Bombardier Challenger 600 (series)

History of the Bombardier Challenger 600 (Series)

The Bombardier Challenger 600 Series is a family of business jets developed by Air Canada based on Bill Lear's concepts and operated by its new owner, Bombardier Aerospace The company started production in 1986. In late 1975, Air Canada began funding the development of the LearStar 600, then in April 1976 purchased the wide-cabin business jet design.

Launched on October 29, the program is endorsed by the federal government of Canada and is designed to meet the new FAR Part 25 standard.

In March 1977 it was renamed the Challenger 600 after Bill Lear was phased out, the original conventional tail was replaced with a T tail, among other options. The first prototype was introduced on May 25, 1978, with its maiden flight on November 8. The flight test program had a fatal crash on April 3, 1980, but Transport Canada granted CL-600 type approval on August 10, 1980.

In 1986, Canadaair was on the verge of bankruptcy and was acquired by Bombardier. The jet was later expanded into the Bombardier CRJ regional airliner launched on October 19, 1992, and the Global Express long-haul airliner, launched in July 1999.

The 500th Challenger was launched in May 2000 and the 1000th was delivered to NetJets in December 2015. As of October 2018, 1,066 aircraft have been built.

The Challenger is a low-wing jet powered by two turbofan engines mounted in a pod at the rear of the fuselage, with a supercritical wing and a two-section vertical nacelle. The original Lycoming ALF 502 turbofan was replaced on the CL-601 by a pair of General Electric CF34s, which were also fitted with winglets, and made their maiden flight on April 10, 1982.

Subsequent variants have updated systems, avionics and heavier weight.

Specification

Base

Year of Service

1980

Origins

Canada

Status

Active.

Crew

2

Production

1,066

Manufacturer

Bombardier Aerospace Canada

Carrier

Australia; Canada; China; Croatia; Czech Republic; Denmark; Germany; Hong Kong; Jordan; Malaysia; Pakistan; Qatar; South Korea; Switzerland; Thailand; Turkmenistan; United Arab Emirates; England America

Roles

BizJet

For roles serving the business aviation market, primarily VIP and regional travel.

VIP Service

Used in the VIP (Very Important Person) passenger role, usually with above-average amenities and luxury as standard.

Dimensions and Weight

Length

68.6 feet

(20.90m)

Width/span

64.0ft

(19.50m)

Height

20.7 feet

(6.30m)

Cured weight

27,150 lbs

(12,315 kg)

MTOW

48,281 lbs

(21,900 kg)

Wgt Difference

+?21,131

(+9,585kg)

Performance

Installed:

2 General Electric CF34-3B turbofan engines, each producing 9,220 pounds of thrust.

Maximum speed

565 km/h

(910 km/h | 491 knots)

Maximum

41,010 feet

(12,500 m | 8 km)

Area

4,604 km

(7,410 km | 13,723 nautical miles)

Range (MPH) Subsonic: <614mph | Transonic: 614-921 | Supersonic: 921-3836 | Hypersonic: 3836-7673 | Hypersonic: 7673-19180 | Reentry: > 19030

Armor

None.

VARIANTS

CL-600 Name of the base series. CL-600SCC-144CE-144CX-144CL-601CL-601-1ACL-601-1A/ERCL-601-3ACL-601-3A/ERCL-601-3RCL-601S - Equipped with General Electric CF34-3A2 turbofan engine.