Bombardier Aerospace today announced it has reached another significant Learjet 85 aircraft program milestone, having successfully built the first all-composite manufacturing validation unit (MVU) for the aircraft's pressure fuselage section.

The MVU was built in Montréal, where the Learjet 85 aircraft structural design team is located, using actual production tooling and with strong support from the program team based in Mexico. This unit will be used to validate the design concepts, manufacturing processes and quality as the program advances towards the beginning of production, scheduled for later this year.

The 45,000 pounds (20,412 kg) of production tooling will soon be transferred to its permanent home, the new Learjet 85 aircraft facility in Querétaro, Mexico, where a second MVU will be built.

"This is another crucial step towards the start of production of the first Learjet 85 aircraft," said Ralph Acs, Vice President, Learjet 85, Bombardier Business Aircraft. "Our next step will be to apply what we learn from this first manufacturing validation unit to the second unit, in order to confirm our technology readiness."

"This achievement is a further illustration of our commitment to developing more efficient aircraft using composite structures," said François Caza, Vice President and Chief Engineer, Bombardier Aerospace. "It is an important step in our comprehensive strategic technology program to design and build the most efficient aircraft structure."

Construction of the Learjet 85 aircraft manufacturing facility in Quéretaro is progressing to plan. The first tooling is scheduled for installation at the Quéretaro facility this month and the first production part will be built soon afterwards. The Learjet 85 aircraft program is progressing full-speed ahead and the aircraft is on schedule for entry into service in 2013.