Get the CJ3+. The combo of FADEC and G3000 is a heroin drip. (This is a semi-reckless metaphor. I doubt heroin drips actually turn out well)

You be the only pilot. Take your comp in hours, and dump the Conquest.

The owner will get used to the payments. In 6 months, it's just another bill.

Curious........why so little love for the Lear 40?

My read of the comments (no experience) - narrow support ecosystem - shops, pilots, suppliers, etc. All significant cost/hassle burdens without a compensating upside.

I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the Lear, operating cost is not that much different than the Excel, in fact it is lower in some cases. Yes, both are a lot higher than the CJ3, but as said above it's a different airplane.

The Lear 40XR is faster by a smidge and has a lot more range. With the exception of seats, I like the cabin better in the Lear, and as Jason said neither are standup.

If you need to carry 8 people then the Lear 45XR would be the comp to the Excel.

I haven't had any issues finding Lear pilots, in fact in my experience it is easier to find a Lear pilot than an Excel pilot who is available.

There are two reasons Lears are no longer the private jet everyone buys and neither are operating cost. One is that Cessna has simply won the battle of the brands, when you have entry level airplane and single pilot jets you feed your brand. Lear never had that and once Cessna started building faster airplanes they took over.

The second and really the major reason is that Bombardier has been a bad owner, they turned sales of new airplanes over to Bombardier salesmen... that just doesn't work. The Bombardier salespeople didn't know how to sell Lears... and didn't really care. Why not just talk that Lear 75 buyer into a Challenger 300?

If you understand the history and how Cessna has tiptoed around Lear's very limited product line, you'll understand why Learjets are still very viable. The reality is that Cessna never really built an airplane to directly compete with the Lear 40/45 and 70 /75 and now 75, they just let Lear have those niches. If you understand the airplane and it fits your mission the Cessnas can't compete.

The reason the Lear 40XR is so cheap, and a LOT cheaper than a comparable Excel is because the 40XR didn't sell well when it was new. It was almost as much as the 45XR, the 45XR had two more seats... why buy a 40XR? So many of the Lear 40XR's went into fractional deals, mainly Bombardier Flexjet, and over the last few years they have been selling them off.

The 45XR is still around $3M and the Lear 40XR is around $2M... so now the 40XR makes a lot of sense!

I haven't ran the market in over 9 months, but last year we found a 2008 Lear 40XR for a Texas based client, it was 5700TT, MSP, New Elliott paint and interior, with ADS-B Out, and WAAS LPV all for less than $2M... it was a way better deal all the way around than an Excel and we looked at all possible aircraft that would do his mission.

We have one of the last 45XR's built. Never flown a more unreliable airplane. There is going to be a big AD coming
Out on the engines, don't ask how I know.
Dave

I have always thought Lears look fast sitting on the ramp!!

Well they are if you can find a crew to work the flight !

You guys are lucky Mike Ciholas doesn't have a Learjet!

Too funny Chip!!! Probably fits his mission but two pilots required.

How many people is he planning bringing along?

Mostly 4-6, but will need up to 8 occasionally.
A compromise can be made for a 6 seater but it will need some legs.

I share a hangar with a Lear 35. The owner is not a pilot. He ends up flying commercial a lot because they can't find a 2nd pilot. I've volunteered to sit right seat for them if they ever needed it but they haven't taken me up on it.

I share a hangar with a Lear 35. The owner is not a pilot. He ends up flying commercial a lot because they can't find a 2nd pilot. I've volunteered to sit right seat for them if they ever needed it but they haven't taken me up on it.

I'm multi. Not commercial.

Sounds like owning that tiny airplane would be awesome.