Aircraft Comparative Analisys - LEar 35A - September 2011

n this month’s AircraftComparative Analysis, weprovide information on aselection of pre-owned andnew business jets in the

$1.85m-$8.895m range for the purpose ofvaluing the pre-owned Learjet 35A.

Can a Learjet 35A successfully competeagainst aircraft with greater cabin volume?This is one of several questions that wewill address in this month’s AircraftComparative Analysis. We’ll consider theusual productivity parameters - payload/range, speed and cabin size – and covercurrent and future market values.

The field in this study includes twonew, in-production business jets – theCessna Citation CJ4 and the EmbraerPhenom 300.

LEARJET 35A BACKGROUNDERThe early Learjet aircraft line started withthe Learjet 23 being delivered in 1964, fol-lowed by the Learjet 24 and then Learjet 25,all with GE CJ610-series engines. The totalnumber of these early aircraft delivered(combined) was over 700.

Starting with the Learjet 35 model theGarrett engine replaced the GE engine. TheModel 35A is an upgraded Model 35 - theonly major difference being that the 35Amodel has the Century III wing and an18,300 pound gross weight as standard.

It has two Garrett TFE731-2-2B enginesand a range of 2,125 nautical miles, with afuel capacity of 931 US gallons with refuel-ing accomplished at ground level througheach wingtip tank. This aircraft can beRVSM certified.

The Learjet 35A was introduced in 1976,replacing the Learjet 35. Over 600 Learjet35As were built, with a production line thatended with serial number 676 in 1993.Three years before production ended on theLearjet 35A, in 1990 Bombardier Aerospacepurchased the Learjet Corporation. Today,there are 509 Learjet 35A aircraft stillin-operation.

PAYLOAD & RANGEThe data contained in Table A (overleaf) ispublished in the B&CA, May 2011 issue, butis also sourced from Conklin & de Decker.As we mentioned in past articles, a potentialoperator should focus on payload capability.The Learjet 35A ‘Available payload withMaximum Fuel’ at 1,992 pounds offers thehighest payload with maximum fuel

by Michael Chase

38 WORLD AIRCRAFT SALES MAGAZINE – September 2011 Aircraft Index see Page 4www.AvBuyer.com

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I

AIRCRAFT COMPARATIVE ANALYSISBOMBARDIER LEARJET 35A

Bombardier Learjet 35ALEARJET 35A

CESSNA CITATION CJ4

PHENOM 300

AirCompAnalysisSeptember11_ACAn 23/08/2011 11:38 Page 1


compared to the Cessna Citation CJ4 andEmbraer Phenom 300.

CABIN VOLUMESThe cabin volume of the Learjet 35A is 268cubic feet. Those illustrated in Chart A (left)are provide courtesy of Conklin & deDecker. The Learjet 35A cabin volume is thesmallest in this field of study. The Phenom300 at 325 cubic feet has the largest cabinvolume with approximately 20% more inte-rior space than the Learjet 35A. The CJ4 at311 cubic feet offers 16% more interior space.

LEARJET 35A ENGINEAs mentioned above, the Learjet 35A hastwo Honeywell Garrett TFE731-2-2B engineswith 3,500 lbst each - the highest thrust inthis field of comparison. The CJ4 is poweredby two Williams FJ44-4A engines with 3,400lbst each and the Phenom 300 by two Pratt& Whitney Canada PW535E engines with3,200 lbst each. Table B (left) shows the vari-ants of the TFE engine currently installed onthe Learjet 35A.

Using data published in the May 2011B&CA Planning and Purchasing Handbookand the August 2011 B&CA OperationsPlanning Guide we will compare our air-craft. Jet-A fuel cost used in our source pub-lications was $6.04 per gallon at press timefor the August 2011 edition, so for the sakeof comparison we’ll chart the numbers aspublished.

Over the past year there has been a largeincrease in the average price per gallon (by$1.14, or 23% from the August 2010 fuelprice). In the past five years there has been agreat deal of volatility in US Jet-A Fuelprices.

