Lear 45 "bat outta hell" departure at KAUS

[aviator1978]

So I'm out on the ramp today when I see a FlexJet Lear 45/40 (maybe another model), taking off and maintaining 45+ degree (no exageration) climb angle, and maintain it to probably 6000 ft, before turning out.

This thing was hanging with some of the F-18's and T-38's I've seen out of here. Just what is the max climb rate on a lightly loaded lear 45/40?

 

[BOZO]

Too bad a Lear 60 didn't depart behind 'em.....heh heh heh

 

[Dangerkitty]

So I'm out on the ramp today when I see a FlexJet Lear 45/40 (maybe another model), taking off and maintaining 45+ degree (no exageration) climb angle, and maintain it to probably 6000 ft, before turning out.

This thing was hanging with some of the F-18's and T-38's I've seen out of here. Just what is the max climb rate on a lightly loaded lear 45/40?

I would imagine you saw a Lear 60. The 60's blow the doors off of the 45 down low.

 

[aviator1978]

might have been a 60. either way, I was impressed.

 

[HawkerF/O]

I saw a Flexjet 45 do that out of EGE on 7-3-2002. No departure, just shagged a$$ to the west runway heading right over that big 'ol mountain. I was impressed. I also saw a Encore pilot from a Monett, MO based operator land at MKC (they fly single pilot or at least they did at the time), went inside with his passenger, they got in a limo, then the pilot came back out to the plane with 4 or 5 of his friends and a huge smile on his face. They fired it up and taxied north to runway 19. I hear something behind me and I turn around to see a Encore about 5 feet off the deck, level and checkin' out. At the end of the runway and just before the dyke, he pulled that yoke back to his throat (you could literally see the control surface deflection) and I lost sight of the aircraft in less than 30 seconds. About 20 minutes later he came back and they all got off the plane and one of his passengers was crying uncontrollably. I think she got the excitement scared right out of her. It was funny to watch the whole thing (not the crying girl), but in all honestly, it was foolish.

 

[Alchemy]

Some of the charter guys that hung around KAUS used to take us line service guys for rides on maintenance flights once in a while. They told me they would do 8000-9000 fpm on climbout with just enough fuel for the mx flight, but those were lear 35's. I believe it....it looked like they were at least 5000 ft high by the end of the runway.

Of course, I've done 7500 fpm in a WSCoD with only 2 people in the back.

 

[HawkerF/O]

This thing was hanging with some of the F-18's and T-38's I've seen out of here. Just what is the max climb rate on a lightly loaded lear 45/40?

Just to emphasis what a 60 will do, it will climb like that at MGTOW. Those 305As are bad dudes. Was talking to a guy from P&W about 3 months ago, and he went into this long dissertation about how the engines were derated because they could not keep it on the runway during V1 cuts with the originally proposed thrust rating.

 

[twgordy]

The IVSI on the 45 pegs out at 9999....Don't ask me how I know.

 

[Valkyrie]

Like for the G-V, how frustrating... :crying:

 

[FL350]

I have made it to FL400 in less than 10 minutes in the 60. If you do the math, thats more than 4000 fpm average. We weren't MGTOW but we weren't all that light either. That airplane is really something else.

 

[RefugePilot]

HEY Aviator 1978

I am also an Austin based pilot. Where do you work? Are they hiring?

 

[CapnVegetto]

I fly an Encore, an Hawker F/O wasn't joking. It won't keep up with a LR-60, but there's not much it won't keep up with. I've made it to 430 in just under 17 minutes before, and that's not even stressing it. MMO is .755, and most of the time, you can't run the darn thing at max cruise power, because it'll overspeed. I've done FL 230 in 4 minutes, and and 10,000 feet in 1 minute 12 seconds, (both of those with no pax). It's a fun bird.

 

[Spooky 1]

Maybe someone here recalls the Clay Lacy Lear24B that did the zoom climb stunt while taking off one day at SFO, Rwy 28. Low overcast that gave a spectacular effect when you punched through the tops at around 600'. Don't know what happened, but the vertical speed up was tremendous at first, then the vertical speed down was even greater. Crashed in a near vertical dive in a parking lot right off the end off the runway. One of the pax was a catering guy was just going along for the quick ride over to the SMF airport. I guess it was a case of "watch this" that went bad.

 

[Doug Parker]

.


An F-14 did the vertical climb thru a low overcast followed by a vertical descent into the terrain some years back - I think it was in Tennessee.



No LrJet can climb anything like any of the F-teen series......I don't care how lightly you are loaded. ( must've just been Mil-pwr departures )




.

 

[GulfstreamSDL]

Pardon my ignorance, but, if the Lear 60 can climb like a menace, why does it have to cruise so slow? Just because its such a small plane?

 

[sydeseet]

Pardon my ignorance, but, if the Lear 60 can climb like a menace, why does it have to cruise so slow? Just because its such a small plane?

Not enough wing for that much engine/thrust. An unfortunate combination as the P & W's are very capable of the mid mach .8's.

I flew the Lear 24, and while it was a handful to be responsible for - picture an airplane that does absolutely nothing for you but go fast - it was blast to fly on empty legs. Make noise, climb fast, turn like a Porsche - who doesn't like doing that? We had charter customers that booked the airplane instead of the 35's just to get the rocket ride to 450. The company record was FL 450 in 13 minutes - out of the East Coast no less. If I could I'd have one in the garage with a new EFIS cockpit mod and comfortable seats purely for my own transportation. Much like Clay Lacy does come to think of it, minus the EFIS.

