Challenger 350 Crew Requirements: CL-30 Rating, Duty and Rest

The Challenger 350 crew requirements start with its type certificate: FAA Type Certificate Data Sheet T00005NY lists the minimum crew for the BD-100-1A10 as “Two (Pilot and Co-pilot),” so every flight needs a pilot in command and a second in command, under Part 91 and Part 135 alike (TCDS T00005NY, Revision 12). The pilot in command needs the FAA’s CL-30 type rating. The second in command needs SIC qualifications under 61.55 and, outside United States airspace, at least an SIC type rating. Part 91 sets no duty limits for that crew, so a company policy does the work; on a Part 135 certificate, 135.267 caps a two-pilot crew at 10 hours of flight time in any 24 consecutive hours.

Which airplanes does this cover: Challenger 300, 350 and 3500?

All three are the same FAA model, the Bombardier BD-100-1A10. The TCDS says “Challenger 300” is a marketing designation for serial numbers up to 20500 and “Challenger 350” for serial number 20501 and on (Note 7). The current TCDS revision, dated July 2, 2019, doesn’t name the Challenger 3500. The FAA’s later documents do: the current master minimum equipment list is titled “Bombardier Challenger, BD-100-1A10 (Models CL-300, CL-350, & CL-3500)” (MMEL Revision 9, September 23, 2024), and the Flight Standardization Board report refers to “new models of the Challenger 350/3500” in an appendix on the same type rating (FSB report, Revision 8, September 24, 2024).

From the TCDS:

Note 4 adds that the “green” type design “does not include passenger provisions”; the seats in the cabin are whatever approved interior was installed. Count your own airplane’s passenger seats from its paperwork; some Part 135 rules turn on that number.

What type rating does a Challenger 350 pilot need?

14 CFR 61.31(a) says “a person who acts as a pilot in command of any of the following aircraft must hold a type rating for that aircraft,” and the list includes “(1) Large aircraft” and “(2) Turbojet-powered airplanes.” The Challenger qualifies twice: 14 CFR 1.1 defines a large aircraft as “more than 12,500 pounds, maximum certificated takeoff weight,” and the TCDS weights are about three times that.

The FSB report names the rating: “The Bombardier BD-100-1A10 type rating designation is CL-30.” The FAA’s table of pilot certificate type designations agrees, listing the BD-100-1A10 as CL-30 (FAA Order 8900.1, Figure 5-88, October 27, 2026). It also says “Both the Challenger 300 and Challenger 350 share the type rating designation CL-30.” One rating covers the fleet, with two conditions from the same report that a scheduler has to know about:

• Mixed fleets need differences training. “Pilots must receive differences training when operating in a mixed fleet between the Challenger 300 and the Challenger 350” (section 9.8), and differences checking as well (10.7). A 300 pilot isn’t automatically ready for a 350 trip.
• The left seat has its own task. Nosewheel steering is a seat-dependent task, trained and checked for the left seat (9.4 and 10.3). Moving a first officer into the left seat for a trip is a training question first.

The report also sets one currency item: “three steep approaches within 3 calendar-months in the airplane or FFS” (section 11). If your trips go into airports that need a steep approach, that currency belongs on each pilot’s record next to the type rating.

Who can sit in the right seat?

Two rules require the second pilot, and both lead to 61.55.

Under Part 91, 91.531(a) says no person may operate “any airplane that is type certificated for more than one required pilot” or “any large airplane” without a pilot designated as second in command, and 91.531(c) requires that pilot to meet 61.55.

Under Part 135, 135.99(a) bars operating “with less than the minimum flight crew specified in the aircraft operating limitations or the Aircraft Flight Manual.” The TCDS minimum crew settles it. (Paragraph (b), which requires an SIC with ten or more passenger seats, adds nothing here.)

Section 61.55(a) requires the SIC to hold at least a private pilot certificate with the category and class rating, an instrument rating for IFR, and “at least a pilot type rating for the aircraft being flown unless the flight will be conducted as domestic flight operations within the United States airspace.” Paragraph (b) adds familiarization within the previous 12 calendar months, including “three takeoffs and three landings to a full stop as the sole manipulator of the flight controls” in the type or a simulator of it.

Before you crew an international leg, confirm the right-seat pilot holds at least an SIC type rating for the CL-30; a pilot legal in the right seat at home may not be legal on the leg to Mexico.

