In a society where being thin is the gold standard, it is understandable that folks become a little miffed when told they have a wide body. But in the world of aviation, the term "widebody" is considered venerable indeed. That's why it should come as no surprise to any of us that Bombardier is touting its new 110/130-seat CSeries narrowbody as a widebody for the simple fact that the aircraft is larger than any model within its current portfolio.
That is, at least, what Aviation Week senior editor Darren Shannon was told last week by Parker Aerospace, which has won a big contract to develop a generic fly-by-wire system for "all new Bombardier widebody aircraft requiring this technology", including the CSeries.
But apart from the CSeries, what other platforms are involved? And will the fly-by-wire system be available as a new feature on existing aircraft coming off the production line such as the Global Express, Challenger or CRJs, or are the other aircraft included in the Parker contract new, clean-sheet aircraft designs under consideration at Bombardier?
You can be sure Flight editors are working feverishly for a sensible answer (this particular one happens to be on vacation this week). But keep an eye on this space for an update. And in the meantime, check out why narrow is for the birds.
But 'tis surely not the first such beast from Bombardier (nee Canadair): haven't they always said that the Challenger corporate-jet is a widebody with its (I think) 8ft 2in-diameter cabin? Obviously that must be read in the context of such machines - the CRJ has the same waistline, er, cross-secction, but ain't a widebody in airliner terms (except when compared with other regionals' three-abreast layout).
Not for nothing was Bill Lear's original L600 design dubbed 'Fat Albert'... He has a lot to answer for, as has Eric McConachie for the RJ variant idea.