CL-65 vs. CRJ
Booker:
Here's the short answer to your question: "Just wondering where Bombardier got the CL-65 designation for the CRJ-200?"
It is the difference between the FAA's pilot-type designation for the aircraft versus the manufacturer's designation for the model.
The "CL" comes from "Canadair, Ltd.", the original manufacturer, before the aircraft, and its design, were bought by Bombardier. The regional jet began its history at Canadair in the early 1980s with the advent of the CL-600, the Challenger Jet. The FAA pilot-type designation for this aircraft is also CL-600, shortened on my type rating to "CL-60". With improvements in engines, fuselage and wings came model designations CL-601, CL-601-3A and CL-601-3R but the FAA's type rating remains "CL-600" for all of those aircraft. Further improvements in the aircraft (particularly in flight instrumentation) during the late 80's and early 90's lead to new models: CL-600-21316 and CL-604. The FAA considered these new models sufficiently different to require another type rating to act as PIC: the CL-604 type designation.
In 1992, Bombardier introduced the CRJ200, the 50-seat Canadair Regional Jet. Someone else will have to translate why the model number "200" for the 50- seater. The CRJ700 (70-seater) came next and the CRJ900 (86-seater) will, according to Bombardier's website, be introduced yet in 2003. True to their history, Bombardier designated the CRJ's model number to be the CL-600-21319. The FAA's pilot-type designation for the aircraft is CL-65. Why the number "65" escapes me. I suppose it's similar to the logic for designating one Citation Type the "500" and another the "550". (They're different but with similar origins?) I'll let someone else answer that one.
Hope that helps.