Get Knowledge About Learjet 60 Aircraft
When it comes to pure climbing power, the Learjet 60 aircraft is hard to beat. This airplane doesn’t just take off–it blasts off.
Its power comes courtesy of a pair of Pratt & Whitney Canada 305As bolted to the back that each crank 4,600 pounds of thrust, giving this 23,500-pound airplane (maximum takeoff weight) one of the highest thrust-to-weight ratios in its class. The manual says this jet will climb 4,500 feet per minute on both engines. That’s not too shabby–and you can climb a whole bunch faster than the book says, although for the sake of passenger comfort, this kind of liftoff is not a good idea. The 60 will ascend to 41,000 feet from sea level in less than 20 minutes. Cracking open a beverage before reaching cruise altitude is just not a good idea–unless you want to wear it.
But an airplane with engines like the Learjet 60’s demands skill and respect in the cockpit. Intelligent power management is critical and landings need to be well planned and well executed.
When they aren’t, look out: the Learjet 60 has the highest accident rate in its class and almost all the accidents happened during landing. According to the National Transportation Safety Board, most of these mishaps resulted from failure of flight crews to read or understand a few key items in the aircraft manual.
One accident occurred after a hydraulic-system failure knocked out everything you need to slow down a jet–flaps, spoilers, brakes, thrust reversers–and the pilots elected to try landing on a 5,400-foot runway, anyway. Another resulted from a flight crew’s attempt to land on a snow- and ice-slicked runway with a tailwind and the anti-skid braking system turned off. Yet another happened after the pilots landed with a ground speed of 210 knots–just a wee bit faster than the normal touchdown speed of around 132 knots–and an unsuspecting deer didn’t get out of the way in time.
But even under ideal circumstances, the airplane for sale has certain characteristics–most notably small brakes and tires–that put a premium on landing skills. The brakes are a bugaboo left over from the aircraft’s predecessor, the Learjet 55 aircraft, 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 attached to its engines. After landing, they can slow down the airplane real fast.
The Learjet 60 can comfortably operate at high loads out of 5,000-foot-long runways. And its bigger engines give it considerably better performance than the 55 when operating in hot temperatures and high altitudes.
