Bombardier Begins Final Assembly Of First Global Express Business Jet Wing Arrives On Schedule; nose mated to fuselage.

MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 26, 1996-- Final assembly of the first Bombardier Global Express(x) business jet aircraft is underway.

The first set of wings and centre-fuselage sections for the high-speed, long-range business jet arrived at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, on schedule, at Bombardier's de Havilland assembly facility in Toronto.

First flight of aircraft 9001 is scheduled for this September and customer deliveries will begin in 1997.

The Bombardier Global Express is the world's first corporate jet designed specifically for high-speed, long- range travel. It is being built to fly 6,500 nautical miles (12,038 km) allowing business executives to fly from New York to Tokyo in less than 14 hours.

At 660 mph (1,062 kph, Mach 0.88) it will also transport eight passengers from New York to Los Angeles in about three hours, 45 minutes - faster than any aircraft in its class.

The three components -- the port and starboard wing sections and the centre fuselage/wing box section -- were delivered by Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries via an Antonov long-range cargo aircraft, one of the few planes in the world capable of accommodating such a large payload.

The complete Bombardier Global Express wing measures 99 feet, five inches (30.3 m) in length and features a total area of 1,022 sq. feet (94.94 m). Total wingspan is 93 feet, six inches (28.5 m).

It is the Global Express' second major structural subassembly to take shape in the past three weeks, following the successful mating of the nose section to the forward fuselage in Montreal on January 4, 1996.

Complete aircraft mating on schedule

"We are meeting all our key milestones exactly as planned and the aircraft is coming together very nicely, with only minimal adjustments," declared John Holding, executive vice- president of engineering, Bombardier Aerospace Group - North America.

"We're now in the process of re-assembling the wing and wing box sections into one major subassembly which, subsequently, will then be mated to the forward section which arrives from Montreal in early February.

"I expect the first aircraft to be fully assembled by late March and power-on testing to begin in late April."

According to John Lawson, president, Canadair Business Aircraft Division, the joint definition phase in 1995 is largely responsible for the smooth on-time assembly of these first subassemblies.

"The considerable efforts made by Bombardier and our entire international team of participants a year ago are now paying off," he noted. "Both the pre-fittings and final fusings of structural assemblies have proceeded very smoothly."

Mr. Lawson added that interest in the Bombardier Global Express is growing as the program continues to evolve as planned. "We are enjoying excellent progress on the order side and are coming off a very strong year leaving us well ahead of our internal schedule for firm orders."

The aircraft will be certificated to meet the latest, most stringent requirements of Transport Canada, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the European Joint Airworthiness Authorities.

Operators will also benefit from a cabin offering them a wide range of interior configurations to enhance their in- flight productivity and comfort. The cabin is higher and wider than any other business jet, and its length from cockpit divider to the end of the pressurized compartment is 48 feet (14.6 m).

Cabin volume totals 2,077 cubic feet (58.8 cu. m), thanks to a height of six feet three inches (1.9 m) and Canadair's trademark eight-foot, two-inch widebody comfort (2.5 m).

The Bombardier Aerospace Group - North America offers the most complete family of business jets currently available, from the high performance Learjet(x) 31A jet, the all-new Learjet 45 and transcontinental Learjet 60 jets, to the intercontinental Canadair Challenger(x) 604 aircraft, the Canadair Special Edition, Canadair Corporate Jetliner shuttle and the long-range Bombardier Global Express(x).

Bombardier Inc., a Canadian corporation with some 37,000 employees worldwide and annual sales of $5.9 billion Cdn., is engaged in the fields of aerospace, transportation equipment and motorized consumer products.

Note to editors: Photograph available through Associate Press photo service.

(x) Trademark of Bombardier Inc.

CONTACT: The Bombardier Aerospace Group

Leo Knaapen

514/855-7988

or

Catherine Chase

514/855-7980