USED JET REVIEW

LEARJET 60
Powerful engines and good resale
value are among this model’s
strengths. Just make sure your
pilots know what they’re doing
_by Mark Huber

44 I BJT august_september 2008

 USED JET REVIEW

economics
HOURLY DIRECT OPERATING COSTS
LEARJET 60 COMPARED – Fuel ($6.13 per gal): $1,360.86
First Normal Max – Maintenance labor (at $89 per hour): $245.81
Model year Variable Seats Range cruise takeoff – Parts, airframe, engine, avionics: $144.59
built cost/hour exec/max (nm) (kt) weight (lb)
– Inspections, component overhauls,
LEARJET 60 1993 $2,421 7/10 2,134 465 23,500
life limited parts: $209.19
HAWKER 800XP 1984 $2,851 8/15 2,539 449 28,000
– Engine restoration: $334.78
CESSNA CITATION VII 1992 $2,983 7/13 1,742 452 23,000
– Misc. expenses
ASTRA SPX 1986 $2,491 7/9 2,790 474 24,650
Landing and parking fees: $19.39
Assumptions: Jet fuel $6.13/gal; variable cost: fuel plus maintenance reserves and miscellaneous expenses average for 10 years; Crew expenses: $70
four passengers; VFR reserve fuel with 200-nm alternate; passenger weight 200 lb includes baggage.
Supplies & catering: $36
Cost source: Conklin & de Decker Life Cycle Cost TOTAL VARIABLE FLIGHT COSTS PER HOUR: $2,420.62
Performance source: Conklin & de Decker Aircraft Performance Comparator, Orleans, Mass.
Average speed: 414 knots
– Cost per nautical mile: $5.85

WHEN IT COMES TO PURE CLIMBING POWER, the When they aren’t, look out: the Learjet 60 has the
ANNUAL FIXED OPERATING COSTS
Learjet 60 is hard to beat. This airplane doesn’t just highest accident rate in its class and almost all the acci-
– Crew salaries (estimates)
take off–it blasts off. dents happened during landing (see chart on page 50).
Captain: $100,100
Its power comes courtesy of a pair of Pratt & According to the National Transportation Safety Board,
Copilot: $72,000
Whitney Canada 305As bolted to the back that each most of these mishaps resulted from failure of flight Benefits: $51,630
crank 4,600 pounds of thrust, giving this 23,500- crews to read or understand a few key items in the – Hangar rental (typical): $33,900
pound airplane (maximum takeoff weight) one of the aircraft manual. – Insurance (insured hull value = $6.9 million)
highest thrust-to-weight ratios in its class. The manu- One accident occurred after a hydraulic-system fail- Hull (0.23% of value): $15,870
al says this jet will climb 4,500 feet per minute on both ure knocked out everything you need to slow down a Admitted liability: $1,575
engines. That’s not too shabby–and you can climb a jet–flaps, spoilers, brakes, thrust reversers–and the pilots Legal liability: $13,750
whole bunch faster than the book says, although for elected to try landing on a 5,400-foot runway, anyway. – Recurrent crew training: $36,200
the sake of passenger comfort, this kind of liftoff is not (The book says you need 11,000 feet of runway in that – Aircraft modernization (avg per year): $35,000
a good idea. The 60 will ascend to 41,000 feet from situation.) Another resulted from a flight crew’s attempt – Navigational chart service: $4,166
sea level in less than 20 minutes. Cracking open a to land on a snow- and ice-slicked runway with a tailwind – Refurbishing: $24,920
beverage before reaching cruise altitude is just not and the anti-skid braking system turned off. (The book – Computer maintenance program: $4,500
a good idea–unless you want to wear it. says don’t try that, either.) Yet another happened after – Aviation weather service (typical): $700
But an airplane with engines like the Learjet 60’s the pilots landed with a ground speed of 210 knots–just TOTAL FIXED COST PER YEAR: $394,311
demands skill and respect in the cockpit. Intelligent a wee bit faster than the normal touchdown speed of
power management is critical and landings need to be around 132 knots–and an unsuspecting deer didn’t get
ANNUAL BUDGET–BASED ON 45,000 NM
well planned and well executed. out of the way in time. (The airplane then veered off the
(Utilization: 109 hours)
– Variable cost: $263,848
– Fixed cost: $394,311
TOTAL FIXED COST (WITHOUT DEPRECIATION): $658,159
– Per hour: $6,038
– Per nautical mile: $14.63
– Per seat nautical mile: $2.09
Total cost (Without Depreciation): $658,159
– Book depreciation (10% per year): $690,000
TOTAL COST (WITH BOOK DEPRECIATION): $1,348,159
– Per hour: $12,368
– Per nautical mile: $29.96
– Per seat nautical mile: $4.28
Total cost (Without Depreciation): $658,159
NEARLY SIX FEET WIDE, THE
– Market depreciation: $345,000
LEARJET 60’S STANDARD CABIN
TOTAL COST (WITH MARKET DEPRECIATION): $1,003,159
FEATURES FIVE EXECUTIVE SEATS,
A TWO-PLACE SIDE-FACING DIVAN,
– Per hour: $9,203
A SMALL FORWARD GALLEY AND
– Per nautical mile: $22.29
CLOSET AND A REAR LAVATORY. – Per nautical seat mile: $3.18

