Bombardier Adds Fourth Global 7000 To Flight-test Program

Bombardier’s Global 7000 flight-test program has expanded to four aircraft with the recent first flight of FTV4. The flight of the fourth aircraft occurred less than a year after the flight-test program kicked off with the Nov. 4, 2016, flight of flight-test vehicle 1 (FTV1). FTV2 joined the program on March 4, followed by FTV3 on May 10.

The fleet has remained busy, with the program aircraft accruing 500 hours by early July, and on the day FTV 4 took to the skies, so too did the other three flight-test vehicles. In all, Bombardier plans to use a total of five flying test aircraft in the program. As of last summer, FTV 5 was making its way through final assembly.

The first three flight-test vehicles have been probing the flight envelope and basic handling, engines, and avionics/electrical systems. In addition to continued certification testing, FTV4 and FTV5 are scheduled for cabin testing. Bombardier is calling the fifth FTV the “masterpiece…that will complete entry-into-service validations.”

The Global 7000 will be Bombardier’s flagship business jet. It will offer a 7,400-nautical-mile range, Mach 0.925 speed, and a four-zone interior, and is scheduled for certification in the second half of 2018.