EVENDALE, OHIO - The 15-month flight test program of Bombardier's new CRJ900 regional airliner powered by GE's new CF34-8C5 engines is well into a highly successful start.The testing of the CRJ900, with a CF34-8C5 engine installed at the left position and a CF34-8C1 engine installed at the right, began on May 23 with an engine checkout flight of nearly four hours, followed by a performance evaluation flight of nearly three hours.A second CF34-8C5 was installed to replace the CF34-8C1 on May 25. The two CF34-8C5 engines have since compiled approximately 75 cumulative flight hours, performing flawlessly and meeting all test objectives.A second CRJ900 aircraft powered by CF34-8C5 engines is scheduled to enter the flight test program during the fourth quarter of this year.The CRJ900 is an 86-passenger derivative of Bombardier's 70-passenger CRJ regional airliner, which entered service in January of this year, powered by GE's CF34-8C1 engines. To power the larger CRJ900, Bombardier selected the higher-thrust CF34-8C5 engine, rated at 14,500 pounds compared to the 13,790 pounds of thrust of the CF34-8C1.In addition to the CRJ900 and CRJ700, Bombardier's 50-passenger CRJ100 and CRJ200 regional airliners have been powered since 1991 and 1995, respectively, by GE's CF34-3A1 and CF34-3B1 engines. Rated at 9,200 pounds of thrust, CF34-3 series engine have demonstrated outstanding reliability while logging more than 7 million flight hours.Certification of the CRJ900 by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is targeted for the third quarter of 2002, with entry into service with launch customer Mesa Airlines scheduled for 2003.The CF34-8C5 is one of the engines in GE's CF34-8 Growth engine program, which also includes the CF34-8D and CF34-8E engines. Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries (IHI) of Japan is a revenue-sharing participant in both the CF34-8C1 and the CF34-8 Growth engine programs.CF34-8 Growth engines will have accumulated more than 7,000 hours of ground and flight testing prior to FAA certification, planned for the second quarter of 2002. Prior to flight testing on the CRJ900, CF34-8 Growth engines completed approximately 160 hours of engine flight testing on GE's flying testbed at Mojave, California. Ground testing of the CF34-8 Growth engines continues, primarily at GE's outdoor test facility near Peebles, Ohio.