Narrowbody · ICAO CL60

Bombardier CL-600 Challenger 650

The Bombardier Challenger 650 traces its lineage back to the original Canadair Challenger of the late 1970s, a wide-cabin business jet design so successful that a stretched version of its fuselage later became the basis for the entire Bombardier CRJ regional jet family. Its unusually wide, tall cabin, generous for a business jet of its era, remains one of the type's most distinctive features today. Decades of continuous refinement, including new engines and winglets, have kept the basic Challenger airframe competitive long after its original 1978 debut. Few business jet designs have had as long or as varied a second life, spawning an entire regional airliner family along the way.

Bombardier CL-600 Challenger 650, example photo from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Robert Myers ( CC-BY-SA 3.0 AU ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 au · Wikimedia Commons

Did you know?

The Challenger 650's wide, tall cabin traces back to the original 1978 Challenger — a shape later stretched into the entire CRJ regional jet family.

Specifications

Length20.9 m (68 ft)
Wingspan19.6 m (64 ft)
Height6.3 m (21 ft)
Maximum passengers12
Persons on board14-19
Maximum take-off weight19.5 t
Range4,000 NM (7,408 km)
Maximum speed470 kt (870 km/h)
Service ceiling41,000 ft (12,497 m)
Optimum ceiling37,000 ft (11,278 m)
Rate of climb2,250 ft/min (11.4 m/s)
Take-off distance1,720 m (5,643 ft)
Landing distance1,000 m (3,281 ft)
Fuel capacity9,000 l
Engines2x General Electric CF34-3B

Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.

In CatchFlights

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