First CRJ700 Fuselage Makes First Flight--In a Cargo Plane

The first fuselage for Bombardier's new 70-passenger regional aircraft, the CRJ700, was shipped on September 28 from Bombardier Aerospace-Shorts in Belfast to Montreal for final assembly.

Shorts designs and manufactures the forward and central fuselage for the new Canadair Regional Jet, as well as the complete nacelles for the General Electric CF34-8C1 engines which power the aircraft. The first complete nacelle was shipped in June; nacelles for each side of the aircraft are identical.

Production fuselages will all be manufactured in Belfast and shipped to Montreal. Each fuselage section measures 58 feet, 9 inches in length.