FLUG REVUE August 2006: Challenger 605 nears certification

August 2006

CHALLENGER 605 TARGETS CERTIFICATION

By Volker K. Thomalla

Half-time is over and we are already into the finishing-straight. With 132 flying hours clocked up over 42 flights, the test crew of Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier have completed over half of the flight test hours expected to be required for certification of the Challenger 605. As the 605 is a derivative of an existing type it is only necessary to have the changes that were not on the predecessor version, the Challenger 604, certificated, rather than the entire aircraft. Since the maiden flight of the Challenger 605 on 22 January 2006 in Montreal (see FLUG REVUE 4/06), the flight test programme has proceeded thus far without any problems. The longest flight of this business jet with intercontinental range lasted six hours and six minutes.

The first example of the latest addition to the Challenger family is currently in Wichita, Kansas, where Bombardier operates its corporate flight test centre. Here the weather is normally better than in Montreal, which is where final assembly is located.

All 200 flying hours of flight testing are being borne by a single aircraft, the Challenger 605 with serial number 5701. The second aircraft is currently undergoing final assembly in Montreal. It will not be needed for type certification, though it probably will be used for qualification of the cabin equipment. The aircraft with serial number 5703 will be the first customer aircraft. 5701 is scheduled to return to Montreal at the conclusion of the tests where it will be fitted with a new interior.

During a visit to Montreal, FLUG REVUE obtained an update on the present state of production. As of mid-June, 5702 was already standing on its own wheels. In the cabin, the insulating mats had been installed along the side walls, but the full interior furnishings were missing, as were parts of the avionics in the cockpit.

Nevertheless, one can see that, compared with the Challenger 604, the new cabin has a lot more daylight as the cabin windows of the 605 are not only 14 percent bigger, but they are also set six centimetres higher. “That was not very expensive,” said Scott Wight, Challenger programme director, in an interview with FLUG REVUE. “We have stayed within the frame and didn't need to move any systems.”

Bombardier has set itself the objective of revamping its various aircraft types every six to eight years. There have already been some new systems in the cockpit of the 605. The pilots get all their flight-relevant information from four large colour displays. These are 55 percent bigger than the screens of the predecessor version and part of the Pro Line 22 avionics suite from Rockall Collins. As well as the better overview provided by the new avionics, the integrated flight electronics is also lighter, weighing 58kg less than the Pro Line 4 avionics suite hitherto used. But at the same time it offers more features so that, for example, the pilots can now overlay satellite weather information onto the screens in real time.

The cabin lighting has also shed some weight: in the 605, it is provided by light emitting diodes (LEDs), which are more reliable and have a longer service life than conventional cabin lighting. Altogether, the engineers have succeeded in trimming 91kg from the total weight, which is now available as extra payload or range.

The interior designers have also set to work on redesigning the kitchen area (galley). “The galleys are never big enough,” observed programme director Wight with a smile. The new galley has eight percent more work surface and 30 percent more volume for the storage of provisions. The central cabin controls for air-conditioning and in-flight entertainment are also accommodated in this area.

The Challenger 605 cabin has electronic equipment enabling passengers to work as in an office. A local area network allows them to use their laptops without any cables and, for example, to present data on the cabin monitors.

Thanks to the reduced empty weight, there was no need to make any changes in the propulsion. The Challenger 605 is powered by two CF34-3B turbofans built by General Electric Aero Engines. Each of them produces 38.84kN (8,729lb) of thrust during take-off, accelerating the business jet to a maximum cruise speed of Mach 0.82. The typical cruise speed mentioned by Bombardier is Mach 0.80. The 1,780 metres of runway required for take-off is respectable for an aircraft with a maximum take-off weight of nearly 22 tonnes. The same is true of the time taken to climb to 11,278m (37,000ft), which is only about 22 minutes.

Coupled with a range of over 7,000km, which allows one to cross the Atlantic in either direction without any intermediate stop, the Challenger 605 is well positioned to continue the Challenger family's tradition of market success. Without mentioning any sales figures, Scott Wight referred to the Challenger 605 in Montreal as “an exceptionally successful aircraft”. At the programme launch at the NBAA Convention in Orlando last November, Bombardier had announced an American launch customer and at the European debut of the cabin mock-up at EBACE in Geneva Comlux-Aviation President Ettore Rodaro had signed an order for a 605. The cabin mock-up also attracted a number of potential buyers at the Berlin Air Show.

Bombardier expects the aircraft to receive its certification from the Canadian aviation authority, Transport Canada, and the US Federal Aviation Administration in the fourth quarter of 2006. The first customer aircraft will be delivered in the third quarter 2007 following completion of its interior fittings.

From FLUG REVUE 8/2006

Last updated 14 July 2006

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