Bombardier Challenger 600 series

what is it?

The Bombardier Challenger 600 series is a family of business jets developed by Canadair after a Bill Lear concept, and then produced from 1986 by its new owner, Bombardier Aerospace. At the end of 1975, Canadair began funding the development of LearStar 600, and then bought the design for a wide-cabin business jet in April 1976. On 29 October, the programme was launched, backed by the Canadian federal government, and designed to comply with new FAR part 25 standards.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · 19.6 m wingspan

base stats

• range 7,408 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 19passengers
• size 21.9 tmax take-off weight
• built 1,066made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 48 years ago, in 1978.
• 🚗Wingspan of 19.6 m: about 4 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 4 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 7,408 km: Amsterdam to New York (≈5,850 km) without stopping.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.4× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1978-11-08

introduced

1980

status

in production

number built

1,066

role

business jet

makers

Bombardier, Canadair

engines

2× General Electric CF34-3B

passengers

19

length

20.9 m

wingspan

19.6 m

height

6.3 m

max take-off weight

21.9 t

top speed

—

range

7,408 km

ceiling

12,497 m

wings

monoplane

ICAO code

CL60

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.