X Plane 10 Bombardier Challenger 300 Download Free Download
X-plane Challenger 300

Ddenn Design has released an updated version of the Bombardier BD-100 Challenger 300 for X-Plane 9 & X-Plane 10. Dden developer has released an update to the Bombardier Challenger 300 V2 Captain Edition for X-Plane 11 only, XP 10 is not supported in V2. It’s a famous business jet aircraft and one of XP11 most popular aircraft. Owners of the previous model can buy the upgrade for only 10 USD with a promo code. New price will set you back 34.95 USD.

Utilizing the spoilers to get the Challenger slowed down, I returned to the airport area and configured for landing. Honestly, I cheated here quite a bit and didn't refer to the checklist or documentation at all. The aircraft warned me when I was over speeding the flaps so I had to guess my way through the entire process. It certainly wasn't professional, but I was able to set the airplane up on a long but stable approach for 17 at KTIW. I guessed on the speed and flew the airplane more on 'feel' than by the numbers and found that I carried a little too much airspeed into the flare. I floated quite a bit but was still able to squeeze the aircraft into the 5,000 foot runway through liberal use of the thrust reversers. My technique definitely wasn't the best but at least I landed it and learned my lesson that for future flights I would always be flying the Challenger by the numbers.

For my next flight I decided to do a cross country from KTIW to KGEG Spokane International. This wouldn't exactly be stretching the Challenger 300's impressive over 3,000 nm range, but it would give me a chance to test some cruise performance, the FMS, and see if I couldn't do a better job flying the airplane as it was meant to be flown.

Now that I was comfortable with getting the aircraft started and into the air, I climbed up to FL200 (20,000 ft MSL) with my flight plan laid in for KGEG. This isn't exactly all that high up, but I wanted to spend as much as my flight from western to eastern Washington straight and level. A good understanding of the Challenger 300's autopilot is absolutely necessary to enjoy flying this aircraft well. I got a basic idea of how to use it from what I read and fudged my way through the rest.

As I always do with test flights, my weather was set to no wind, standard day conditions. With cruise power set to approximately 69% N1 I was turning in a true airspeed of 423 knots or .689 Mach at FL200. This type of performance is easily attainable for a real Challenger 300, and, if anything, I was actually being overly conservative with it. Typical cruise speed is more in the neighborhood of .78 Mach and the service ceiling is FL450. As it turns out, I was just putting along low and slow on my way to Spokane.

Despite my modest altitude (for a business jet, at least) I was instantly reminded of why I really prefer my General Aviation piston singles for simulator flying. My very mediocre rendering settings provided me with virtually no view outside of the cockpit that resembled anything close to realistic. This is beyond boring to me and I imagine that a longer flight would be absolutely coma inducing. Maybe some guys like this kind of flying but it just isn't for me. At least I could utilize the 'Cameras' menu and play with the window shades and even visit the lavatory to break up the monotony of the flight.

When the time came to make my descent, I adhered closely to the 'book' and made a nice approach into KGEG topped off with a satisfyingly gentle and short landing. It definitely looks as though I'm starting to get the hang of flying this lovely airplane.

Conclusion

All in all, I found the VMAX Challenger 300 to be a very well made and high fidelity model of its real world counterpart. While adjusting to the complex systems represents a significant learning curve, Denis Krupin's excellent documentation and 'Fast Start' option make this aircraft easily accessible to jet novices such as myself.

Visuals are good throughout despite the somewhat dated textures and rough edges on some of the objects. I was running X-Plane with very little scenery enhancements and 'midgrade' rendering settings but found frame rates to be very serviceable despite being limited by my nearly ancient iMac. I easily could have introduced some clouds and still have been able to run the Challenger just fine.

X Plane 10 Bombardier Challenger 300 Download Free

Sounds are custom made and sound very nice. The twin Honeywell turbofans sound incredibly realistic and, as I mentioned already, I really appreciated the birds!

The well executed animations and popup menus are a helpful addition not always present with files of this price point. Speaking of price, I think the $29.95 price tag of this file is more than fair given the long list of nice features and accurate systems modeling. One can spend more money for a visually stunning aircraft model with nicer textures, but I highly doubt the attention to detail will be there with the rest of the plane.

X Plane 10 Bombardier Challenger 300 Download Free Download

Krupin cites a real world Challenger 300 pilot named 'Ian' as one who assisted him with the fine tuning of the flight model as well as creating the Quick Flight Tutorial. Some development teams like to say that 'real world pilots' test their products but somehow I'm usually left thinking, yeah right. Not so with the Challenger 300. This file definitely feels like a fine tuned machine that has been crafted to provide the sim pilot with the most faithfully reproduced flight experience possible.

I really see the VMAX Challenger 300 as appealing to customers who care about flight model and systems authenticity as their number one priority and love the challenges associated with flying jet aircraft. Sim pilots who want more depth to their X-Plane experience or those who are trying to move from piston powered aircraft to jets will find this aircraft a welcome addition to their hangar. Just the pure 'challenge' of mastering the Challenger is a reward in and of itself.

X-plane Challenger 300

Shawn Weigelt
Purchase VMAX Challenger 300 for X-Plane