Bombardier unveils images of its EcoJet research project at NBAA-BACE 2023

Bombardier unveils images of its EcoJet research project at NBAA-BACE 2023

• Bombardier is ramping up the EcoJet research project by ramping up the second phase of testing.
• As part of this new stage of the EcoJet research project, Bombardier is flying an 18-foot-wide test vehicle designed as a blended wing body (BWB) aircraft
• Bombardier’s engineering team explores the BWB aircraft configuration and new technologies to reduce business jets emission by up to 50%

Bombardier unveiled exclusive images of its EcoJet research project’s second test phase to the attendees of NBAA-BACE 2023. The promising flight tests were conducted with an 18-foot-wide demonstrator and have generated important results, contributing to the advancement of this pivotal project.

Bombardier’s EcoJet research project aims to reduce aircraft emissions by up to 50% through a combination of aerodynamics, propulsion, and other enhancements. EcoJet is a sustainability-focused research and technology initiative that started 15 years ago. This project has successfully materialized into a family of Blended Wing Body (BWB) test vehicles, with flight tests being conducted to develop and mature relevant technologies. The analysis of the data gathered from the 18-foot-wide prototype will allow Bombardier’s engineering team to perfect its knowledge of new aviation control laws that are adapted to the radically different BWB geometry, bound to be applied to more sustainable future business aircraft.

“Our engineers are eager to start working with the results yielded by this second phase of the flight test program,” said Stephen McCullough, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Product Development. “Building on the significant data drawn from the initial flight-testing phase, and now leveraging a model twice as large as the first prototype, we can further refine our analysis. With each additional experimental stage, we are paving the way for more sustainable aircraft designs and new technologies.’’

Flight campaigns on scaled test vehicles allow the organization and its academic partners to explore the behavior of BWB designed vehicles in free flight. Comprised of several free-flight campaigns, the flight-testing program will be held over multiple years to generate increasingly precise data in real-world, representative environments.

The 18-foot-wide prototype of Bombardier’s EcoJet research project has flown for the first time in 2022 and can fly autonomously. Bombardier’s Research and Technology team started testing the real-life feasibility of their theoretical work back in 2017 with the first prototype, which had a wingspan of approximately 8 feet. While laying the foundation for more sustainable business jets, Bombardier will also leverage its EcoJet prototypes to continue creating an incredible customer experience.

Headquartered in Greater Montréal, Québec, Bombardier operates aerostructure, assembly and completion facilities in Canada, the United States and Mexico. The company’s robust customer support network services the Learjet, Challenger and Global families of aircraft, and includes facilities in strategic locations in the United States and Canada, as well as in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, the UAE, Singapore, China and Australia.