Composite Craft

Avatar for Skies MagazineBy Skies Magazine | February 8, 2012

Estimated reading time 18 minutes, 2 seconds.

story by Blair Watson | images courtesy of Bombardier Inc.
Bombardier has a long history – 70 years, in fact – of being the first to market with innovative transportation products. In this century, the Montreal-based company has continued its tradition of innovation with the Learjet 85, the first business jet to be made predominantly of composites and certified under U.S. Federal Aviation Regulations Part 25. The development story of the Learjet 85, which began in late 2007, includes significant challenges – technological and other – which Bombardier Aerospace has confidently overcome.
A few key events in Bombardier’s history set the stage for the Learjet 85. A quarter century ago, the Quebec maker of snowmobiles and light rail trains had no aerospace division, but that would soon change. On Dec. 23, 1986, the company acquired Canadair from the Canadian government after the Crown corporation experienced record financial losses associated with developing the Challenger business jet. Three years later, Bombardier bought Northern Ireland-based Short Brothers from the U.K. government; and in 1990, bankrupt Learjet in Wichita, Kan.
Long-term focus
The Learjet 85 program was launched on Oct. 30, 2007, against a backdrop of ugly economic rumblings resulting from the now infamous U.S. subprime mortgage crisis. Between mid-2007 and the end of 2009, the subprime tsunami wiped out at least $7.7 trillion of wealth and more than 31 million jobs worldwide. During the “Great Recession,” as it came to be known, Bombardier’s competitors shelved new aircraft programs—yet, the Canadian aerospace giant forged ahead with its projects.
Two years after the Learjet 85 program began, Steve Ridolfi, president of Bombardier Business Aircraft, referred to the market downturn in an interview with a business journalist as “a particularly sharp and dramatic shock.” Despite the negative reality, his outlook was upbeat: “Cycles come and go, but the trick is to remain focused on the longer term. We are building products for tomorrow…Bombardier has always been long-term and entrepreneurial.”
Project partner trouble
In January 2008, Bombardier announced that Germany’s Grob Aerospace would design and develop the Learjet 85’s composite structure, provide three prototype aircraft, and train Bombardier production staff to build the airplane’s composite components. Execujet, owner of Grob Aerospace and a major Bombardier customer and sales representative, brought the two manufacturers together. In a press release, Bombardier referred to Grob, which was developing its own turbine-powered, composite aircraft, the G180 SPn business jet, as “one of the world’s most experienced…in the development and manufacture of composite aircraft structures.”
But on Aug. 18, 2008, Grob Aerospace unexpectedly filed for insolvency. “This unfortunate situation has arisen fairly rapidly off the back of recent delays in the SPn program, resulting in commensurately increased cash requirement to see the aircraft through to certification,” said Niall Olver, Grob’s chief executive officer, in a letter to concerned parties. “Our current loan provider has elected to discontinue support, with immediate effect.” 
Bombardier’s initial reaction was that Grob’s filing would not affect the Learjet 85 program. A company spokesman said at the time that the joint definition phase was continuing at the company’s Montreal headquarters as well as work at Grob’s production facility in Germany. He added that while Bombardier officials were monitoring Grob’s insolvency situation closely, work on the Learjet 85 was “business as usual.”
However, a few weeks later, Ridolfi revealed via press release that, “Given the uncertainty surrounding Grob’s insolvency, Learjet has decided to terminate its agreement with Grob Aerospace, effective Sept. 17, 2008. Bombardier Aerospace is taking decisive action and this decision reflects our strong commitment to both the Learjet 85 aircraft program and to a growing number of leading business jet customers worldwide who have selected this exciting, all-new, mid-size business jet. Development of the Learjet 85 aircraft is now in the final stages of a successful joint definition phase that actively involves our suppliers.”
Three months before Grob filed for insolvency, Bombardier Aerospace chose two major suppliers for the Learjet 85 program: Pratt & Whitney Canada (to provide PW307B engines) and Rockwell Collins to supply its Pro Line Fusion integrated avionics suite. Additional systems chosen for the new aircraft included a Class II electronic flight bag, dual flight management (FMS), synthetic vision for enhanced situational awareness, and terrain awareness and warning (TAWS).
