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  Whilst only in the fray since the early ’80’s with the Challenger 600 ( formerly owned by Canadair ), Bombardier has come a long way to challenge the Gulfstream dominance.

The 600 was an outcropping of the reknowned Bill Lear school of thought but unfortunately was disappointing in terms of performance and overall reliability. I flew the Challenger in the mid-eighties alongside a Gulfstream III in the flight department....the Challenger never left the US.

The change to GE engines gave the model line up, starting with the 601, a significant boost amongst buyers of transcontinental and quasi-intercontinental aircraft. The range of this model line-up only began to approach the Gulfstream GIV after the introduction of the Challenger 601-3A-ER and the later 604 and 605.

A gradual refining of the model up to the present 605 has given the Challenger additional market credibility, although the cabin still suffers from the ’short but wide’ syndrome. Buyers at this level must consider the trade-off between fuel-efficiency and cabin ergonomics.

The jump to the truly ultra-long-range class with the introduction of the Global Express in 1998/9 was remarkable and a defining moment for Bombardier. The impressive cabin volume prompted Gulfstream to respond by sculpting out as much interior as possible back to the airframe of the GIVSP / GV so as to give the impression of greater cabin space.

The latest iteration is the Global Express XRS, competing head-to-head with the G550. The XRS over the Global Express has the same range-tweaking as the Gulfstream G550 over the GV but the G550 has a later generation cockpit, albeit with no real FAA-approved safety enhancements.

HUD and EVS/BEVS are extremely valuable additions in the cockpit, but are not yet authorized for use in any specific flight regimen. Global Express XRS buyers will have to wait three years or so for a cockpit upgrade.

The latest clever twist in the Bombardier line-up is the Global 5000. This jet has the same cabin cross-section as the Global Express but is truncated somewhat ( six feet shorter in the cabin ) and flies circa 4800 nm.

The Global 5000 is a direct and strong competitor to the G450 but Bombardier really needs to address support issues to make this jet a category killer.