraft, FTV8, will fly later this year and focus on testing interior changes over the CS100. The longer CS300 can seat up to 160 passengers. Credit: Bombardier

The CSeries is powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney PW1500G geared turbofans, rated at 21,000-23,300 lb. thrust on the longer and heavier CS300. Credit: Bombardier

Flight testing of the CSeries is spilt between Mirabel, where the aircraft are assembled, and Wichita, Kansas, to take advantage of the better winter weather. Credit: Bombardier

Bombardier has 243 firm orders for the CSeries,180 of them for the larger CS300. Total commitments for both variants stand at 563 aircraft. Credit: Bombardier