With 600 now in service, the Bombardier (née Canadair) Challenger is assured a place in history 25 years after its first flight on Nov. 8, 1978. A further almost 20 examples of the latest variant, the Challenger 300 (neé Continental), were in production at Bombardier’s Wichita factory at the start of last month, according to AvData. The database consultancy told AIN that all but seven Challengers built are operational: 81 out of 85 Model 600s; 65 out of 66 Model 601s; 133 out of 134 Model 601-3As; 59 Model 601-3Rs; and 262 out of 263 Model 604s–a total of 600 machines.
Introduction of this fourth distinct model, certified this year in Canada, the U.S. and Europe, might have seemed a very unlikely scenario in the project’s earliest days, when the program was in government ownership and losing money heavily. Canadair officials had made the questionable decision to design a new aircraft (developed from a Bill Lear idea) powered by a new engine, the Avco Lycoming ALF502.
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