IN THIS ISSUE - Bombardier

Fifty years of flight for thede Havilland BeaverThe top engineering achievement of Canada’s first century50 yearsThis year is the 50th anniversaryof the inaugural flight ofthe airplane that eventually led totoday’s de Havilland Dash 8. Itwas on the hazy afternoon ofAugust 16, 1947 that test pilotRuss Bannock lifted thede Havilland DHC-2 Beaver intothe air from Downsview Airporton the outskirts of Toronto.Designed primarily for flyingin the harsh environment of theCanadian bush, this “half-tontruck” with a 450-hp Pratt &Whitney R-985 engine couldhaul 1,650 pounds (748 kg) ofcargo into the air after a take-offrun of only 560 feet (254 m) onwheels, floats or skis — anamazing load for a single-engineairplane of that era.So tough and so versatile wasthe Beaver that it was sold to theU.S. Army and Air Force in thehundreds. When the Air Forceaccepted its first Beaver onNovember 13, 1951, it markedthe first time in its peacetimehistory that the U.S. had accepteddelivery of a foreign-mademilitary aircraft.Between 1947 and 1968,when it went out of production,1,692 Beavers were sold in 62countries. Several hundred arestill flying. Amazingly, anairplane that sold new for$21,000 back in the 1950scommands more than $125,000today.The Beaver continued thede Havilland trend of naming itsproducts after Canadian animalsand was followed by the DHC-3Otter, DHC-4 Caribou, DHC-5Buffalo and DHC-6 Twin Otter.All inherited and improved uponthe original short take-off andlanding (STOL) and rugged goanywhere,carry-everythingagility of the Beaver. While theDash 8 is not a STOL aircraft, ithas the same strong structure —it’s the only regional aircraft witha crack-free service life of80,000 cycles.So “right” was the Beaver thatin Canada’s engineeringcentennial year of 1987, theubiquitous workhorse was namedone of the top 10 Canadianengineering achievements of thecentury.Another Canadiantechnological achievement hailedin 1987 was the snowmobile, atracked land vehicle invented byArmand Bombardier, founder ofBombardier Inc., of whichde Havilland is a subsidiarycompany.DE HAVILLAND DASH 8 FACTS AND FIGURESSALES (SEPT. 1, 1997) DELIVERED BACKLOG TOTALSeries 100 295 2 297Series 200 48 28 76Series 300 124 5 129Series 400 0 16 16Program total 467 51 518OPERATING FACTS…Dash 8 Fleet StatisticsAverage stage length 161 nm May 1997Average annual utilization 2,373 flight hours December 1996Highest annual utilization 3,042 flight hours December 1996Fleet total time 6,424,949 flight hours July 31 1997Fleet total cycles 7,805,723 flight cycles July 1997Dispatch Reliability Rate 99.1%-October-December 1996Schedule Completion Rate 99.3%-October-December 1996CANADAIR REGIONAL JET FACTS AND FIGURESSALES (SEPT. 1, 1997) DELIVERED BACKLOG TOTAL179 107 286OPERATING FACTS...Canadair Regional Jet Fleet StatisticsAircraft in service 171 August 31, 1997Average sector distance1.1 hrs.Average annual utilization 2,386 flight hours Annual up to June 1997Average cycles 2,170 flight cycles Annual up to June 1997Total fleet hours 828,724 flight hours To August 31, 1997Total fleet cycles 801,439 flight cycles To August 31, 1997Dispatch reliability 99.1% August 1997Average Schedule Completion Rate 99.5% August 1997Utilization based on schedule dataWe make aircraft. We build business.REGIONAL UPDATE is published byBombardier Regional Aircraft,A Division of Bombardier Inc.Garratt Boulevard, Downsview, Ontario, Canada M3K 1Y5Tel: (416) 375-4027 Fax: (416) 375-4540President, Pierre LortieSenior Vice-president, Sales, John GiraudyVice-president Sales, Asia/Pacific, James DaillyVice-president Sales, International, John HowarthVice-president Sales, The Americas, Ric AllisonVice-president, Marketing and Aircraft Programs, Steve RidolfiCopyright © Bombardier Inc. 1997Printed in CanadaInformation, technical data and performance figures in this publication are subject to change without notice.This publication does not intend to convey any guarantees or warranties. Any guarantees or warranties on any subjectare extended to customers only as may be provided in their purchase agreements.R EGIONAL UPDATE • PAGE 8