Fractionals Key to Continental

Bombardier expects fractional jet operators to buy almost one out of every three Continentals that the company builds in its first 10 years of production, and says that the growth of the fractional market has already prompted changes in the new aircraft's design.

What makes fractional-ownership jets different is that they spend much more time in the air than a single-owner aircraft, said John Holding, Bombardier's director of new-product development. This makes high reliability, simple maintenance and inexpensive repair much more important, so Bombardier has applied its regional-jet experience to the design of the new aircraft.

For example, says Holding, an important goal in the design is to have only two hydraulic systems and no ram-air turbine, an expensive item that takes a lot of maintenance and occupies valuable space in the aircraft. This, however, means the primary flight controls must be manually operated. They will be power-boosted, but the aircraft will be able to be flown without the boost system.

The new jet's wing is designed to meet the 5,000-foot field requirement with a fixed leading edge and a one-piece flap. All the fuel is in the wing, and the avionics will be located on a central rack in the cabin.

The Continental will be made almost entirely of aluminum, apart from certain fairings. Manufacturing cost is part of the reason, but another is the cost of repair. "If you look where the composites are used on large aircraft, they're on the tail, up where nothing's bashing into them," said Holding.

Simplicity also is the key to meeting Bombardier's goal of a sub-$15 million base price, the lowest in its class. Bombardier's goal is to capture at least at least 300 sales in a market that it estimates at 1,229 aircraft in the 10 years following the late-2002 certification date.

Bombardier still has some important decisions to make before the full-scale launch of the Continental, expected in the second quarter of 1999. The company is seeking risk-sharing partners to cover about half of the $330 million development bill: as in the case of the Global Express, major airframe subassemblies could be provided by partners. The choice of a final assembly location has not been made, but it's possible that the new jet will be assembled in Wichita.

By Bill Sweetman