The 7 Best Bombardier Aircraft of All Time
In 1923, at the age of 15, Joseph-Armand Bombardier built a crude but workable snowmobile. Fifteen years later, the young mechanic patented his first seven-person snowmobile. With a vision of improving transportation, Bombardier’s dream grew from helping people cross snow-covered roads in rural Quebec to becoming a leading global transportation firm across multiple segments. These days, after divesting its train, Ski-Doo snowmobile, Sea-Doo personal watercraft and ATV divisions, Bombardier is only focused on designing and building business jets.
But even just that one endeavor has been an exercise in how to lead in a highly competitive industry with worthy competitors such as Gulfstream, Dassault Aviation and Citation Jets.
Bombardier entered aviation in 1985 with the purchase of Canadair, the leading Canadian manufacturer of Challenger wide-body jets—and grew the Challenger name to be the world’s largest-selling business jet. At the same time, Bombardier developed its Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) program. It would soon revolutionize regional commercial air travel by connecting smaller cities with larger hubs.
In 1990, Bombardier acquired the famous Learjet brand and launched the Learjet 60, which became the top-selling aircraft in its category. In 1993, the Quebec airframer would put an indelible stamp in business aviation, with the announcement of its Global Express business jet, which could fly nonstop from thousand of city pairs, such as New York to Tokyo, or Los Angeles to Buenos Aires. The ultra-long-range aircraft made its first flight in 1996 and entered service in 1999.
Since then, the series of Globals (6000, 5000, 5500, 6500, and 7500) have extended private aviation’s boundaries in terms of comfort, range, and speed—its Global 8000 became the first business jet to break the sound barrier during testing in 2021.
Led by Laurent Beaudoin, former CEO and chairman, and his son Pierre Beaudoin, Bombardier’s board chairman, Bombardier has manufactured a fleet of some 5,000 aircraft globally, bagging many city-to-city speed records, cabin design awards, and racking up an estimated 6,164 patents between 2009 and 2023.
In 2021, it launched the Challenger 3500, with significant technical improvements on the original and highly popular Challenger 350 platform, and a year later, it announced the Global 8000, which claims the longest range, largest interior volume and fastest speed in the ultra-long-range category.
Here are six of Bombardier’s most innovative and luxurious jets during its nearly 40-year history, and a seventh business aircraft that we can hopefully look forward to flying in the next 20 years.
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Learjet 60XR
Image Credit: Bombardier The Learjet 23 was the most distinctive business jet of the early 1960s, based on the Swiss P-16 military jet that Bill Lear used as the model for his fast, small jet. It was made famous by owners like Frank Sinatra, Arnold Palmer, James Brown, and John Travolta. The success of the Learjet 23 was followed by the larger Learjet 35.
After Bombardier purchased the brand in 1990, the aerospace giant invested heavily in the Lear brand, launching the 45, 55, 60, 70, and 75. In 1990, the Learjet 60 midsized jet had its first flight. It was an enhanced version of the Learjet 55, with a modified wing structure, lengthened fuselage, and other aerodynamic improvements. The upgraded Learjet 60XR was a variation with upgraded avionics and modifications to the cabin.
Bombardier had big plans for Learjet with its 85 program, the first all-composite business aircraft. The aircraft made its first flight in 2008, but never realized commercial success. In 2015, Bombardier shuttered the program, and in 2021, it ended production of all Learjet aircraft to focus on its larger, more profitable Challenger and Global jets.
Despite coming to an end, Learjet will always have a prized place in aviation history.
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Bombardier Dash 8
Image Credit: De Havilland Canada In 1992, Bombardier acquired Boeing’s De Havilland division and, with it, the already-famous Dash 8. This turboprop aircraft still ranks as one of the most successful regional aircraft in aviation history. Because of its fuel efficiency, short-field performance, and adaptability, the Dash 8 proved to be a successful link between small commuter aircraft and regional jets. In addition to VIP and corporate transport, the Dash 8 is now being used in firefighting, maritime patrol, and cargo operations. Bombardier sold the Dash 8 program to Longview Aviation Capital, which continues to build the Dash 8-400 series for regional commuter fleets as well as firefighting and medevac purposes.
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Global Express XRS
Image Credit: Bombardier In 1991, Bombardier announced a long-range business jet called the Global Express, which made its first flight in 1996. This business jet could accommodate up to 16 passengers with a range of about 6,000 nautical miles. The next iteration, called the Global Express XRS, followed in 2003, combining the best of the Global Express with the Bombardier 6000 for faster speed and longer range. Flying at Mach .82 at a range of 6,500 nautical miles, the Global Express XRS leveled up with improved takeoff performance, fast fueling capability, and the inclusion of Bombardier’s enhanced vision system.
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Challenger 300
Image Credit: Bombardier The popular super-mid-sized Challenger 300 was created from a clean-sheet design. The aircraft, which was certified in 2003, has undergone several iterations, including the Challenger 350 a decade later, which had an increased wingspan, higher-thrust Honeywell engines, and improved avionics suite. It is considered one of business aviation’s most popular super-mids, largely because of its reliability. In 2021, the first Challenger 3500 entered service. The award-winning interior has a voice-controlled interface to manage lighting, temperature, and entertainment.
High-end options include advanced sound insulation, zero-gravity Nuage seating, and simple entertainment and communication functionality in the side panels and through a passenger’s smart phone. Configured for eight to nine passengers, the Challenger 3500 has a cruise speed of 637 mph and a range of 3,913 nautical miles. The cockpit enhancements include autothrottle, an enhanced and synthetic vision system, and steep approach capabilities.
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Global 7500
Image Credit: Bombardier More than 200 examples of the $78 million, 19-seat Global 7500 business jet have been built, and the current Bombardier flagship has garnered more than 75 speed records. The Global 7500’s four living zones can be configured by each client, including a club suite, conference suite with dining options, and a principal suite, with a permanent bed and stand-up shower. Soleil lighting, a circadian rhythm-based cabin lighting system, includes dynamic daylight simulation. The interior has dozens of advanced features, including a professional galley.
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Global 8000
Image Credit: Bombardier Expected to enter service later this year, Bombardier’s $82-million Global 8000 will fly even farther and faster than the 7500 platform it’s based on. During flight tests in 2021, “The Masterpiece” (the test aircraft’s callsign) became the fastest business jet since the Concorde, officially breaking the sound barrier. It will have an official top cruise speed of Mach 0.94, or 721 mph, with an 8,000-nautical mile range for ultra-long-range routes like Los Angeles to Singapore, and many dozens of others. With seating for up to 19 passengers, the Global 8000 has four zones in a spacious cabin measuring 8 feet wide with headroom of 6’2”. The cabin includes Ka-band worldwide internet connectivity for video conferencing and streaming. Large windows, circadian rhythm-based cabin lighting, zero-gravity seating, hospital-grade HEPA air filtration, and a cabin altitude of just 2,900 feet all help reduce jet lag for extended trips.
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Ecojet
Image Credit: Bombardier The blended-wing design of the futuristic Ecojet is more than just a cool rendering. Bombardier has been working on the project for more than a decade, having flight-tested three ever-larger prototypes with the eventual goal of cutting carbon emissions in half. The team said its sixth-generation transonic wing modeling capabilities and new aircraft control architecture have made significant contributions to the design. “We’ve been working on blended-wing technology for probably about 10 years or more,” said Stephen McCullough, Bombardier’s Senior Vice President of Engineering and Product Development. “There’s a lot of nice things about the smoothness of the wings and fuselage, and the fact that the body provides lift and also reduced drag.” McCullough added that the blended-wing design will add to the luxurious interior owners expect in a business jet.
