Update – Canadair Challenger

The ALF502 (which also powers the BAe146) achieved FAA certification in February 1980, it is a short, compact and lightweight powerplant weighing just under 1,300Ib. The design is such that there are only four modules, each of which can be removed for servicing and replaced with a serviced unit to reduce aircraft downtime and reduce maintenance costs. The more powerful GE engine is a full brother to the military TF34 which has seen years of service on US Navy S-3A Vikings and USAF A-1O Thunderbolt ll. More than 1,400 TF34s have been delivered to the US military and together they have logged in excess of one million flight hours. By the time the first GE-powered Challenger entered ser­vice in 1983, over 2,000 TF34s would be in service and the engine time should have doubled to two million hours.

The original concept of the Challenger was for a long-haul corporate jet that also offered up to ten passengers the opportunity to move about the cabin with ease at normal commercial airline operating speeds and altitudes. At max payload the Avco Lycoming-powered aircraft has a maximum range, including IFR reserves of 3,400nm, the GE aircraft boasts 3,700nm while the E model gets out to almost 4,200 nautical miles. Very impressive indeed and something that is only possible largely due to the rapid advances in technology pioneered by the engine manufacturers.

Canadair is offering the Challenger in a host of special mission configurations ranging from flight inspection and calibration right through to maritime EEZ surveillance. Locally the aircraft is bidding eagerly for the Canberra replacement order which if I may be forgiven for saying it, seems to be written around the basic specs of the Challenger. Whether the RAAF has a secret ambition for the aircraft remains to be seen though it is no secret that the aircraft can perform this role admirably owing to its long endurance, high speed and ability to operate at ceilings approaching 49,000ft. The RMF RFP states a requirement for six aircraft which with spares would indicate a value in the order of one hundred million dollars, hence the keen interest expressed by such firms as Lear, Gulfstream, Falcon Jet, BAe and Canadair in the requirement. Whoever wins the reconnaissance order would most likely pick up follow-on work in the RAAF VIP role in addition to winning much prestige in the local civil marketplace.

At present, future derivatives revolve around the special mission types which include a possible 40-seat airliner model based on the E version. This aircraft would be optimised to operate over long thin routes offering a standard first class style service, sort of a subsonic mini-Concorde. First production Avco Lycoming powered aircraft were delivered to clients in late 1980 while monthly production is rapidly approaching seven units a month. The first GE-powered standard fuselage Challenger, designated CL-601 is scheduled to fly late this year with customer deliveries commencing late in 1982. The Extended Fuselage Challenger will fly next autumn and be commercially available one year later.

No matter which way you look at it the Canadians have certainly scooped the pool with this most impressive next-generation corporate jet.