Bombardier, CAE Win Interim Approvals For CS100 Sims

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft and CAE announced today that Transport Canada, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) have awarded Interim Level C qualification on the full-flight simulator (FFS), and qualified the flight training device (FTD) for the all-new CS100 aircraft.

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft and CAE announced today that Transport Canada, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) have awarded Interim Level C qualification on the full-flight simulator (FFS), and qualified the flight training device (FTD) for the all-new CS100 aircraft.

Officials from each of the authorities granted their respective qualifications following final inspection of the simulator and training device located at Bombardier's training centre in Montreal.

"Our teams have been working diligently to achieve the qualifications for the CS100 aircraft training devices and we are delighted that the three regulatory authorities approved in quick succession - particularly as we ramp up our customer support activities in preparation for first delivery and entry-into-service in Q2 2016," said Todd Young, Vice President and General Manager, Customer Services, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. "Additionally, 95 per cent of technical publications are complete and operators are accessing these publications through our new online customer portal. We are steadily increasing our team of Field Service Representatives and technicians to service our C Series aircraft customers.

"We are also maintaining a strong focus on supplier management to ensure the team is ready to support our customers with adequate inventory levels and repair capabilities across our worldwide network," added Mr. Young.

"Achieving qualification for the world's first C Series aircraft full-flight simulator marks an important milestone, which highlights the many years of collaborative efforts with our longstanding partner Bombardier," said Nick Leontidis, CAE's Group President, Civil Aviation Training Solutions. "We are honoured that Bombardier has selected us to build the first simulator for the C Series program. By qualifying the first C Series simulator, we ensure Bombardier customers receive the highest fidelity training for its C Series aircraft."

"This is a great time for the C Series aircraft program - we received the CS100 Type Certification from Transport Canada last week and now we are announcing that we also have approvals on the flight training devices by Transport Canada, the FAA and EASA. This gives us great satisfaction and immense pride in the program and in our people," said Rob Dewar, Vice President, C Series Aircraft Program, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. "As we prepare for entry-into-service of the CS100 aircraft with first operator SWISS, crew training is a key component in our path to success."

About C Series Aircraft Services

The entry-into-service and operation of C Series aircraft will be supported by Bombardier Commercial Aircraft's worldwide customer services network. The customer services team is currently available 24/7/365 to operators of Bombardier CRJ Series regional jets and Q Series turboprops, and is actively being strengthened to support the C Series family of aircraft.

As announced previously, Bombardier's Aircraft Health Management System (AHMS) for the C Series aircraft is an integral part of the airliner's design, ground system and support tools, and will be available to operators at the aircraft's entry-into-service. By leveraging the large amounts of data recorded and transmitted from C Series aircraft, the AHMS will allow operators to make sound decisions on aircraft performance and maintenance. Pratt & Whitney's data service system will be the infrastructure unit used to perform data transmissions from the C Series aircraft's on-board Health Management Unit (HMU) while on the ground, and Bombardier has contracted Tech Mahindra to develop the Aircraft Ground Support System for the AHMS. Tech Mahindra's cutting-edge Cloud Computing, Sensor, Internet of Things (IOT) and Big Data technologies will be utilized to perform deep analytics of the aircraft's health status. Bombardier's current Customer Services network includes Customer Response Centres located in Montreal and Toronto, Canada, as well as 22 Regional Support Offices and Parts Facilities. Three Bombardier-owned and operated Service Centres in the U.S. provide heavy maintenance, drop-in maintenance, as well as structural repair and overhaul of airframes and components. Some 10 strategically located Authorized Service Facilities provide valued support to keep our customers flying competitively. The network is augmented by regionally-based mobile teams.