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Taking to the skies with Bombardier
In 1903 when the Wright brothers made the first powered flight at Kittihawk, North Carolina, the distance they travelled was less than the wingspan of a jumbo jet. But they started a revolution that changed the world, and some of the stars of this revolution were built here in Ireland. Bombardier Aerospace in Belfast is the oldest aircraft manufacturing company in the world. It was set up in 1908 by the Short brothers and they got a contract from the Wright brothers to build six planes. Aerospace company Bombardier bought Shorts in 1989. Tony Monaghan, education liaison officer at Bombardier, tells SCOPE about the famous planes that the Short brothers made in the past: “The Sunderland was built here, a flying boat. It was used in World War II to hunt German submarines,” he says. “The FC1 was the world’s first vertical take off and landing aircraft, and that went on to be developed into the Harrier jump jet.” Airplane bling In the old days, flying was very glamorous – and expensive. These days we treat planes like flying buses and there isn’t much glamour – except with private planes. The Lear jet is the coolest private jet in the world, and it is made in Belfast. “Lear Jet really defines the jet set lifestyle,” says Tony. “The Lear jet is extremely fast... at .7 or .75 mach. Stephen Spielberg has one. Movie stars, rock stars, corporations, they just turn up in their limousine, have their jets fired up and off they go.” Commercial Bombardier has been working on its next generation of commercial planes, the CSeries. Tony says: “Everything is being considered from the point of view of the customer. We’re looking at having integrated telecommunications in the seat so you have television, internet and telephone. The aircraft will require less fuel, and fuel is one of the biggest costs in an airline.” As well as our strong historic role, the next generation in the history of flight will have some Irish design and technology on board. And maybe just a little bit of bling too!
Learn more: Read the story of the Wright brothers Find out more about the Short brothers |
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