Bombardier Global Express - Design and Development

Design and Development

Bombardier Aerospace began studies in 1991 and the aircraft was officially launched in 1993. The first flight occurred on October 13, 1996. The Global Express shares the Canadair / Bombardier Regional Jet's fuselage cross section and is similar in length, but despite the size similarities the two aircraft are very different due to the nature of their roles. The Global Express features an advanced all new supercritical wing with a 35° sweep and winglets, plus a new T-tail. The aircraft is powered by two BMW RollsRoyce BR-710 turbofans with FADEC. The advanced flightdeck features a six screen Honeywell Primus 2000 XP EFIS suite and is offered with optional heads-up displays.

The Global Express was announced on October 28, 1991 at the NBAA convention. Full-scale cabin mockup was exhibited at the NBAA convention in September 1992. Conceptual design started early 1993 and the programme was officially launched on December 20, 1993. The aircraft high-speed configuration was frozen in June 1994 and the low-speed configuration was established in August 1994.

The Global Express can fly intercontinental ranges without refueling (e.g. New York–Tokyo) or between most two points in the world with only one stop. In this class the Global Express competes with the Airbus Corporate Jet, Boeing Business Jet, Dassault Falcon 7X and Gulfstream G550.

Bombardier subsidiaries have three specific roles in the project: Canadair is the design leader and manufactures the nose; Short Brothers, Belfast is responsible for the design and manufacture of the engine nacelles, horizontal stabiliser and forward fuselage; and de Havilland Canada builds the rear fuselage and vertical tail and carries out final assembly. The major external supplier is Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries which builds the wing and centre fuselage sections.