Sunday Trivia: 50 Seat Aircraft

We all know Bombardier’s 50 seat jets in the CRJ-100/200 series aircraft.   The CRJ-100/200 aircraft are actually derivatives of the original Canadair Challenger business jet and Canadair is the foundation of what became Bombardier’s aerospace division.

Can you name the first Canadair 50 seat airliner?

The answer after the fold:

It was the license built Canadair DC-4-M Northstar, a version of the Douglas DC-4 that used Roll Royce Merlin engines in lieu of the original Pratt & Whitney Double Wasps. 

The Northstar was a noisy aircraft as a result since the Merlin engine was supercharged and its exhaust did not pass through a turbocharger first.  It did have long legs with a range of about 3800 miles and it was able to carry 50 “first class” passengers.  BOAC operated a small fleet of these aircraft and Trans Canada Airlines flew them both to the United States as well as to Europe.

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