Bombardier spreads its wings

The progress of Bombardier's CSeries composite wing is one that the aviation world is watching with great interest. Taking place at Bombardier's Belfast facility, testing of the aircraft's composite demonstrator wing is now under way, representing a huge innovative milestone in the development of the new aircraft due to enter service in 2013.
The Belfast operation is responsible for the design, development and manufacture of the advanced composite wings, and has successfully assembled a full scale, three-quarter span pre-production demonstrator wing using its resin transfer infusion (RTI) process.

A specially designed rig was constructed for the demonstrator test programme to represent the outer wing to centre wing box and centre fuselage attachments, including a simulated main landing gear leg and a simulated engine and pylon.

“As soon as our composite wing programme was launched, we made the decision to build a full scale demonstrator,” begins Bombardier Aerospace, Belfast's vice-president, engineering and business development, Colin Elliott. “This is leading edge technology representing a huge investment for the company, but in terms of technical and manufacturing risk management it's the right way forward.”

The company is using 12 hydraulic jacks to induce bending and twisting into the demonstrator wing to represent the maximum loading that the aircraft will see under the most severe flight conditions. Specific loading points are included in the test rig to simulate landing loads (a simulated main landing gear leg is attached to the wing), and the loads induced from the engine (a simulated engine is mounted on a pylon below the wing).

Bombardier is progressively increasing the severity of the loading so that it fully understands how the wing behaves. Over 2,000 strain gauges are measuring and recording the stresses all over the structure. The test rig also has 64km of cabling running from the gauges to the control system hardware.

The data collected will be used to validate the stress and design assumptions, and help Bombardier design the final production standard wing. This rigorous testing allows the company to optimise the design for weight and performance, and ensures that the wing has the correct strength and stiffness to meet all possible loading conditions in service.

“We've learnt a tremendous amount from the wing R&D programme to date – from both the composite fabrication activity and the assembly of the demonstrator wing,” continues Elliott. “It's not just about finalising the production design. Much of the learning activity during last year has also helped us draw up the equipment specifications we require for our new facility, proving that the wing demonstrator was exactly the right thing to do.”

As well as the demonstrator, Belfast has tested around 4,000 individual articles as part of what Bombardier terms the joint definition phase (JDP). All its structural and systems supply partners and associated structural components go through the same phase. The CSeries programme is now reaching JDP closure and its partners will return to their home bases around the world to begin final production definition for their components.

“It's crucial to understand the basic stiffness of the wing before entering the final production design,” Elliott notes. “We've now completed the unit load cases for both ‘wing up' and ‘wing down' bending, and also the landing gear and engine pylon loads, which are providing us with valuable knowledge.”

With the first CSeries composite wing due for completion towards the end of 2011, Bombardier will need to quickly transition from the static test article to the production of the flight test vehicle. Elliott says that the Belfast facility, equipment and infrastructure required to support it is on schedule.

“It's very important that our suppliers and the equipment that we interact with on the wing are at the same level of maturity,” he confirms. “At present, we are satisfied with the level of definition we've received and we are now progressing with the interface drivers for all of the systems hardware that needs to be installed on the wing. It's progressing well and we don't foresee any major potential design or manufacturing problems.”

Supply chain benefits

In terms of the benefits the CSeries programme will bring to the wider UK supply chain, Bombardier currently has around 400 engineering and support staff engaged in the research and development of the wings. Once full production gets under way after 2013, some 800 jobs will be generated in the Belfast operation, as well as thousands more jobs in the wider supply chain.

The CSeries programme therefore represents a major opportunity for the UK supply chain to develop its capabilities by supporting an aircraft programme that includes the latest technological advancements. Bombardier believes that the decision to locate the CSeries wing in Northern Ireland will also help cement the UK's wider strategic interests in aircraft wing technology.

Bombardier has almost finalised its top tier ‘product' and ‘non-product' suppliers to the wing programme. To date, several top tier UK companies have been awarded significant contracts on the CSeries aircraft programme, with GKN Aerospace supplying the winglets and Cytec Engineered Materials supplying some of the advanced composite material for the CSeries aircraft wing. Goodrich Actuation Systems and Senior Aerospace BWT have also joined the programme.

