I now know why....

[banned username 2]

Fun to fly but miserable to ride in. After I quit flying them, it took a couple of years to be able to straighten out my neck. (Depending upon which seat you're in your hear flops to the left or to the right.) I'll never, ever miss having to drag the baggage through the cabin and throw it behind the rear bench seat. We won't even talk about the forward lav (bucket) or the autopilot. And finally, my feet haven't been cold in an airplane once in the 10 years since I last flew that Lear. But, you're 100% correct - it was a hoot to fly.

AMEN!

 

[Dizel8]

I had a 24 make 10 in 60 seconds and 18K in just about 2. A riot to fly, but always low on gas

 

[Lead Sled]

I had a 24 make 10 in 60 seconds and 18K in just about 2. A riot to fly, but always low on gas

Eighteen years ago, just before I went to FlightSafety to get my type I ran into an old Lear guy flying a 25 on an air ambulance run. We had both flown into Idaho Falls, Idaho with medical teams to harvest organs from an organ donor. I mentioned to him how I was geting ready to go to school and get my type. I had a lot of questions for him. I asked him which model he liked the best. He told me that he had been flying them for over 25 years and that the 35 was an "old man's" airplane - nice and easy to fly and no fuel worries. He said the 25 was his favorite though. I asked him why and he said that it all starts at takeoff - the first thing that you do when you stand up the power levers is to make sure that you only have an hour's fuel on board. In other word's, you make sure that the fuel flow for each engine is +/- 2500 pph. After take off you then tell the copilot to raise the gear and the flaps and to notify ATC that you have a fuel emergency in progress! Boy, did he have that pegged.


'Sled

 

[LJ45]

500 kts TAS at Fl 290

Did 500 true at FL290, was able due to the really high ISA + temps.

This was in a Learjet 45XR....I thought that was pretty cool!

 

[davidhigbie]

Got my first flight in a Lear 35 in about 90 minutes...a short flight to Phoenix, but it should be a blast. Got an opportunity to make my one landing in the airplane to complete my initial.

 

[LongBoarder]

One Landing? For some reason I swore that you had to have three bounces to be considered legal with pax on board.... unless you did the whole thing in a Level C or D sim.... then you were good to go.


LB

 

[davidhigbie]

yep, bunch of landings and rest of training in level D sim...son gratis, (for free i think in espanol), as I got a chance to do an internship at FSI Tucson...hopefully it will lead to a full time flying gig with an operator...it was a blast, though, today...cant wait for Tues when we get to go again for a bit longer for an RVSM certification flight....

 

[Lead Sled]

Got my first flight in a Lear 35 in about 90 minutes...a short flight to Phoenix, but it should be a blast. Got an opportunity to make my one landing in the airplane to complete my initial.

Relax and enjoy it. Remember, no one ever died during their first 50 hours in a Lear. You'll be so far behind the airplane that if it crashes you'll be able to walk up to smoking crater.

'Sled

 

[tdwnds1]

There are days I miss flying the Lear 31A. It was a hoot to fly especially during those Cleveland winters. The Citation I fly now is ALOT more comfortable and I really like the avionics, but BOY there are days I wish it could do Mach .80!

I have to say that I dont miss the seats in that Lear. Two hours and my left butt cheek was numb! At least I can sit for a while in the Citation and be reasonably comfortable

 

[some_dude]

I just flew a 31A for the first time the other day. A very late one at that (completed in 2002). Wow-- a Learjet with decent avionics! And at least 15 years newer than any other Learjet I've flown.

I hope I get to fly it again.

There are days I miss flying the Lear 31A. It was a hoot to fly especially during those Cleveland winters. The Citation I fly now is ALOT more comfortable and I really like the avionics, but BOY there are days I wish it could do Mach .80!

I have to say that I dont miss the seats in that Lear. Two hours and my left butt cheek was numb! At least I can sit for a while in the Citation and be reasonably comfortable

 

[Pilot_Ryan]

Learjet pilots love their airplane. After getting into the Lear 35, all I can say is that this thing is a blast to fly Handles like a sports car

I don't fit in them! Give me a Hawker any day.

 

[corp_da20_guy]

I've seen that pic as your avtar floating around Ryan...it's a pretty cool one at that. Too bad it never really happened. Someone as usual got creative with Photoshop or something similiar. A buddy of mine is a maint sup. at the engine shop for AA where they repair and overhaul the Rolls Royce Engines on the 777 & 757...this has never happened like is shown in the pic.

 

[pa56pa]

the Lears are a blast to fly...! Just tonight, we dove from FL430 to 12000 and made the restrictions to DUXBY with no problem... no pax onboard of course... I wondered what ATC thought about after we complied with our instructions, after reminding us a second time, "You sure you can make DUXBY @ 12000?"

BTW, since RVSM this year, the ADCs were replaced with digital comps and we still have the good 'ol FC200 autopilot which works GREAT! ... AND has held altitude well since... Lear always said it wasn't the autopilot, but the analog ADCs.

Lastly... I do think that there is a benefit to being short ... lol. I'm one of the few pilots that can stretch my legs comfortably in a Lear... BUT... it's true, anything over 2 hours can be a drag on my a$$.

 

[Groundpounder]

There is a guy that flies a Lear 35 that is based with us that is at least 6'4", and 275 (maybe more). I have no idea how he can stand being wedged in there, and I feel sorry for whoever is flying with him.

 

[Gearmunky]

Well, after flying this thing on and off for a month, I now have a reformed opinion of this thing. It is still fun to fly, but after an hour the thing wrecks havoc on the part of the body where the leg bone ties into the assbone. Other than that, it's cool, but I wish it had autothrottles I guess you can't have it all