Lear 31A

[frog_flyer]

In their day they were pretty cutting edge,but how far can you take 1950's technology?

Ask the USAF.

 

[Lead Sled]

Ask the USAF.

Bombardier ain't the USAF.

 

[GVFlyer]

I really like the Lear 35A, Sled.

When I was assigned to Headquarters U.S. European Command in Stuttgart Germany, our Area of Responsibility (AOR) was from The Hebrides, to the Azores to the Horn of Africa, throughout the Mideast and up to Moscow as our Eastern boundary. We had three C-21As, the military variant of the Lear 35A, and they were perfect for our mission. We never had to sweat fuel.

The fuel dump is a nice feature as well. Under our rules, we could file to a destination below minimums as long as we had two alternates above minimums. We frequently did so and would pack fuel on accordingly. When it became apparent that we would make in in to our destination, it was not uncommon for us to be coming down through 15,000 feet streaming fuel from both tip tanks to get down to landing weight.

We had a kick-ass tactical program where we got to do low-level high speed navigation, overhead approaches, pop-up approaches, high performance take-offs riding the burble and so forth.

We could fill the seats, put 6,238 lbs of fuel in the tanks and go 1,850 nm as a no-brainer. At my follow-on assignment at Andrews AFB, with a little actual planning I've flown the jet from Washington DC to San Francisco.

If I hit Powerball today, I'll have a late model Lear 36A in my garage tomorrow. I could go anyplace on Earth in the jet and still have the capability to roll it like a little acrobat.


GV

 

[CRAZY LEGS]

I really like the Lear 35A, Sled.

We could fill the seats, put 6,238 lbs of fuel in the tanks and go 1,850 nm as a no-brainer. At my follow-on assignment at Andrews AFB, with a little actual planning I've flown the jet from Washington DC to San Francisco.


very true. can' t think of another light jet that can do that.

and you can pick a nice 35 up for around 2 million, the price of a VLJ.

whats the powerball up to? cash option for me

 

[2dumb2drive]

We could fill the seats, put 6,238 lbs of fuel in the tanks and go 1,850 nm as a no-brainer. At my follow-on assignment at Andrews AFB, with a little actual planning I've flown the jet from Washington DC to San Francisco.

GV

As someone that occasionally flys a 35a i would like to know how this was accomplished. Straight line from ADW to SFO is 2124 nm. Going west ive never seen anything close to this, even high and pulled back. Curious as to what alt, what mach, what you landed with, and flight time. If you recall, thanks.

 

[Lead Sled]

I have fond memories of the time I spent in the 35 as well. It is a good airplane and it was a blast to hand fly. What I don't miss is the cramped cockpit, the baggage issues, the fuel bubbles in the wing, the fogged up windshields, the cold feet, and the small cabin. Other than that, it was pretty near perfect.

I point was (is) that the Lears were built using the best technology that money could buy back in the late '50s and early 60's. The fact that they are still viable after nearly 40 years is a testiment to the genius of the original design.

That being said, they are getting long in the tooth. Earlier, I mentioned the IAI Astra. That airframe was designed using 1980's technology. With that technology came the ability to fly about 1000 nm further, 20 ktas + faster, in a cabin approximately 2.5 larger using engines that develop just 200 pounds more thrust each.

The Lear always has been and always will be one of my favorite airplanes, but like I said earlier, there are other airplanes out there that are much easier to live with on a day-to-day basis.

The original thread was about the 31. IMHO, it's little more than a 35 with fuel imposed limitations in addition to all of the others that are inherant with the airframe. If I were in the market for a 30 series Lear I would be looking for the latest s/n 35 that I could find and go have a ball flying it. I'd just hope that I would never have to sit in the beast for more that about 3 hours and that we never had to carry more than about 4 passengers.

LS