Composite advantages
To build the Learjet 85’s composite fuselage and wing and tail components, engineers at Bombardier’s Belfast facility developed resin transfer infusion (RTI) technology, a hybrid of resin transfer moulding and autoclave processing. Sheets of dry carbon fibre are cut to the desired shape by an ultrasonic cutter and laid on a mould-line tool; an inflatable bag forms the other side of the mould. During the 2011 Paris Airshow, Colin Elliott, Bombardier Aerospace’s vice president of engineering, business and product development, commented: “The clever stuff is how you vacuum bag it and keep the pressure on. We call it a flexible mould-line tool.” 
The assembly is then placed in an autoclave, a 21-metre-long vessel in which a heated, high-pressure environment is created. Resin in vats connected to the autoclave is injected into the vessel, permeating the sheets. Curing temperatures can be as high as 370 degrees Celsius. After the RTI operation is finished, the part is removed and precisely trimmed using a computer-controlled device that cuts through the baked composite material with a needle-like jet of water under extreme pressure. Each part is held in place using holders called pogo sticks, which apply suction. After the trimming process, the part is carefully examined using ultrasonic scanning and then sent to the paint shop.
Bombardier Aerospace makes business jets with all-metal wings. The process involves attaching stringers and stiffeners to wing skin panels – comprised of subassemblies – using conventional fasteners. Constructing the Learjet 85’s composite wings is quite different in that fibre wing panels are fabricated as a single piece, with the stringers and stiffeners integrated within the wing skin. The four main composite wing parts are the front and rear spars and top and bottom skins. The wing ribs are aluminum and some titanium parts are used near the wing root as well as the landing gear mount.
According to Michael Ryan, vice president and general manager at the Belfast facility, using ribs made of aluminum was the best option because composite ones would have to be thicker and heavier to handle out-of-plane bending or shearing. “Composites are good when you apply the load along the plane of the composites,” he explained. “We can make ribs lighter in aluminum than carbon.” 
The extensive use of composite material in the Learjet 85 has reduced the aircraft’s weight, resulting in a greater range (3,000 nautical miles). Bombardier Aerospace has designed the new airplane to fill a market niche between the midsize Learjet 60XR (range: 2,400 nm) and the super-midsize Challenger 300 (range: 3,100 nm). Also, aircraft composite components cannot corrode, which reduces the maintenance bill over time because inspections do not have to be performed, unlike with aircraft that have all-metal wings.
Made in Mexico
Two years before the Learjet 85 program was launched, Bombardier announced that it would spend US$200 million to build a manufacturing facility in Queretaro, Mexico. The company said the plant would initially produce wiring assemblies and major structural components, and “final aircraft assembly as new markets emerge.” Production costs in Mexico, particularly for labour, are less than in Canada, the U.S. or Northern Ireland. Pierre Beaudoin, Bombardier Aerospace’s president and chief operating officer, said in October 2005: “This facility will allow us to develop a low-cost manufacturing capacity that will reduce our reliance on third parties for structural aircraft components and contribute to the reduction of our operating costs.”
Not all Bombardier employees were pleased with the news about the Mexican facility. “On a long-term basis, it scares us,” said David Chartrand, president of Local 712 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. He told the Montreal Gazette on Oct. 27, 2005 that since Bombardier receives large subsidies from the federal and provincial governments, the company and unions should formulate an aerospace policy that would protect Canadian jobs. “The company needs government money to develop these aircraft, these programs,” Chartrand remarked. “They need to return quality jobs back to the taxpayers – create employment and guarantee some jobs here.” To date, no such policy has been created.
In fact, Bombardier announced on Nov. 16, 2011 that it would invest US$200 million in a new aerospace facility to be built in Morocco. A company spokesperson said the North African plant will initially make sub-assemblies for simple structures. It will employ about 850 workers by 2020, and is scheduled to begin production in 2013 – although decisions on what parts it will produce or where exactly it will be located had not been made at the time of writing. Like Mexico, Morocco will count as one of the aerospace giant’s lower-cost centres, although Bombardier said the new plant will not result in job cuts at Canadian or U.S. facilities.
