Lear 25D: Pros and cons please

[FlyingPieceOfSt]

I don't know what this "bulletproof CJ-610" talk is about. Maybe I've only flown trash engines on the 24/25s, but all of them were stall susceptible. Push the power up quickly on the ground and the engine farts. Get below .75 at altitude and hit a bump, descend below 240 to re-light one. Then there's the 4 to 6 week spool up time after you introduce fuel on the start. You've also got the stall / surge bleeds that liked to hang up causing a huge bang in the climb on more than one occasion.

The JT12s on the early Sabreliners are much more "bulletproof" as far as I'm concerned. Much better handing airplane to boot. My only complaint about it is the nosewheel steering. Would have been better off with full time limited steer through the pedals and a tiller like larger aircraft.

The early Lears are the kind of airplane you want to have flown for someone else in your past, but not something you want to be flying now.

You have to like the story of a pilot who had only one igniter working between two cj-610's. He found a witch's type broom, dipped it in some Jet-A and had the co-pilot try to start the engine without an igniter...

He lit the broom on fire once the engine started turning over. Once the embers started falling off the broom he placed the broom near the engine inlet. The story says it worked. Must have been a S Florida Air Ambulance Op trying to get home. SCARY!

 

[OPECJet]

You have to like the story of a pilot who had only one igniter working between two cj-610's. He found a witch's type broom, dipped it in some Jet-A and had the co-pilot try to start the engine without an igniter...

He lit the broom on fire once the engine started turning over. Once the embers started falling off the broom he placed the broom near the engine inlet. The story says it worked. Must have been a S Florida Air Ambulance Op trying to get home. SCARY!

Wasn't me, but sounds about right for the South Florida crowd. The guys I worked for on the Lears were straight up and did things as right as they could. The guy who owned the jets was another story....

I might have mislead on my comment about JT12s. I think it's a very good engine for an early straight pipe, hell any turbine for that matter. Pratt did good work when they built them.

 

[con-pilot]

I have flown the Lear 24/25/28 and I would still take a Sabre 40 over any of them. The Sabre 40 is a better flying aircraft, it is faster and it has a better range than the Lear 24/25/28.

Course about everything in the air has more range than a Lear 28, trust me on this.

I still say don't buy a CJ-610 or a P/W JT-12 powered aircraft, there are still a lot of used 731 powered aircraft on the market going very cheaply.

 

[LR25]

Wasnt there only a handful of 28's built? Thought I read about Niel Armstrong breaking records in one years ago.

Saw one about 10 yrs or so ago at SDF.

 

[LJ45]

@ 5-7 28's and @ the same number of 29's (29's had a larger fuselage tank...ie 36)

 

[Quimby]

Wasnt there only a handful of 28's built? Thought I read about Niel Armstrong breaking records in one years ago.

Saw one about 10 yrs or so ago at SDF.

http://records.fai.org/general_aviation/aircraft.asp?id=646

 

[Lynxman]

You have to like the story of a pilot who had only one igniter working between two cj-610's. He found a witch's type broom, dipped it in some Jet-A and had the co-pilot try to start the engine without an igniter...

He lit the broom on fire once the engine started turning over. Once the embers started falling off the broom he placed the broom near the engine inlet. The story says it worked. Must have been a S Florida Air Ambulance Op trying to get home. SCARY!

Please don't tell me this was Airtrek.

 

[FlyingPieceOfSt]

Please don't tell me this was Airtrek.

Funny you asked that Q. No it wasn't, but someone who lurks on here and does not like to participate, called me up and asked if it was Airtrek also.

 

[brokeflyer]

you have to declare "min fuel" on taxi out.

 

[con-pilot]

you have to declare "min fuel" on taxi out.

That would be the Lear 28 for a fact. If I could get an unrestricted climb to 51.0 I would have a maximum of a two hour endurance at .78 Mach and land with VFR reserves. Now try getting an unrestricted climb to 51.0 out of the Washinton D.C. and/or New York area.