46 I BJT august_september 2008

 USED JET REVIEW

runway, crossed the taxiway,

impacted a ditch and burst into
flames.) See a trend here?
But even under ideal circum-
stances, the airplane has certain
characteristics–most notably small
brakes and tires–that put a premi-
um on landing skills. The brakes
are a bugaboo left over from the
aircraft’s predecessor, the Model
55, whose brakes are even smaller.
Notwithstanding their small size,
however, the 60’s brakes are not
usually an issue when the airplane
is flown by the book. That’s thanks
to the massive thrust reversers
THANKS LARGELY
attached to its engines. After landing, they can slow down the
TO ITS SPRY
airplane real fast. (Stow the beverages before landing, too.)
CLIMB TIME, THE
The Learjet 60 can comfortably operate at high loads
LEARJET 60 HAS
out of 5,000-foot-long runways. And its bigger engines
LOW DIRECT
HOURLY COSTS.
give it considerably better performance than the 55 when
operating in hot temperatures and high altitudes.
The Model 55 entered production in 1980 and 147 were
manufactured. It mated the wing of the Learjet Model 28/29
Longhorn with an expanded Model 35 fuselage. Bombardier
acquired Learjet in 1990. The 60 first flew in 1991 and cus-
tomer deliveries began in 1993. While the 60 has undergone
various interior and avionics changes over the years,
notably the SE and current XR models, the fuselage remains
largely unchanged. Between 1993 and 2005, when
Bombardier introduced the successor Model 60SE, it man-
ufactured 274 Model 60s.
Better brakes and engines are just two advantages the
60 has over the 55. The fuselage was stretched 43 inches,

FAIR MARKET VALUE PRICE

COMPARISON OF 1997 MODELS
12 Learjet 60
Cessna Citation VII
IAI Astra SPX
Hawker 800XP
10
$ (MILLIONS)

4 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Source: Vref Aircraft Value Reference (www.vrefpub.com)

BJT/Illustrator/802e_BJReview_FMV_AugSept08.eps
48 I BJT august_september 2008
 USED JET REVIEW