In the meantime, work on the Learjet 85 continues at Bombardier’s Mexico plant in the Queretaro Aerospace Park, which was officially opened on Oct. 21, 2010. Mexican president Felipe Calderon and Jose Calzada, governor of the State of Queretaro, were among the dignitaries present at the opening. A Bombardier press release said: “The construction of the 185,000 sq. ft. (17,187 sq. m.) Learjet 85 aircraft component manufacturing centre was completed in July 2010. The fabrication of development parts soon followed, and the fabrication of parts for the first aircraft is now underway. In addition, over 36,300 sq. ft. (3,372 sq. m.) of existing space at the Queretaro site has been allocated to the Learjet 85 aircraft program. This brings the total Learjet 85 aircraft footprint at the Queretaro manufacturing site to approximately 221,300 sq. ft. (20,560 sq. m.) in order to support composite fuselage manufacturing and wing assembly.”
Beaudoin said at the inauguration: “Bombardier’s operations in Mexico are an important part of the company’s global strategy. The professionalism and commitment that our employees in Mexico have shown have driven many of the achievements that we have accomplished since the opening of our first Mexican facility in 2006. The increasing complexity of the work being undertaken in Queretaro also affirms Bombardier’s confidence in its Mexican operations.”
Learjet 85 work done at the Queretaro facility also includes wiring harness fabrication and installation and the manufacture of horizontal and vertical stabilizer assemblies. The press release quoted Ralph Acs, Learjet 85 vice president: “We are on target with all of our program objectives, and production of the first composite parts for the Learjet 85 aircraft at our Mexico facility is underway.”
Simulating, testing, building
In July 2010, Bombardier Aerospace announced the purchase of a Learjet 85 full-flight simulator (FFS) from Montreal-based CAE, the world’s largest simulator manufacturer. The FFS will be housed at Bombardier’s aircraft training centre in Montreal and used to support aircraft testing and certification. Customer FFS training is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2013; Bombardier’s Flexjet will be the first customer to receive the new airplane.
Various Learjet 85 component test rigs have been also built and commissioned, including those for hydraulics, landing gear, thrust reversers, flaps, fuel and air systems, wing and tail ice protection, water and waste management, insulation, environmental control systems, and avionics. Rig testing has allowed engineers to identify issues and make changes. The testing program will be expanded to include systems reliability (failures are introduced and system performance is monitored) and robustness, which involves highly accelerated life testing and stress screening. Other testing will ensure minimal problems during final assembly of the flight test aircraft.
Learjet 85 sub-assemblies will be shipped to the expanded Bombardier Learjet manufacturing facility in Wichita, where final aircraft assembly will occur. Bombardier is investing US$600 million to expand production hangars and build a new paint facility, customer delivery centre and production flight test facility at the site.
Flight test aircraft being built
In early October 2011, Bombardier Aerospace announced that “production of its new Learjet 85 aircraft has officially begun as the program successfully exited the Aircraft Level Critical Design Review.” Development and production teams in Wichita, Montreal, Belfast, and Queretaro “are actively engaged in the manufacturing validation phase.”
“We have made solid progress,” said Acs at the time. “Our manufacturing sites are ready, production has begun, we have been successfully building parts and we are ensuring that all quality standards are met for the Learjet 85 aircraft’s entry into service in 2013.” 
Production tooling is in place at the Mexican facility and wing assembly is underway. Phase Two of the program expansion plan, which includes building a new production flight facility, is scheduled for this year. Phase Three, which involves the jet’s paint facility and new delivery centre in Kansas, will be completed in 2013.
In terms of Learjet 85 sales, Bombardier told Canadian Skies last November that its order book was “very healthy,” although the manufacturer declined to disclose the exact number of aircraft on order.
Years of careful thought and labour have gone into developing the Learjet 85—an all-composite, fuel-efficient business jet that will produce fewer greenhouse gases than others in its class, and fly as fast as Mach 0.82 with an operating altitude of 49,000 feet. The marketing literature promises to deliver “the ultimate Learjet experience” for customers willing to spend US$20.75 million for the 21st-century bizjet.

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