NEW LEARJETS FROM BOMBARDIER

seen as a vital corporate tool? In the US, hundreds of Fortune 500 companies now flaunt their own aircraft, with companies arguing that this vital

quSoted conveyance saves time and boosts productivity. A recent CNN report Bombardier has announced that it is on track with its three new Learjet business aircraft. The Learjet 85 aircraft programme which redefines the mid-size segment continues to progress towards first flight with four test aircraft in various stages of fabrication. The first complete pressure fuselage, including the nose and aft fuselage, is undergoing final validation before being shipped from Queretaro, Mexico, to Wichita, Kansas. Launched on October 30, 2007, with a customer-driven clean-sheet design, the Learjet 85 aircraft powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW307B engines is the largest, fastest and most capable Learjet aircraft ever. The recently launched Learjet 70 and Learjet 75 aircraft programme is progressing well and the first two flight test aircraft, a modified Learjet 40 XR jet and a modified Learjet 45 XR aircraft, have already logged more than 135 flights, as the two are used to continue to develop the avionics that provide the core of the Learjet aircraft’s vision flight deck. business aviation. Globalisation, increased travel requirements by business people and a general positive trend towards the acceptance of business aircraft use are among the contributors to increased activity in the region. The Bombardier Business Aircraft Market Forecast, published in June 2012, predicts business aviation industry deliveries of 1,345 aircraft in India for the 20-year period covering 2012-31.