Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

Bombardier this week celebrated the 40th anniversary of the first flight of its venerable Challenger 600 series. The Challenger 600 took to the skies on November 8, 1978, from Montreal, Quebec.

 


Originally designed by Bill Lear in the early 1970s as the LearStar 600, the Canadian-backed Canadair became involved and evolved the program in the mid-1970s. Canadair acquired the design outright and launched the program in 1976 with 28 firm orders in hand.

 


Later named the Challenger 600, the aircraft was to meet new Part 25 standards with a “wide body” cabin and Lycoming ALF 502 engines. <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2008-03-19/600th-challenger-delivered-eve-silver-flight-anniversary">Challenger S/N 1002 was nominally delivered </a>in March 1979 but leased back for test flying in advanced of certification that came in the latter half of 1980. By the time of certification, Canadair already was working on the next iteration, the GE CF34-powered CL-601, which was formally launched in 1981 and certified in February 1983. Bombardier subsequently bought Canadair in 1986.

 


More than 1,100 of the series have been delivered, and the fleet had accrued more than 6.16 million by the end of September. Fifty-seven Challenger 600s remained in the fleet at the end of the third quarter (81 were built).&nbsp; The Challenger 604 currently makes up the largest portion of the fleet with 357, followed by the 605 with 288.&nbsp; The latest edition, the Challenger 650, numbered 75 at the end of the third quarter.

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

Bombardier Marks 40-Year Challenger 600 Milestone

The first 600 took to the skies on November 8, 1978, from Montreal, Quebec.

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The two NATO allies will purchase seven of the tanker/transport aircraft

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