Rob Dewar, VP & GM CSeries Program, spoke with us today about the tightening timeline the program is facing. Although this is not big news, he shares that the program has seen significant benefits from its investments in its CIASTA – they have been able to accumulate ten times the flight hours that a typical program (flying an airplane) does. The assembly team is also seemingly trained and well down the learning curve. But, based on this call we think there won’t be a first flight in 2012. First quarter 2013 seems more likely.
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Thanks for this great interview! I only wish you had asked him about the empennage. Like the wing, it is all composite; and like the 787 horizontal stab, it is manufactured by Alenia in Italy. I haven’t seen any picture of the empennage anywhere. And no one is talking about it. One is required for CAST and another one for FTV1. But where are they? When will they be delivered to Bombardier?
The empennage has two components, a vertical and a horizontal stabilizer. But what do they look like? And what CFRP technique did Alenia use? Automated Fibre Placement or Resin Transfer Infusion? Please Alenia, post some pictures!