Bombardier’s Challenger 350 has hit its 300th delivery milestone, five years after the first example of the super-midsize business jet entered service.
Launched in May 2013, the 10-seat aircraft is the second iteration of the Challenger 300, which Bombardier launched in 1999 as the Continental business jet. The model entered service four years later.
Bombardier
The Challenger 350 is powered by Honeywell HTF7350 turbofans, each producing 7,323lb (32.57kN) thrust. It has a maximum take-off weight of 18,430kg (40,600lb), while maximum range with eight passengers and two crew is 3,200nm (5,920km) at a long-range speed of Mach 0.8. The $27 million aircraft has a maximum speed of M0.82.
Recent enhancements include a combined Collins Aerospace head-up display and enhanced vision system, improved cabin soundproofing and updated cockpit aesthetics, as well as braking improvements and rudder control modifications that give the 350 up to 1,500nm of additional range when departing from shorter runways.
Like its predecessor, the Challenger 350 is consistently the top-selling business jet in the super-midsize segment year-on-year, with deliveries fluctuating from a peak of 68 aircraft in 2015 to 56 units in 2017, according to the US General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). Sixty examples were produced in 2018, GAMA data shows.
The aircraft is now facing stiff competition in the segment from Embraer's Praetor 600, which entered service in June, and the Cessna Citation Longitude, deliveries of which are set to begin this quarter.
Source: Flight International