How do you schedule two pilots for long Challenger 350 trips?

Every trip uses two pilots’ duty and rest at once, and each has their own history: one may have flown yesterday and the other sat standby. The trip is only as legal as the pilot with less rest.

The rules that limit those two pilots depend on the operation:

Two Part 135 details matter more on this airplane than on a short-range one. First, 135.267(b) counts “the total flight time of the assigned flight when added to any other commercial flying by that flight crewmember.” Second, 135.263(c) says required transportation “not local in character” to or from the airplane “is not considered part of a rest period.” Airline-positioning a crew to meet the airplane costs rest as well as money.

When two pilots aren’t enough for a single long day, Part 135 has a separate rule for three- and four-pilot crews, 135.269. For three pilots it allows “no more than 18 duty hours” in any 24 consecutive hours, “no more than 12 hours aloft” within those duty hours, “no more than 8 hours of flight deck duty in any 24 consecutive hours” per pilot, at least 12 hours of rest after the assignment, and “adequate sleeping facilities on the aircraft for the relief pilot.” Whether a given cabin meets that last condition is a question for your operations manual and your principal operations inspector before you sell the trip.

Worked example: a long day versus an overnight (illustrative)

Everything here is illustrative: the times, the legs and the company policy. All times are in one time zone. The Part 91 limits come from the sample policy in our Part 91 duty time limits guide: report 60 minutes before the first block out, release 30 minutes after the last block in, no more than 14 hours of duty and 10 hours of flight time in any 24 consecutive hours, and 10 hours of rest before each duty period. These numbers are not this type’s real block times.

The client wants to fly from a city one hour from your base to a destination 5.5 hours away, hold a three-hour meeting and come back the same day.

Version A: the same-day trip

Flight time is 13.0 hours. Duty runs from 0600 to 0115, 19 hours 15 minutes.

1. Part 91 sample policy: fails twice, at 13.0 hours of flight time against 10 and 19:15 of duty against 14.
2. Part 135, two pilots: fails 135.267(b). Looking back 24 hours from leg 3’s block-in, the crew has flown 12.0 hours, already over 10 without the last positioning leg. The duty day also leaves no room for 10 consecutive hours of rest in the 24 hours before completion (135.267(d)).
3. Part 135, three pilots: still fails twice. The crew is aloft 13.0 hours against a limit of 12 (135.269(b)(4)) and on duty 19:15 against 18 (135.269(b)(3)), and that’s before the sleeping-facility question.

Version B: overnight at the destination

Day 1 duty is 0600 to 1500 (9:00) and Day 2 is 1000 to 1845 (8:45). Rest between is 19 hours.

1. Part 91 sample policy: passes. Neither day reaches 10 hours of flight time or 14 of duty, and rest is well over 10 hours.
2. Part 135, two pilots: passes. From Day 2’s last block-in at 1815, the 24-hour look-back reaches 1815 on Day 1, after leg 2 ended, so it holds 6.5 hours. The 19-hour rest falls inside the window.

Version B costs a hotel night for two pilots and a night’s parking at the destination. Version A can’t be flown by two pilots under Part 135 at any price, so quote Version B when the request comes in.

The example counts positioning legs toward the 135.267 total. If yours fly under Part 91, confirm with your principal operations inspector how they count.

International legs: what the crew and the office must have ready

Three items change when a leg crosses the border:

• SIC type rating. As above, 61.55(a)(3) requires at least an SIC type rating for flights outside U.S. airspace.
• Customs manifests. For a private aircraft, U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s rule at 19 CFR 122.22 makes the pilot “responsible for ensuring the notice of arrival and manifest information regarding each individual onboard the aircraft are transmitted to CBP,” submitted through eAPIS “no later than 60 minutes prior to departure” from the foreign airport for flights to the United States, and “no later than 60 minutes prior to departing the United States” outbound. The manifest covers everyone aboard, crew included, with each person’s travel document type, number and expiration date, so passports must be on file and current before the trip.
• Charter isn’t “private aircraft.” CBP’s definition in 19 CFR 122.1(h) excludes aircraft “carrying passengers and/or cargo for commercial purposes,” so a Part 135 charter falls under different CBP rules. Check with CBP for those.

