CitationCapt

For you Lear 55 drivers, or those with past experience in it:

Airport elevation is 5900 ft msl, runway length is 4,984'. The runway slopes down about 1.4% going one direction. The weight bearing capacity, single wheel, is 12,500#.

Can you operate a Lear 55 under Part 135 (60%) into this example airport?

Thank you.

CC

ce650

Get an Excell.

lear 31 pilot

I don't fly a 55 but looking at my Lear 35 manual and I am not sure but I would suspect that the 35 will land in a shorter distance. I get at 6000ft these #s

12000 pound landing weight, zero runway gradient

Actual landing distance 16 degrees C 2955ft
Factored 60% rule 4925ft

This leaves about 1200 lbs of fuel on board and 1 passenger so it would limit you alot. Again this is for a lear 35 not a 55 but I would venture you might be even more limited in it

Indigo

I used the same numbers for the 55.

14,700 lb landing weight (about 1,200 lbs of fuel), zero gradient
Actual landing distance 16 degrees C = 3,178 feet
Factored 60% rule = 5,307 feet

The takeoff numbers are even worse
6,000 feet elevation, 4,984 foot runway, 16 degrees C
Max allowable takeoff weight 16,185 lbs (BOW is about 13,500) leaving you a little less than 1 hour fuel with reserves and no pax

When it gets hot you can forget it. The 55 is fine once it gets in the air but it's a runway hog. It's definitely not a good option for high, short and hot fields.

FlyinS

My boss has been looking at 55's as well, we are in a 35 now, and I keep telling him that we will be severely limited in the summertime as we operate out of 2000' MSL strips routinely.

Javiator

It's a pig. Aspen sucks in the summer. Don't forget to add all the little AAK's (depending on which one you have). We are fully decked out with the 731-3AR's and she still wont make 410 with full gas, 3 pax, and a few bags for the first hour.

CFIcare

Ditto what everyone else has previously said. I believe it had to be, for example, under 73 degrees and 17000 lbs to take off out of Aspen (flaps 8) and have enough fuel to get to KCOS or KPUB, landing with 1500#. I think that gives you about 3 pax with light bags. Last year it was 100 degrees in GJT, and I had to go to the spaghetti charts to figure out that to make the flight to TRM and land with min fuel, I'd take a accelerate-stop penalty and would need almost all of the 10,500' runway. Oh yeah and that's with just crew, no pax.

The 55 is a runway hog when it's hot out, super piggy in the climb and it's a hog on landing too with those silly brakes. We used to go (part 91) in and out of runways less than 5000' (KCRQ comes to mind, 4600' available) and I don't care what the 91 numbers say, it's tight.

That said...I love my Lear 45XR. Great brakes, can do 4000' runways dry, and go out of Aspen with enough fuel for 1.5 hours + comfortable reserve up to about 83 degrees I think. It can go straight to FL450 most days, and the only time it's piggy on takeoff is with 8 pax and bags.

Also, I've flown max range (STL to MRY) in trail with a LR55, and we both landed with about 1250# fuel although the 55 carries about 500# more fuel out of the gate. The 55 wing poops out around 410, whereas the 45 can go straight to FL450, and step up to FL470 if needed and if it makes sense (TAS vs. fuel flow vs. headwind-wise)

I've flown the 35 and 31 as well and I have to say that if you are set on a Lear and you are looking for decent high altitude performance and don't care about a true stand up cabin, the 45 is hard to beat. The -BR engine upgrade provides rated thrust up to 104 degrees as opposed to 88F and the increased ITT temp. parameters helps in places like Aspen in the summer.

CitationCapt

To everyone who replied to my post.

Thanks!

CC

redwave

If you stick it in the back of a C-130 it should no problem. Herk's forever!!

CFIcare

Great idea. Feasible too.

I think there ought to be more C-130s flying into Aspen, Eagle, Teterboro...It would certainly make MY time waiting in ground holds more interesting.

Maybe the corporate jet can carry the actual pax, and the C-130 can haul all of the crap that they take with them...strollers, snowboards, surfboards, wagon wheels, high chairs, kayaks, huge framed paintings of John Wayne, wrought iron furniture, boxes of ammunition, coolers full of frozen quail, small trees, victrolas, plasma screen tvs....this is just stuff I've hauled in a LEAR.