Why put a 1000000 mod on a 15 year old 25 if you can get a 35 for the same price.
The problem is : can you still sell a 20 for a million if you know that you can't get it RVSM certified for 2004 , yet? And how much does it cost to bring a 35 on a certificate ? Last but not least, your 25, you know it inside out, you know its squawks.
I read that the FJ44 is rated at 2300 lbs compared to the 2900 lbs of the CJ610-6 or -8, that's going to be a problem !
I read recently that Spirit Wing Aviation out of Oklahoma was having some technical difficulties with the bleeds on the Williams FJ44 engine (2300# thrust) . Their website seems to be down now at http://www.spirit-wing.com A previous poster may be thinking of the FJ22 being developed for the Eclipse 500. That is 700# thrust and about 100# weight.
Spirit is also trying to develop a RVSM package for the Lear 20 series. It seems the the Lear 20 up to this point is not on the FAA's RVSM conversion list, however, that could change with this Spirit package if it receives approval.
Point is well taken regarding the engine investment (I think it is $1.9 million) on the 20 series, rather than buying a Lear 35. Also, single engine climb performance would be an issue.
There was a firm out of Las Vegas who was working on a Pratt and Whitney 535 conversion for the Lear 24/25 series. Price was expected to be $4.1 million, including installation of delta fins as used on the 31A. Not sure if they are still in business.
Congrats to the genius who did a market feasability study on the 4.1 mil conversion.
I hope that this figure is part of a joke.
For that price you really got to love your Lear 20 !
I knew a guy that owned a really nice Lear 24F, he was considering this when the engines were due for overhaul, estimated around 400K ?. The limited info that I got from talking to him was that the Lear 24 would have the tip tanks removed, FJ44s installed, and some new avionics upgrades. The net result is a much lighter plane, stage III complience, similar performance, a huge reduction in fuel requirements, and like mentioned, a hefty price tag. Would I recommend doing it ? I don't think so, for 1M ?, possibly. I have no idea what the availability of this mod is or how much it would cost. The Lear 24 is a great perfoming light jet but might look a little odd without the trademark tip tanks. A nice Lear 24 can be had for around 500K so if you count the useful hours remaning and then do the mod, it would sure beat the pants off and old Citation 500 or 1SP. Remember there are a lot of people with more money than sense out there. One mod that sounded pretty good was the stage III hush kit, required removing the thrust reversers and installing a cookie cutter exhaust mixer nozzle.
You might be thinking of a mod that Clay Lacy was proposing. When you mentioned removing tip tanks and installing winglets, I believe that's what Lacy was planning. There is another company testing a stage 3 mod on the Lear 20 series. It might be the same company completing their testing on the GII stage 3 hush kit. Don't know anymore than that.
Hopefully someone comes along with an avionics/pitot/static upgrade to comply with DRVSM slated in December 2004, or else the 20 series will be driving around below FL290 or 430 and above. Of course the mod cost could approach the used value of early series 20's.
Can somebody give me some fuel planning numbers in pounds on a old citation 1 sp? 501? 1st hour, second and third. The aircraft has a sierra mod on it. Tell me anything you know about this airplane. I already know it's slow. Hey, it's got 2 big EFIS tubes on it! Looks like a nice plane! Thanks Fedupto410
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