Leariet 60XR•I

I

TURBINEPI LOT

Learjet 60XRAverage equipped price: $13.65 million

The 60XR's ProLine 21 suite haselectronic charts

and can portrayflight plan routes in3-D (second screenfrom right).Autopilotcontrols are on the

glareshield panel,with warningannunciators

immediately abovethem. Subpanelswitches and

controls are cleanlygrouped by function,and well-organized.

SpecificationsPowerplants Two Pratt & Whitney

PW305A. 4.600 Ibst ea

Recommended TBO 6,000 hr

Length 58 ft 8 in

Height 14 ft 6 in

Wingspan 43 ft 9 in

Wing area 264.5 sq ft

Wing loading 88.8 Ibjsq ft

Power loading 2.55 Ibjlb

Seats 2 + up to 8

Cabin length 17 ft 7 inCabin width 5 ft 11 in

Cabin height 5 ft 8 in

Basic operating weight 15.180 Ib

Max ramp weight.. 23.750 Ib

Max takeoff weight. 23.500 Ib

Max zero fuel weight.. 17.000 Ib

Payload wjfull fuel 660 Ib

Max landing weight 19.500 Ib

Fuel capacity 7.910 Ibjl.185 gal

sleeping, and there's a cabin entertain­ment system that comes with individu­al three-inch LCD touchscreens at each

seat. The touchscreens let you controlcabin lighting, temperature, and audio/video volume and source.

AOPA PILOT· 82 •NOVEMBER 2008

PerformanceTakeoff distance 5,450 ft

Climb to FL410 18.5 min

High speed cruise .466 KTASjMach 0.81

Typical cruise speed .. 453 KTASjMach 0.79

Long range speed 426 KTASjMach 0.74

Max range 2,451 nm

Max operating altitude 51.000 ft

Single-engine service ceiling 24.300 ftSea-level cabin to 25.700 ft

Landing distance 3,420 ft

For more information. contact Bombardier

Aerospace. 400 Cote-Vertu Road West.

Dorval, Quebec. Canada H4S lY9; tele­

phone 800-268-0030; www.businessaircraft. bombardier. com.

All specifications are based on manu­

facturer's calculations. All performance

figures are based on standard day. stan­

dard atmosphere, sea level. gross weightconditions unless otherwise noted.

Still a pilot's airplaneThe 60XR treats its passengers well,but its performance can still set its pi­lots' hearts aflutter. With a max takeoff

weight of 23,500 pounds and enginesthat put out a total of 9,200 lbst, that

works out to 0.391 pounds of thrust foreach pound of weight. (The originalLear Jet 23 had a 1:2.2 thrust-to-weightratio; Concorde had a 0.373 thrust-to­weight ratio.) This kind of thrust is whatgives all Learjets their breathtakingacceleration and climb performance,which we'll see shortly.

Like so many other new businessaircraft, the 60XR uses the RockwellCollins Pro Line 21 avionics suite.

That's saying a lot. This comprises, inpart: four 8-by-l0-inch LCD screens,dual FMS-5000 flight managementsystems, an integrated flight controlsystem, dual AHRS units, RVSM cer­tification, plus Jeppesen electroniccharts, engine indicating systems,and an Integrated Standby IndicatorSystem (lSIS)-an emergency displayshowing airspeed, altitude, heading,and navigation guidance.

A few of the 60XR's other systemsare worth a mention, too. The enginesare FADEC-controlled, for more pre­cise power settings and lower pilotworkload. An automatic power reserve

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(APR)feature kicks in should an enginefail on takeoff; this boosts the operatingengine's power and permits single-en­gine climb rates in the 2,OOO-plus-fpmrange. The pressurization system has awhopping 9.4-psi maximum pressuredifferential, which means an 8,OOO-footcabin at 51,000 feet. If you forget to setthe pressurization system, automaticbleed air switches close to pressurizethe cabin as you pass through 13,000feet. Using the single-point refuelingport, you can top off the 60XR's 1,180­gallon fuel tanks in 40 minutes. The air­plane has two methods for emergencylanding gear extension: blow-downbottles and/or free-fall.

The keys, pleaseStrap into the Lear 60XR and you'refaced with wall-to-wall Pro Line glassand well-organized sub panel switchgroupings. My mentor on my 1.1-hourflight, Bombardier Learjet's ChristianBarnard, programmed the FMS for ourflight out of Wichita's Mid-ContinentAirport, where Bombardier has itsflight test center. Engine starts were amatter of flipping two toggle switches,

----

For pilots and

passengers alike, this

latest Learjet has the

right combination of

performance and

ergonomics.and after the pre-taxi checks we madeour way to the runway. Surface winds,always rowdy at Wichita, were actingup in grand fashion. Sustained windswere in the 30-knot range, with gustsreaching 45 knots. Big crosswind com­ponents? You bet.

There's no tiller, so the steer-by-wirenosewheel steering is via rudder ped­als. Below 90 knots, you have steeringauthority within a 60-degree arc. Above90, that arc narrows to a mere one de­gree. This helps prevent overcorrectingand swerving.

Our weight was 18,600 pounds-ofwhich 2,900 was fuel-and our take-

off V speeds worked out to a VI of 115KIAS,a rotation speed of 127 KIAS,anda Vz of 134 KIAS. Our takeoff distancewas calculated at 3,700 feet.

Shove the thrust levers forward to

the "TO" clicks top, and you'll sensea slight lag from the engine spool­up. Then it's hang on, because sooncomes a terrific acceleration. It's what

Learjets are famous for, and even withstep-climbs it took us just 13 min­utes and 100 gallons to reach FL430.On the way up, climb rates were phe­nomenal: 6,200 fpm climbing at 250KIASright after takeoff; and 4,900 fpmclimbing from FL370 to FL430. Deepinto the flight levels, the 60XR still hasplenty of excess thrust.

