Canadair CL-600 Regional Jet CRJ-100 & 200

Bombardier's Canadair Regional Jet pioneered the new 50 seat jet class, and has since become a runaway sales success. The Canadair Regional Jet - or CRJ - is designed to offer the high speed advantages of much larger jets, with similar standards of service while at the same time offering operating economics, particularly over longer stage lengths, close to that of comparable size turboprops. The concept of a stretched airliner derivative of the Challenger is not new, Canadair (now part of Bombardier Aerospace) originally studied a 24 seat stretched development of the CL-600 up to 1981. Design studies for a stretched airliner based on the 601 however were first undertaken in 1987, leading Canadair to launch the Regional Jet program on March 31 1989. The first of three development aircraft took to the skies for the first time on May 10 1991. Transport Canada certification was awarded on July 31 1992, allowing the first customer delivery to Lufthansa that October. Major changes over the Challenger apart from the stretched fuselage include a new advanced wing optimised for airline operations, higher design weights, EFIS flightdeck with Collins Pro-Line 4 avionics suite, new undercarriage, additional fuel capacity and slightly more powerful CF-34 engines. The original CRJ-100 series - the 100, 100ER and 100LR - was augmented by the 200 series (with more efficient engines) in 1995. The Series 200 is available in standard 200, long range 200LR with optional greater fuel capacity, and the extended range Series 200LR (all three are offered in B form with CF34-3B1s for improved hot and high performance). Corporate shuttle configurations are also available as the Corporate Jetliner and the SE (Special Edition). The stretched, 70 seat CRJ-700 is described separately.

The backbone of this section is from the The International Directory of Civil Aircraft by Gerard Frawley and used with permission. To get your own copy of the book click here.