THE LEARJET 60 SAFETY RECORD COMPARED

ACCIDENT RATES PER 100,000 FLIGHT HOURS
(all years through 2007)
Model All Accidents Fatal Accidents
CESSNA CITATION VII 0 0
yielding an 18-inch-longer cabin (17.67 feet) and more
legroom. Cabin width is a fraction under six feet. The
HAWKER 800 SERIES
IAI ASTRA
0.16
0.33
0.03
0
specifications
standard cabin layout features five single executive LEARJET 60 0.6 0.09 CABIN DIMENSIONS
slide/swivel seats, a two-place side-facing divan oppo- Source: Robert E. Breiling Associates – Height: 5.71 ft
site the entry door, a small forward galley with space – Width: 5.92 ft
for a microwave and an ice drawer, a forward closet – Length: 17.67 ft
and a rear lavatory. Inside the cabin, the closet pro- performance and handling over the 55. Largely – Volume: 453 cu ft
vides 24 cubic feet of storage; an equal amount is in because of its spry climb time, the 60 has the lowest – Door height: 5.3 ft
the baggage compartment aft of the lavatory. Cabin direct hourly operating costs in its class. (The faster – Door width: 2.0 ft
noise close to the entry door can be pronounced, and you get to cruise altitude, the less fuel you burn.) BAGGAGE: 24 cu ft (internal)
that was a major driver when Learjet gutted and redid The avionics system is built around the Rockwell
24 cu ft (external)
the Model 60 cabin for the $13.65 million Model 60XR. Collins Pro Line 4 four-screen display that has proven
TYPICAL SEATS CREW/PASSENGERS
(Deliveries began in 2007.) its durability over many years.
(EXECUTIVE): 2/7
Headroom in the trenched center aisle is 5.7 feet. Pilots who fly the 60 generally love it–until some-
MAXIMUM WEIGHTS
Unrefueled range (two crew, four passengers, NBAA thing breaks. Bombardier’s product support for older
– Takeoff: 23,500 lb
IFR reserves) is 2,134 nautical miles. jets, while marginally improving, ranked second to
– Landing: 19,500 lb
The airplane has received a variety of aerodynamic last in this year’s annual Product Support Survey
– Basic operating: 14,772 lb
refinements, including winglets that improved efficiency, published by our sister publication, Aviation
– Usable fuel: 7,910 lb
International News. This comment, published with
– Maximum payload: 2,228 lb
that survey last year, is fairly typical of what Learjet
THE LEARJET 60 HAS A – Payload with full fuel: 1,068 lb
60 operators have to say: “The chief pilot for a
LONG-RANGE CRUISE SPEED
OF 423 KNOTS.
southern company complimented the reliability of its
Learjet 60, but added that support, warranty and
tech reps ‘leave a lot to be desired.’”
performance
The good news is that the 60 continues to hold its RANGE (IFR NBAA 200 nm reserve)
resale value well, even as the market for mid-size used – Seats full: 2,186 nm
jets is beginning to soften. A 1997 Learjet 60 sold new – Ferry range: 2,418 nm
for $10.8 million and, on average, still commands RATE OF CLIMB
about $6.9 million. Within the midsize class, only the – 4,500 fpm
Hawker 800XP posts stronger resale-value numbers.
CRUISE SPEED
The Hawker is, of course, slower. n
– Max: 465 kt
– Long range: 423 kt
Mark Huber welcomes comments and suggestions at:
mhuber@bjtonline.com. SERVICE CEILING AT MTOW
– 42,400 ft
Source: Conklin & de Decker, Orleans, Mass.

SUPPORT & SERVICE | LEARJET VS. COMPETITORS

Overall Overall Authorized Factory Aircraft on Aircraft
Parts Cost Warranty Technical Technical
Model Average Average Service Service Availability the Ground
2008 2007 Centers Centers of Parts Response Fulfillment Manuals Reps Reliability
CESSNA (CITATION) 7.26 7.36 7.21 7.32 7.44 6.11 7.45 6.88 7.41 7.41 7.99
HAWKER BEECHCRAFT (HAWKER) 6.90 6.16 7.22 6.93 6.76 5.80 6.85 6.34 6.97 7.32 7.76
BOMBARDIER (LEARJET) 6.61 6.11 6.83 6.13 6.58 5.62 6.53 5.92 6.99 6.59 8.01
IAI (ASTRA, WESTWIND) 6.49 6.27 7.00 4.74 6.96 5.16 6.87 6.06 6.48 6.81 7.85

Rating scale–1 to 10: 1-inadequate; 3-poor; 5.5-average; 8-good; 10-excellent. Ratings are for jets that are more than 10 years old.

Source: Aviation International News, 2008 Product Support Survey

50 I BJT august_september 2008