 

[CapnVegetto]

I'd always heard the 24D was the baddest a$$ one of them all. All the thrust of the 25D with less weight.

Holy poop throwin monkeys!!

 

[mushroom]

You can easily turn downwind from departure at 10,000 feet AGL in a light Lear 24 (or even 23). Better start leveling out ("positively," in FAA-speak) at about 1000 feet below your altitude or you will blow WAY through it.

Hand flying one for an hour or two at FL410 will make you a good pilot though. Always reminded me of flying a helicopter. Just "think" up or down instead of consciously moving the controls, and the plane will do it for you.

That being said, I flew with a captain once who did a "vertical" takeoff at TUS to impress the ground crew at the FBO, but without telling me first. Pulled the gear and flaps up on takeoff, put on the yaw damper, and stayed about 10 feet off the deck until the end of the runway. Then pulled up to about a 45 degree deck angle and climbed like hell. It was fun after I got over the initial shock of it, I guess, but I still gave him major hell for doing that without telling me. What if we had stalled right there at 10 feet if he pulled up too hard?

That same captain was killed a couple years later when he crashed his Lear. It's true that there are no old, bold pilots.

 

[Dangerkitty]

Pardon my ignorance, but, if the Lear 60 can climb like a menace, why does it have to cruise so slow? Just because its such a small plane?

I wouldn't really call the cruise all that slow. At FL410 I usually got about .76-.77 Mach. Down in the mid 30's it was easy to get .80 Mach.

The MMO goes down the higher you go because of the wing buzz that can be produced. At least thats what was told to me.

 

[LAZYB]

I'd always heard the 24D was the baddest a$$ one of them all. All the thrust of the 25D with less weight.

Holy poop throwin monkeys!!

I think it was the 24E - no fuselage tank = no range, but would go like he!! until low fuel lights came on.

 

[LAZYB]

That being said, I flew with a captain once who did a "vertical" takeoff at TUS to impress the ground crew at the FBO, but without telling me first. Pulled the gear and flaps up on takeoff, put on the yaw damper, and stayed about 10 feet off the deck until the end of the runway. Then pulled up to about a 45 degree deck angle and climbed like hell. It was fun after I got over the initial shock of it, I guess, but I still gave him major hell for doing that without telling me. What if we had stalled right there at 10 feet if he pulled up too hard?

That same captain was killed a couple years later when he crashed his Lear. It's true that there are no old, bold pilots.

Hmmm, sounds like a guy who flew freight out of TUS, on a DHL contract, for Direct Air. He did an aileron roll coming into PHX. And his demise wasn't a question of IF, but WHEN? No surprise.

 

[FL350]

I'm not sure I would call it slow. It is no Citation X in cruise but it will do .82. When you get it up high (above FL370) it does slow down some.

 

[banned username 2]

I wouldn't really call the cruise all that slow. At FL410 I usually got about .76-.77 Mach. Down in the mid 30's it was easy to get .80 Mach.

That's slow... I just did an Atlantic crossing at M0.85 & FL450... And we were heavy, that was part of a nearly 11 hour flight...

 

[GravityHater]

That same captain was killed a couple years later when he crashed his Lear. It's true that there are no old, bold pilots.

another way I have put it is,
"Never get bored while flying." Very dangerous.

 

[anchorman]

Hey FL350: Its been a while since I flew the Lear 60, but if memory serves me right the MMO is .81 Hope you haven't been doing .82 in it. That wing would be buffetting pretty good. Unless of course you're talking about the Lear 45. Don't know what MMO is on that one.

My personal record flying the Lear 60 is 12,000 feet per minute climb. No joke. It didn't sustain that climb rate for very long, but it did it. The airplane is a rocket! Too bad it doesn't have a bigger wing, wheels and brakes. No telling what it could do.

 

[cyork25]

I fly a 24D and it is a bad dude. I started on it when I had 700 hours and i'll tell you what, that's one heck of a ride. Anyway, i have like 500 hours in it now and it's the most fun you can have with your cloths on. Anyway, the only downside to ours is it has the 306 red line with the original wing. Out of sea level it'll peg the left side VSI, which is at 10,000 fpm. I just remember my first takeoff, talk about blowing an altitude.

P.S. ours only has 4000 hrs on it. It's still pretty fresh

 

[wolfpackpilot]

GulfstreamSDL,

I know that plane! I took off behind you guys last fall out in Vegas. Nice paint!

 

[wolfpackpilot]

I started on it when I had 700 hours

Your gonna be sorry you shared that information on this board....

 

[GulfstreamSDL]

GulfstreamSDL,

I know that plane! I took off behind you guys last fall out in Vegas. Nice paint!

I wish I flew that plane...
however, I dont fly anything close to it just yet...see the a/c I've flown.

Thank Nike for that paint job they call "orange orca."

 

[G4G5]

So I'm out on the ramp today when I see a FlexJet Lear 45/40 (maybe another model), taking off and maintaining 45+ degree (no exageration) climb angle, and maintain it to probably 6000 ft, before turning out.

This thing was hanging with some of the F-18's and T-38's I've seen out of here. Just what is the max climb rate on a lightly loaded lear 45/40?

He was trying to keep up with the G5 that departed ahead of him. Sounds like he couldn't keep up.