Release and risk questions for this type

A two-pilot jet with this range brings its own risk questions. A few that fit long trips (adapt them to your flight risk assessment):

1. Will either pilot be over 12 hours of duty at the last landing?
2. Is the destination runway short, wet or contaminated, or does the approach require steep approach procedures, and is each pilot current on them?
3. Is any leg international, and does the SIC hold the type rating that requires?
4. Is the PIC or SIC new to the type, or flying in a mixed 300 and 350 fleet without differences training on record?

What a scheduler needs to know about maintenance

The shop or your maintenance tracking service plans and does the work. The scheduler’s job is narrower: know what comes due by date, hours or cycles before the airplane is booked, and don’t sell a five-day international trip that crosses an inspection due on day three. Long trips burn hours fast, so a due date forecast from last month’s use can arrive sooner than the calendar suggests. When the airplane has a defect that grounds it, the trips on it need a new airplane or a new date.

What to record per trip for Challenger 350 costs

Record, per trip:

• Fuel bought on each leg, at the price actually paid
• Positioning legs, marked as such: they carry the full hourly cost and no passengers
• Crew hotels, meals and ground transport for two pilots, per night away
• Landing, handling, parking and hangar fees at each stop
• International costs: permits, customs and overflight fees, and outside trip support
• Crew positioning by airline, if the crew meets the airplane

We don’t publish fuel burns or hourly costs for this type; use your own invoices. Our guide to what a trip really costs shows how to roll these into one number, and how to price a charter trip turns that into a quote.

Putting a Challenger 350 on a Part 135 certificate

A charter certificate changes who may fly the airplane, how often they’re checked and how their days are counted:

1. The certificate and the airplane. 135.25(b) requires “exclusive use of at least one aircraft” for at least one kind of operation in the operations specifications, and a written agreement for the others. The FSB report found the BD-100-1A10 “operationally suitable for operations under parts 91 and 135.”
2. Both pilots qualified under Part 135. The PIC needs an ATP with the type rating; both pilots pass 135.293 testing every 12 calendar months, and the PIC passes a 135.299 line check every 12 and a 135.297 instrument proficiency check every 6.
3. 135.267 replaces the company policy as the floor. The 10-hour two-pilot cap, the 10-hour rest look-back and 13 rest periods of 24 hours each calendar quarter apply per pilot, counting all commercial flying.
4. Owner flights and charter flights mix. If the airplane still flies the owner under Part 91, keep each pilot’s Part 135 totals separate and complete, because a Part 91 day can leave a pilot short of rest for tomorrow’s charter.

Running a Challenger 350 in Avion Desk

Each pilot’s certificates, training requirements and training records sit on their profile, most urgent first, and seating a pilot who isn’t qualified on the aircraft is flagged. Duty and rest are checked whenever the schedule moves, against your Part 91 company policy, which you can edit; on the plan for charter operators the same check applies 135.267, on track (b) or (c). Standby, days off and positioning go in as crew events, and a crew duty view shows where each pilot stands. Each leg’s manifest flags a missing or expiring passport. Maintenance items come due by date or counter with a forecast from recent use, and a trip on an aircraft with a finding can be saved but not released. Fuel is recorded per leg and each trip’s costs roll up, and on the plan for charter operators quotes come from your rate cards (see pricing). The free trial runs on the plan you pick at sign-up, so a charter operator can try the Part 135 checks from day one. To try it, start a free trial and add your Challenger 350 with its two crews, then enter a long same-day request and its overnight version and see which one the duty checks pass, or request a demo.

Frequently asked questions

Can a Challenger 350 be flown single pilot?

No. The TCDS lists the minimum crew as “Two (Pilot and Co-pilot),” and both 91.531 and 135.99 require that crew.

What is the type rating for the Challenger 350?

CL-30. The FAA’s FSB report says the Challenger 300 and Challenger 350 “share the type rating designation CL-30,” and the FAA’s equipment list names the Challenger 3500 under the same BD-100-1A10 model.

Does the Challenger 350 copilot need a type rating?

For flights outside U.S. airspace, yes: at least an SIC type rating under 61.55(a)(3). For domestic flights, the SIC needs 61.55 qualifications without a type rating.

How many hours can a Challenger 350 crew fly in a day under Part 135?

For an on-demand two-pilot crew, 10 hours of flight time in any 24 consecutive hours, counting all commercial flying (135.267(b)). A three-pilot crew under 135.269 may be aloft up to 12 hours, with conditions.

This article explains the rules in plain language and isn’t legal advice; the regulation text governs.

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