Melo Villareal
It was last year when I finally fulfilled my dream of visiting an Aircraft Assembly Plant and see how airplanes are built. To be honest, apart from visiting the Niagara Falls, I guess visiting Bombardier Aerospace is the second destination Ive been looking forward to visit after reviewing our Toronto Itinerary.
Bombardier Tour Orientation
It was a bit cold when we arrived in Bombardier Aerospace. We were welcomed by some of their Marketing Officers and they introduced us to some highly skilled Filipino’s who have been working with them over the years. After wearing safety gears and protective eyeglasses, we proceeded to the first stop.
Aircraft with almost complete exterior
The manufacturing area of Bombardier in Toronto offers different glimpses into its stages of manufacturing. For instance, inside the area, we saw Pitot probes being installed on the external part of the fuselage. For a guy like me who doesn’t know anything about the mechanism of an aircraft, Everything I saw were just plainly parts of an airplane and seeing them built all together was really an amazing experience.
Almost Ready for Delivery
The cargo volume is good enough to meet the demands of PAL Express that’s why they considered investing in Bombadier Q400’s. Being known as a productivity machine, Bombardier Q400 has a capacity of 78 seats with adequate cargo volume. The airplane is also known for its versatility and has been found to be efficient on short-haul missions. This makes it competitive with jets which are used in long-haul missions.
Filipino Engineers working for Bombardier Aerospace
The assembling of the Q400 takes place at Downsview manufacturing plant at Bay 9. The assembly line of Bay 9 has the capacity of accommodating four airplanes. The economics, passenger comfort and performance are measured in the tour. The grand aircraft carrier combines high-end technology of jet speed and turboprop fuel efficiency. “Get More” is the slogan of the aircraft and true to this, passengers “get more” on flying with this carrier.
Flight Data Recorder – popularly referred to as a black box
Coming back to the manufacturing area, Its nice to see workers manually doing work on assembling the parts. Its amazing to know that to motivate the workers, aircrafts in motion were displayed in the walls of the Bay 9.
Hardworking Bombardier Engineers
Behind the scenes, in the manufacturing area, workers are trying hard to complete the task based on their time table. In the working bay, workers are busy overseeing schematics that fall under the Q4 nose. At the first station of Bay 9, manufacturing progresses with the interior of the fuselage. When the plane is set to roll off from Bay 9, the interior will have been completed.
Inside Bombardier Aerospace
It is quite conspicuous from the manufacturing area that the entire place is squeaky clean. All stages of work are rapidly carried out in Bay 9. Completion works on the tail of the plane as well as the top portion where the wings join with the fuselage can be seen in this section. Employers can be seen busy working on the tail section of the plane in this area. Here the engines are assembled, and chaulking is carried out along the tail seams. Close attention is given to every portion of the aircraft. After the assembling is finished, the flight is ready to undergo a test, which takes place at the YZD section.
Bombardier Souvenir
Security is their top priority and that is why while we were having the tour, we were told not to take photos of aircraft serial numbers as some of those aircraft are owned by celebrities and well-known people.
Melo Villareal in Bombardier Toronto
Philippine Airlines low cost partner PAL Express has been using Bombardier Q400 in their local routes and they said that they were impressed with the interiors and excellence of Bombardier Q400 and believes that the aircraft will offer a unique combination of range, seat density and speed. PAL Express – a low cost carrier based in the Philippines is trying to give a quick, comfortable and easy option for any traveler with its brand new Bombardier Q400.
The manufacturing area is a visual treat to the eyes of any die-hard aircraft fan. It offers a small glimpse into the laborious steps that go into the making of this mighty aircraft. The hard work by the employees and the attention paid to minute details make the aircraft manufacturing process a significant stage in the operations of the carrier that has to be applauded at every level.
This PAL Toronto inaugural flight experience was sponsored by Philippine Airlines. Visit their facebook page ( http://www.facebook.com/flyPAL) or Twitter (https://twitter.com/flyPAL) if you want to know more about their flight schedules and Airline updates.
