ahah tell me something I don't know. actual payload, not what the plane is capable, NBAA IFR range, etc...
First of all the 20 series is a lot more capable than the performance charts give it credit for. Not that any of us do that.
One of the big issues is maintenance. Several of the manufacturers of Learjet components have gone out of business, so getting new parts is a crap shoot. Finding an avionics shop that can work on the Autopilot
properly are few and far between. Overhauls are getting outrageous. The last one I did about 12 years ago was over 400K. And since GE shut down their CJ610 facilities in Brazil, getting parts is becoming more and more difficult. And the military parts are not legal, though there are a few bottom feeders out there that are using them.
Depending on where the aircraft has been based and how it has been treated, will have a major effect on how much the major inspections are. The three major inspections are the 12 year, 12,000 and 20,000 hr inspections. None of them are cheap and the aircraft will down for a minimum of 3 weeks.
Now lets talk about fuel. The 20 series has NEVER met a fuel truck it didn't like. It has been awhile since I have flown one, but it can carry around 5900 pounds of fuel. With that (depending on how you fly it, stage lengths, which wing and the particular engines) you have about 3 to 3 1/2 hours of fuel.
Noise is another issue. More and more airports are restricting access to non-stage 3 aircraft. For all intents and purposes, the 20's are a stage 0 aircraft.
As for speed. I used to flight plan for 440 kts. Most high time Lear guys will try to fly it at .78 to .80. These are high cruise numbers. Normal cruise is .75 to .76.
For the passengers: The potty is VERY public. Bags are a @#$%^&* _itch to load. Not a lot of cubes in the baggage compartment.
For the pilot: Cockpit is TIGHT. If you are over about 5'10", you need a big crowbar to get into the seat. No room for Jepps. Plan on NOS charts. Heating and AC are weak in the cockpit. Careful fuel management is needed. Windshield is anti-iced by bleed air and can fog up quite rapidly. So you need to have the windshield bleed air on almost from start of taxi. In the passenger configuration it is almost impossible to get out of CG. In the freight configuration, you can get out out of CG, but you have to work at it. IF you have an engine failure on takeoff, the aircraft will still climb better than most other jets in its class can do on both engines. If the engine is maintained properly with the proper parts, it is practically bullet proof. It will take a lot to get it to fail.
He may be getting this aircraft very cheap, but he will pay for it down the road. He can either pay up front or out the tailpipe. I don't know your friend's budget, but he might want to take a look at a early 35, Westwind or Hawker 400 or 600 fan. These aircraft are presently under a million.