Table C (left), as sourced from AircraftCost Calculator (ACC) shows the fuel usageby each aircraft model in this field of study.One of the unique benefits of using ACC isto quickly analyze, evaluate and customizeby inserting your own numbers that willprovide accurate operating information foryour own aircraft and/or flight department.

The Learjet 35A at 197 gallons per hour(GPH) leads the field with the highest fuelusage, followed by the CJ4 aircraft at 186GPH. The Embraer 300 is the most frugal onthe list with 161 GPH, (or 22% more fueleconomy than the Learjet 35A and 15.5%more than the CJ4).

COST PER MILE COMPARISONSThe ‘Cost per Mile’ represented in Chart B(top right) compares the Learjet 35A to itscompetition using direct costs, and with allaircraft flying a 1,000nm mission with 800lbs (four passengers) payload. The Learjet

Citation CJ4

Model MTOW(lb)

Max Fuel(lb)

Max Payload

(lb)

Avail Payload

w/Max Fuel(lb)

Max Fuel

Range(nm)

Max Payloadw/available

fuelIFR Range

18,300

16,950

17,968

Learjet 35A 6,198

5,828

5,353

3,190

2,118

2,216

1,992

1,000

942

2,125

2,142

1,937

1,924

1,485

1,277 Phenom 300

TABLE B

Cubic Feet

100 200 0

268

311Citation CJ4

Learjet 35A

300 400

325Phenom 300

TABLE A - PAYLOAD & RANGE

TABLE C


SOURCE: JETNET

CHART A - CABIN VOLUME

DATA COURTESY OF CONKLIN & DE DECKER, ORLEANS, MA, USA; B&CA MAY 2004 OPERATIONS PLANNING GUIDE

SOURCE: ACC, GRAFTON, WI (www.aircraftcostcalculator.com)


Model

Long RangeCruiseSpeed(kts)

CabinVolume(Cu Ft)

Max P/Lw/avail FuelIFR Range

(nm)

%For Sale

In -Operation

VrefRetail Price (Model

Year)

Learjet 35A

Citation CJ4

Phenom 300

424

373

383

268

311

325

1,924

1,485

1,277

509

36

38

17.7%

0%

10.5%

$1.8m(1993)

$8.8m(2011)

$8.5m(2011)

WORLD AIRCRAFT SALES MAGAZINE – September 2011 41Advertising Enquiries see Page 8 www.AvBuyer.com

❯


35A at $4.05 cost per mile leads all the aircraftin this field of study. By comparison, thePhenom 300 costs $2.71 per mile, while theCJ4 costs $3.17.

TOTAL VARIABLE COSTCOMPARISONSThe ‘Total Variable costs’ illustrated in ChartC (right) is defined as the cost of Fuelexpense, Maintenance Labor expense,Scheduled Parts cost and miscellaneous tripexpense. The total variable cost $1,736 perhour for the Learjet 35A is the highest in thefield of comparison. Once again, the Phenom300 is the cheapest to operate.

PRODUCTIVITY COMPARISONSThe points in Chart D (right) center on thesame group of aircraft. Pricing used in thevertical axis is as published in the B&CA 2011Purchase Planning Handbook and Vref. Theproductivity index requires further discussionin that the factors used can be somewhatarbitrary.

Productivity can be defined (and it is here)as the multiple of three factors.1. Range with full payload and available

fuel;2. The long range cruise speed flown to

achieve that range;3. The cabin volume available for

passengers and amenities.

The result is a very large number so forthe purpose of charting, each result is dividedby one billion. The examples plotted are con-fined to the aircraft in this study. A computedcurve fit on this plot would not be very tight,but when all business jet aircraft are consid-ered the “r” squared factor would equal anumber above 0.9. Others may choose differ-ent parameters, but serious business aircraftbuyers are usually impressed with Price,Range, Speed and Cabin Size.

