Need input from Challenger folks....

[SheGaveMeClap]

I'd imagine when you're stuck at 37,000-39,000 feet for eight hours in a 605, the cabin is fairly low. I'd take a 7,500' cabin in a CL300 above the weather and the winds any day of the week.

 

[jet2work]

Of course I'm always wearing a mask at that altitude so it doesn't matter what I fly.

I was just thinking of the pax.:crying:

 

[Bleeds On]

Anyone have the latest on the 300 rumor mill? Looks like we're taking a January delivery now and kinda hoping we'll end up with a few improvements in the process. Only thing i know is brushless DCMP's are imminent. Would like to see a paper blessing for more ramp weight. They're making the BOW on these new ones pretty heavy.

 

[SheGaveMeClap]

Bombardier keeps saying there will be new DCMPs produced soon, but the manufacturer isn't helping the process. This was briefly discussed at the last Advisory Committee Meeting, but there are no updates. Bombardier has been promising new DCMPs for a couple of years, nothing yet, doubt there's anything in the works. They'll have to outfit 350+ Challenger 300s with new DCMPs, I doubt they're in a hurry to spend that kind of money.

Increased ramp weight would be great. I've not heard anything in the rumor mill about a higher ramp/takeoff weight in the works.

I'd be curious to hear what information Bombardier gives you about your airplane in January- anything new and improved......

 

[TMMT]

I'd be curious to hear what information Bombardier gives you about your airplane in January- anything new and improved......

Probably the same info they gave us 20 months ago when we got ours...

Oh, its coming!

 

[SheGaveMeClap]

Probably the same info they gave us 20 months ago when we got ours...

Oh, its coming!

We hear all the rumors, the Advisory Committee meetings, and they all have a common theme..... it's coming soon.

I really like the airplane and it's a great performer. Fits our mission extremely well. Even if these things aren't coming, I'm okay with that. Just don't tell me they are!!

 

[TMMT]

We hear all the rumors, the Advisory Committee meetings, and they all have a common theme..... it's coming soon.

I really like the airplane and it's a great performer. Fits our mission extremely well. Even if these things aren't coming, I'm okay with that. Just don't tell me they are!!

Same here.

We all really enjoy the jet, owner upgraded from a LR60 and he couldn't be happier.

Like you its a perfect fit for 98% of the trips we fly.

 

[Cstyle]

Here's my take on the 300. I have no experience with the 600 series.

The Good: The 300 is a good airplane. If the 300XR (or whatever it will be called) has what it is rumored to have, that will be an outstanding airplane. DOC's are great. Cabin is Great. Very popular on the charter market. Very simple, low workload airplane. Range, Speed, cruise altitude, and runway numbers are all very good.

The Bad: Bombardier support sucks, but seems to be improving slightly. Taking the 300 to Europe on the tracks is a bad idea, not enough redundancy for my taste. In fairness, it was never designed for that. Be careful of high BOW's. Our max payload, with full fuel, is less than 400lbs. East to West trans-cons with +4 pax can be a problem. We had a scenario not long ago where BUF-SFO with 5 pax was pretty close. They dont call it the "reset jet" for nothing. You will occasionally have to power down and unplug batteries to clear erroneous CAS messages. Autopilot is not smooth and doesnt handle turbulence very well. Pretty Mickey Mouse for a +$20M jet. We had some reliability problems initially but have seen good improvement as we worked the bugs out. Its not a great hand flying airplane. Feels like the controls are attached via bungee cords.

I (and all of our other pilots) still prefer our G-IV. But, then, were not paying the fuel bill.

All in all, a good plane. Not great, yet.