In the late 1990s, Bombardier identified a gap between mid-size aircraft and large jets. With only one aircraft in that super mid-size category, its operating costs were just as expensive as a larger aircraft. After researching aircraft operators’ needs, that’s when Bombardier pounced to create a business jet to fill the void in the market.
At the 1999 Paris Air Show, Bombardier announced the all-new Bombardier Continental, so named because this mid-size jet could complete transcontinental flights. By its official release in 2004, Bombardier renamed it the Challenger 300, which is not developmentally related to the Challenger 600-series.
Although production discontinued in 2014, the Challenger 300 remains one of the most popular aircraft in its category, and one of the best private jets to buy used.
Challenger 300 Specifications
The Challenger 300 can fly from coast-to-coast in the United States, nonstop, in either direction, including flying westbound against headwinds. It is also capable of making transcontinental flights, which made it the perfect choice for companies regularly flying cross-country in excessively large jets at greater cost. Routes like Miami to Seattle; New York to London; Singapore to Tokyo; and Washington, D.C. to San Francisco are within reach in the Challenger 300.
Bombardier’s super mid-size jet seats eight passengers and two crew members in a spacious cabin, while boasting an incredible 178-gallons per hour at high cruise speeds with its two Honeywell HTF7000 engines. Each produces 6,826 pounds of thrust. Amazingly, the aircraft easily takes off and lands on runways less than 5,000 feet long. Please see the table below for additional technical specifications.
Challenger 300 Range | Challenger 300 Distances |
Challenger 300 Performance Climb Rate One Engine Inoperable: 474 fpm Maximum Speed: 476 kts Normal Cruise: 459 kts | Challenger 300 Operating Weights Max Landing Weight: 33750 lb Operating Weight: 23850 lb Empty Weight: 23349 lb Fuel Capacity: 14045 lb Maximum Payload: 3350 lb |
Super Mid-Size Jet Cabin Features
Traveling business executives appreciate the Challenger 300 for its roomy cabin, which is nearly 29 feet long, more than six feet tall, and seven feet wide. It’s the largest cabin in the super-mid category by 39 percent.
The cabin includes an aft fully-enclosed flushing lavatory with a sink, and a forward galley with ample drawer space for refreshments and a microwave. The main seating area is 16.5 feet and has an adjacent luggage closet with 106 cubic feet of space, enough room to stow 66 carry-on size suitcases.
The double-club seating configuration allows for two simultaneous four-person meetings to be run in-flight, but some aircraft include a side-facing divan in the aft for relaxing and sleeping, in place of two club chairs.
The first serial-production business jet to debut the Lufthansa Technik Nice digital cabin-management and entertainment system, the Challenger 300 is equipped with 24 transducers, concealed behind cabin panels, to give the illusion of surround sound. The entertainment system also includes two 20-inch LCD bulkhead monitors and a DVD/CD player. In more recent years, aftermarket inflight entertainment packages have been added to some aircraft, including wireless internet capabilities. Executives also can charge their devices on 115-volt electrical outlets.
On average, cabin noise is at 84 decibels, taking into consideration take-off, landing, and fly-over. For perspective, city traffic is approximately 85 decibels. While it is louder than other mid-size jets from Bombardier, including the Learjet 45XR, which also seats 8, the Challenger 300 makes up for it in sheer size and comfort.
The Cockpit of the Challenger 300
Pilots of the Challenger 300 will enjoy the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 Advanced glass-panel avionics system in later models; older models can be retrofitted. The Pro Line 21 system includes LPV, RNP, FANS 1/A, synthetic vision, ADS-B Out, and controller-pilot datalink communications.
Rockwell Collins’ Integrated Flight Information System (IFIS) includes electronic charts, maps, and documents, global weather and XM satellite weather for the continental United States, the Caribbean, and some portions of Canada. Also available is the Rockwell Collins MultiScan Threat Detection system, a radar that detects and analyzes thunderstorms, turbulence, and windshear as far as 320 nautical miles ahead of the aircraft’s current position.
This aircraft’s brakes are also worth mentioning. Pilots who fly the Challenger 300 report particularly liking the electronic, brake-by-wire system, which provides steady, quick stops that give excellent short-field capability.
Additional Benefits of Flying in the Challenger 300
The Challenger 300 is immensely reliable. In fact, by the time Bombardier ceased production in 2014, the 448 aircraft in service had a combined one million hours of operations and a 99.79 percent dispatch reliability rate.
In terms of value, the Challenger 300 proved itself to be a best-buy. After five years in service, the average Challenger 300 retained 64 percent of its original value.
This nimble aircraft also can access more short-runway airports than any other aircraft in its class, thanks to its tidy take-offs and swift braking system.
Challenger 300 Ownership and Operational Costs
When brand-new, the Bombardier Challenger 300 sold for $21 million. As of June 2020, list prices for used private jets for sale start at $7.5 million, up to about $10 million, depending on flight hours, condition, maintenance, and updates.
The cost to operate this super mid-size jet is far less than the large jets it competed with for long-range flights. Operating at 200 hours per year, the Challenger 300 costs about $1 million, and $1.5 million to operate twice that amount. This cost includes fuel, maintenance, crew, hangar usage, insurance, and more.
Find a Bombardier Challenger 300 For Sale
The Bombardier Challenger 300 answered the call for an economical, but still upscale jet that could transverse long-range flights like its large-jet brethren. With its quick take-offs, short jetway requirements, and a stand-up cabin, it quickly became one of the most popular private jets for executives conducting business from coast-to-coast and across the Atlantic.
To find the Challenger 300 jet that will best suit your business needs and budget, contact andInternational Aircraft Dealers Association Accredited Aircraft Dealer. When you work with an accredited dealer and their brokers, you can expect efficient and ethical business transactions, private aviation industry experience, and connections to aviation service providers that only relationships spanning decades can provide.
To get started,find an IADA Accredited Aircraft Dealer near you. See our dealers’ vetted and verified listings of pre-ownedBombardier Challenger 300 aircraft for sale on AircraftExchange.com.