After consideration of the Price, Range,Speed and Cabin Size, we can conclude thatthe Learjet 35A business jet can be competi-tive in terms of range, payload, and speed inspite of a smaller cabin, higher fuel usage,and higher operating costs when compared tothe higher-priced new market entrants.

Shown in Table D (right) is a comparisonof the long-range cruise speed, cabin volume,and payload of our comparative aircraft -plus the retail prices (from Vref) and thenumber of aircraft in-operation and percent-age ‘For Sale’ (from JETNET).

CHARTER MARKETTable E (overleaf) lists the top 10 business jetmodels used by Charter companies world-wide. Interestingly, the Learjet 35A is ranked

US $ per nautical mile

$0.00

Learjet 35A

Phenom 300

$5.00

$4.05

$3.17

$1.00 $2.00 $3.00 $4.00

$2.71

Citation CJ4

US $ per hour

$1,500 $0

Learjet 35A

Citation CJ4

$1,000

$1,736

$1,172

$500 $2,000

Phenom 300

$1,425

CHART D - PRODUCTIVITY

Index

Pri

ce

(M

illio

ns)

(Speed x Range x Cabin Volume / 1,000,000,000)

$0.0

$8.0

$6.0

0.15000

CJ4

0.17500 0.25000 0.30000

$4.0

$2.0

$10.0

0.20000 0.22500 0.27500

Phenom 300

Learjet 35A

CHART B - COST PER MILE*

* 800lbs PAYLOAD, 1,000 nm MISSION

DATA COURTESY OF CONKLIN & DE DECKER, ORLEANS, MA, USA; VREF; JETNET; 2011 B&CA PURCHASE PLANNING HANDBOOK

CHART C - VARIABLE COST

TABLE D - COMPARISON TABLE



first with the largest number of business jetsused by Charter companies at 167 out of the509 Learjet 35A aircraft in service today (or33% of the operational fleet).

SUMMARYIn the preceding paragraphs we have brieflycovered several of the attributes that busi-ness aircraft operators value. There are otherqualities such as airport performance, termi-nal area performance, and time to climb per-formance. The Learjet 35A performs well inthese areas as well.

Overall, the Learjet 35A fares well - sothose operators in the market should findthe preceding comparison of value. Ourexpectations are that the Learjet 35A willcontinue to do well in the pre-owned marketfor the time being.❯ For more information: Michael Chase is president of Chase & Associates, and can be contacted at 1628 Snowmass Place,Lewisville, TX 75077; Tel: 214-226-9882; Web: www.mdchase.com


TABLE E - POPULAR CHARTER AIRCRAFT MODELS

1987 FALCON 50 | S/N 181PROLINE 4, FRESH 4C, NEW PAINT, 100% JSSI, AFT LAV

1991 CITATION 560 | S/N 1185325 TTAF, FRESH HOT SECTIONS, EGPWS,

TCAS I, FREON AIR, PH 5 c/w JULY/2010, CESCOM

1999 LEAR 45 | S/N 0184916 TSN, MSP GOLD, EHS, TCAS II, EGPWS,

DFDR, SSCVR, UNS1C, RVSM/EU OPS 1 APPROVED

2009 PHENOM 300 | S/N 00005253 TSN, JSSI, EEC, TCAS II, 7TH PAX SEAT,

GALLEY ANNEX, PREMIUM PAX DOOR, LOADED!

1987 WESTWIND I | S/N 4388714 TSN, FRESH CZI’s, MSP, -3D, DUAL UNS1-L, TCAS II,

N1 DEECS, FREON AIR, L/S GEN, FRESH A INSPECTION

HOUSTON:PHONE 1 . 713 . 681 . 0075FAX 1 . 713 . 681 . 0035

[email protected]

Security. Trust. Confidence.

ALSO AVAILABLE:WW II, S/N 437 | C501, S/N 0682


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Aircraft Comparative Analisys - LEar 35A - September 2011