Aircraft
Bombardier making progress on Lear 85
Bombardier Learjet (Booth No.

Bombardier Learjet (Booth No. 4397) said yesterday that it has made substantial progress developing the all-composite Learjet 85. The $17.2 million (2009 $) midsize jet is scheduled to enter into service in 2013, but Learjet general manager David Coleal said the program had already achieved important milestones.

Coleal said that wind-tunnel testing on the Model 85 had been completed and validated via computational fluid dynamics, all key vendors had been selected and 40 percent of them had exited the joint-definition phase. Two composite proof-of-concept production test articles of the forward fuselage already have been manufactured as has a prototype horizontal stabilizer.

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