As these top tier companies begin to offer work packages to their wider supply chains, Bombardier looks forward to more UK companies playing a role in its aircraft programme. Local Northern Ireland companies will also have an opportunity to win work packages on the wing programme.

“Since the Government's innovation and growth strategic report was announced, the UK's aerospace industry has highlighted power plants and wings as being areas of strategic importance in developing expertise,” Elliott claims. “Airbus UK and now Bombardier Belfast are focusing on wing production; this helps the entire supply chain, and whether it is companies providing technical services or parts, the fact they are for the same types of components means they can set up and develop in that specific field.

“We now have two primes in the UK manufacturing wings. If we can use A|D|S' SC21 supply chain improvement initiative as a vehicle for moving all our suppliers together and develop supply chain capabilities specific to the design and manufacture of wing components, then it helps everyone concerned. SC21 pulls everything together. If we're all pulling in different directions then it makes it more difficult for the tier two and tier three companies to define their company strategies and investment and capability development plans.”

In terms of the supplier attributes and capabilities Bombardier look for in a potential CSeries programme supplier, Elliott itemises three main categories.

“Firstly, there's the technical competence, i.e. the supplier is capable of designing and manufacturing components and has the control systems and the in-service support infrastructure in place,” he affirms. “We are looking for suppliers to take on design and manufacturing packages - not just ‘build to print'. Very deliberately, we said: ‘you design it, provide the manufacturing plan and the quality control and make it happen – it's your responsibility'. Because Boeing and Airbus are also going the same way, many suppliers now understand this concept – it's the way the aerospace supply chain is evolving and they have to accept this level of responsibility.

“Secondly, they have to be commercially competitive. In the past, the industry may have been tempted to select suppliers purely on a ‘cost' basis, but I can assure you that this is definitely no longer the case! Yes, they have to be cost competitive, but we won't select the lowest bidder if we're not convinced they possess the right skills and attributes.

“The final category covers production and our potential suppliers' abilities to manage their own supply chains. We're looking for those companies that can project manage ‘everything' and put it all together. The last thing we want is to become embroiled in managing our suppliers' supply chain on their behalf. When the CSeries reaches full production, we want our suppliers to be able to demonstrate that they can deliver components to a high production rate, and not become the bottleneck in our manufacturing plan.”

The hurdles to engagement

This probably explains why some supplier contract bids can fail. How can SMEs overcome the barriers to engaging with OEM aircraft programmes like the CSeries and improve their chances of winning future contracts?

“Those companies that are inexperienced in this area tend to focus on the technical engineering side,” he states. “We've received presentations and proposals from UK companies that were technically very sound, but this is only part of the equation. They need to convince us they have the capability to take on the work for the duration of the programme. For example, do they have the financial infrastructure in place to allow them to do this? We're asking them to make a significant investment, and it could be five years before they see any payback on that investment.

“They must have a solid plan that allows them to start spending money from day one, and make significant investments in non-recurring design effort and infrastructure. It's important our suppliers can demonstrate they have this stability behind them.”

Whilst impressed by some of the CSeries proposals received from companies located in developing countries, Elliott points out that many European and UK companies proved to be as technically and commercially competitive in their bids.

“We expected to receive very commercially attractive offerings from these developing countries, but recognised there would be a higher element of risk involved,” he clarifies. “However, once we'd factored in our additional costs of helping these companies through their technical designs and managing their supply chains, some of the European-based company bids were, in many cases as commercially competitive.

“UK companies can be competitive, but need to put more effort in demonstrating they are prepared to accept the responsibility for the entire project and supply chain management package. We want to be safe in the knowledge that these companies can manage this seamlessly. It's a responsibility we are prepared to pay for, but we'll only pay for it if we're convinced that they are capable of doing it.”

Whilst most of Bombardier Belfast's tier one suppliers of design and manufacturing packages have been finalised, what will be of great interest to UK SMEs is that Bombardier's sourcing team will soon be looking to tender detail component manufacturing work packages. The company will issue technical specifications and consider proposals from interested SMEs. It's yet another opportunity for the UK supply chain to get onboard the CSeries programme!

www.aero.bombardier.com