Too cool

thoughts?


They may have been doing 450KTAS, not IAS. The Lear 60 climbs like a home-sick angel but is not all that fast at normal cruise altitudes compared to other swept wing corporate jets. The MMO is less than .80 Mach, if I remember right it is .78 or .79, it has been 14 years since I last flew one. But they ALL are FUN to fly! If you want see FAST,
get a ride in a Falcon, a Gulfstream or the Citation Ten.

Joe

Joe Sasser
V35B 550
Pecan Plantion, TX

thoughts?


They may have been doing 450KTAS, not IAS. The Lear 60 climbs like a home-sick angel but is not all that fast at normal cruise altitudes compared to other swept wing corporate jets. The MMO is less than .80 Mach, if I remember right it is .78 or .79, it has been 14 years since I last flew one. But they ALL are FUN to fly! If you want see FAST,
get a ride in a Falcon, a Gulfstream or the Citation Ten.

Joe

Joe Sasser
V35B 550
Pecan Plantion, TX

Jamie:
I had the opportunity to fly a in a Lear 60 on a trip from Atlanta to Toronto. I knew there was a line of nasty weather to penetrate, and it was nighttime.
Well, we flew over the thunderstorms. I looked down on all the flashing and crashing and thought, here's something you don't see every day.
Robin White

We were playing around in the upper teens if that makes a difference. I distinctly remember seeing 450 on the speed tape on the left side of the PFD in front of me. Is this KIAS or KTAS? We were going so dang fast I don't think it really matters. All I know is that at that speed, we were covering many miles to make a 360 degree steep turn. What a blast!![/quote]



You may have been seeing the GS readout.

Where do I find those patients ?

but but I wanna go......

Awesome Jamie!!!!!!

Very Cool Jamie! A flight you won't forget and you have a story to tell for many years. Reminds me of my two flights in the left seat of a Lear 35A a few years back, with just the Captain in the Copilot's seat and the Copilot in the back. Like you said, "what a rocket ship"!

Perrin

The Lear 60 is a wonderful bird!!!
Mr. Lear knew what he was doing years ago when he started with a fighter jet frame and created the Lear's design from that starting point.
It's a pilot's plane IMHO....not a "push the button" to fly....but a hands on machine and a good thumb on the trim switch!!
Yes....you have to pull back on the throttles right after lift off...not just to stay under the airspace speeds...but to get the gear up before you would exceed the gear operating speed limitations....one could just pitch up more but you end up with a nose high attitude that some pax may not like.
She climbs like no other in her class.
The small gear and wing design are the only "faults" of sorts which limit this bird from even better performance numbers......those Pratts would otherwise let this bird even go faster than the current Vmo.
Glad you enjoyed the ride!!!

The MMO in a 60 is .81 Normal ops for cruise if the temp is much above standard will deliver .77-.79

The Lear 60 has more thrust than the wing can make fly without exceeding the aerodynamic limitations of the wing. They are wonderful airplanes, but like anything in this industry, there are +'s, and -'s. The PW305 is an excellent engine with outstanding service performance. If you can get the bird to altitude quickly (atc is in charge)( the airplane will go from sea level to FL410 in about 15 minutes on a cool day if ATC will let you) the PW305 sips gas above FL410, and your winging along at over 500mph converting jet-a to heat at about 1500lbs per hour. In the midsize biz jet class, that's pretty rare and still be going .78 mach

The down side of the lear 60 is her brakes. The airplane rides on the same wing as the lear 31a, and the landing gear and wheels etc. are the same size, but carry over 5000 lbs more. This results in longer BFL numbers for takeoffs, and longer landing distances. In the midsize jet catagory, the 60 likes the runway the most. But once she's flying, nothing in the class can keep up. The old falcons might be a bit faster in cruise, but they can't climb to altitude like the 60 can.

The power/thrust to weight ratio on the lear 60 may be the highest of any midsized biz jet? Not sure on that one, as I've not studied the numbers.

The 60 is the favorite of mine.

Having spent most of my flying career flying everything from an old 23 to the 60 and for the last 8 years in a Global Express (which surprisingly has plenty of power for it's size), I do have to agree that a Learjet is a Pilot's airplane. They are a blast to fly.

However, these past few years I must say, after spending most of my career at FL410 and above, there is nothing more fun than cruising along in my Bonanza watching the world go by at 8 to 9 thou, tweaking the mixture, listening to the steady hum of a well cared for IO-520, watching the ole steam gauges, doing a little math in my head, my wife at my side and my grand-kids in the back with ear to ear grins!

In my early twenties, I worked hard to make that proverbial jump into turbine equipment and never looked back. It's funny how I now in my late 50s, I am having such a blast in flying piston powered aircraft. The smell of 100 octane, oil, etc. I guess just reminds me of my teens as a lineman at FXE. Yea, back when the tower sat atop Yankee stadium!

Oh well reminiscing over with! Felt good though...

TS

Tom,

I agree 100%...and I'm only 34. I enjoy flying the Bonanza more than going to work...since I get to choose where I go and when I go. Don't get me wrong, I love burning Jet A at my day job but nothing compares to flying a piston on your own schedule and seeing the smiles on your passengers as they experience the joys flying from point A to point B (with the occasional detour to circle Niagara Falls if its near your route, etc).

-Neal