How far can it really go? Bombardier specs say the CS300 can fly 3,300NM. That is a good distance for a small aircraft. Right now BBA508, a CS300, is on its way from Wichita, Kansas to Keflavik in Iceland – non-stop. The distance is 3,478NM.
Here we can see the flight approaching KEF. There was no announcement of this flight. It is clearly a long leg stretch. Even flying empty this is a long haul. The aircraft left Wichita at 7:57 CST this morning.
The aircraft is apparently on its way to Riga for a show to launch customer airBaltic. The CS300 has shown it has seven hours of flying time.
The flight landed at19:55 UTC, or 14:55 CST. Well done!
I think they will use it to start practicing some of the routes with their pilots, ground crews, etc. Kinda like what they did with SWISS. That way, they can start planning/testing the EIS with a Flight Test Vehicle ahead of the delivery of their very own CS300.
Well, I have also flown a 757 nearly 10 hours on a positioning flight. Those flights say little about the PAYLOAD-RANGE of the type. They also obviously got significant tailwinds on this flight.