Fat Albert the wide body pioneer
The CL-600 marked a major step in executive #aircraft development with its wide-body cabin greatly appreciated by passengers who could stand up inside.
The type not only laid the foundations for a business #jet dynasty now headed by the majestic Bombardier Global 8000 but also spawned a major #airliner family.
The future of thirsty, #turbojet-powered #aircraft that dominated the market looked bleak.
But Bill Lear also recognised that there had been several critical developments in #technology that had not yet arrived in the bizjet arena, principally the use of fuel-efficient #turbofans & the aerodynamically efficient supercritical wing.
He schemed a concept that included both, which he named the Learstar 600.
Armed with his design & backed up by data that underlined its efficiency, Lear visited all of the U.S. manufacturers to tout the Learstar 600.
No one was interested & nor did they have any appetite for a new aircraft programme, until he called Canadair.
In the following year, the government re-acquired Canadair & began secretly funding the program.
In March 1977, the aircraft was renamed the CL-600 Challenger. Lear had disliked the #widebody approach, disparagingly referring to the aircraft as “Fat Albert,” & such disagreements led to his ousting from the program.
A mock-up was displayed at the 1977 International Paris Air Show & by the year's end, orders had topped 100. The appearance of the Challenger spurred the development & launch of the rival Cessna Aircraft Company Citation III & Gulfstream Aerospace III.
Despite numerous issues to overcome, including icing & being overweight, the ALF 502L engines struggled to meet specifications, were prone to compressor stalls.
Nevertheless, Canadair built 81 CL-600s & TAG Aviation became the first recipient.
The original Challenger’s Achilles heel was its powerplant, even though initial deliveries were getting underway, Canadair announced the CL-601.
This would have winglets for increased #aerodynamic efficiency & a switch was made towards the more powerful 8,650-pound GE CF34-1A.
After a few adaptations came the CL-604, for which the third #prototype again provided the initial test platform.
This model introduced saddle tanks to increase fuel capacity, structural improvements, & a new undercarriage that permitted higher #takeoff weights with Rockwell Collins Pro Line 4 avionics being installed.
After more than 350 CL-604s had been built, the CL-605 was introduced in 2005.
It had Pro Line 21 #avionics & larger cabin windows & new tailcone design was introduced. A further refresh to the design came in 2015 with the Challenger 650.
A new cabin interior, Pro Line 21 Advanced avionics with synthetic vision system, with an increase in takeoff thrust being the principal new features.
The 650 remains in production, with around 1,100 CL-600 family aircraft having been built to date.
#businessjet’s are awesome!
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