Normal cruise speed is Mach 0.77to Mach 0.78, which at FL430 workedout to 437 KTAS. This, under ISA mi­nus-7 -degree conditions, and burninga total of 1.040 pph (155 gph). At long­range power settings, the numberswere Mach 0.74, 411 KTAS, and 840pph (125 gph).

Barnard says that there's still a bitof "Lear fear" out there, the legacyof the early Lear Jets' reputation for

Sure, Learjets areknown for speed,but the 60XR's

cabin is nothing likethe Lears of yore.With the Learjet 60,more attention was

paid to expandingcabin dimensionsand amenities. The60XR took that

concept a stepfurther. This is a

true mid-size cabin,

with a galley,side-facing divan,and a flushing aftlavatory.

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wicked stall behavior. The Learjet 60and 60xn have a new wing design that'smore docile at critical angles of at­tack. There are vortex generators, stallfences, and a new leading edge-all de­signed to energize the boundary layerover the wing.

To see how the wing behaved in thethin air at altitude under an aerody­namic load, I rolled the airplane into a45-degree bank at FL430 doing Mach0.75 and felt only the hint of a stallbuffet.

As for the landing, we added someextra speed to compensate for thegusts. We tooled down final at 140KIAS, planted the gear, and went intoreverse. Ground spoilers automaticallydeployed when the airplane's weight­on-wheels system activated.

For a rookie Lear driver, my arrival

TURBINETALK

on terra firm a was a challenge in allthat wind. But not that difficult, really.For pilots and passengers alike, thislatest Learjet has the right combina­tion of performance and ergonomics.

The 60XR may be a transcontinentalmid-size luxury jet, but it still retainsplenty of leftover testosterone fromthe blowtorch days. However, the 60XRwill be the last of the breed. Next up isthe all-composite Learjet 85-a mid­size jet with a total of 12,200 poundsof thrust. It'll have the biggest cabin ofany Learjet, Bombardier says. And withall that thrust 1 think we're safe in as­

suming it'll do a good job of preserv­ing Learjet's tradition of performance.Stay tuned. /alA

E-mail the author at tom.home@

aopa.org

Swept-wing jet no-nosWhat not to do with that high-performance jet

By Peter A. Bedell

soyou've got your mitts on ajet. Now you'll enjoy blister­ing speed, all-weather capabil­

ity, and power to spare. But when youclimb the ranks into jet aircraft, it's timeto put to rest some habits you may haveformed when flying light, straight-wingairplanes. Swept-wing jets, especiallymodels with older wing designs, canbehave quite differently from the air­planes you've flown up to this point.The following is a list of no-no's inswept-wing jets. Some of these apply tostraight-wing turbine aircraft as well.

1. Don't get behind the power curve.Unlike light airplanes, swept-wing jetsare less tolerant of getting "behind thepower curve." In a high, nose-up at­titude, a swept-wing jet creates an as­tonishing amount of drag. And despitelots of available power on tap, a jet maynot have the reserve to power out of anextreme nose-up attitude. Powered ap­proaches are the norm in swept-wingjets and many of them need quite abit of power to drag all those flaps and

AOPA PILOT' 84 . NOVEMBER 2008

high-lift devices through the air. De­scending the glides lope with flaps full,don't be surprised to see 70-percentpower or more to maintain your targetspeed descending on the glideslope.Compounding the problem on thebackside of the power curve is the slowspool-time of jet engines. With pistonengines and some turboprops, there's alot of power available as fast as you canadvance it. It can take a jet several sec­onds to spool up to its full power, slow­ing recovery efforts.

2. Don't be "unstabllized" on final below

500 feet agl. Because of the above- men­tioned characteristics, it is important tohave a jet stabilized on speed, on power,and on the VNAVpath (glideslope, VASIor PAPI), if applicable. Unlike lighteraircraft that can fly myriad approachconfigurations based on obstacles, con­ditions, and unique weather patterns,swept-wing jets are not nearly as flex­ible. Don't try to salvage the approachbelow 500 feet agl. It's been proven fool­ish many times with bent metal-very

poignantly when a Boeing 737 landedin Burbank, California, in March 2000.The airplane touched down at 182knots. Target speed for the approachwas calculated at 138 knots. Of course,there were many factors that affectedthe event, but the bottom line was thatthe airplane was never established onthe approach and the crew tried to sal­vage it all the way to the gas station offthe far end of the runway. This is a goodtime to mention that many jets don't godown and slow down very well at thesame time.

3. Avoid high-speed aborts for anythingbut the most critical malfunctions. It

may seem odd, but if an engine catchesfire 10 knots before VI (takeoff deci­sion speed), the safest choice may beto keep going. Most jets are capable ofextinguishing a fire in flight. The energylevel of a jet during the takeoff roll is ex­tremely high since takeoff weight canvastly exceed the landing weight. Bring­ing all that mass to a safe stop is a seri­0us hazard, especially if the runway isshort. Small jet on a long runway? Sure,a bigh-speed abort is probably doable.Otherwise, keep going. There's a goodchance that a high-speed abort couldlead to a runway overrun, a brake fire,or blown tires. At my airline, we don'tabort for anything but a power loss oranything that renders the airplane un­controllable above 100 knots. After thatspeed, we're dealing with the problemin the air.

4. No steep banks at high altitudes andhigh indicated airspeed. This mostlyapplies to older jets with less forgivingwing designs. At high altitudes, theremay be a very narrow airspeed band be­tween maximum Mach speed and thestall speed, also known as Coffin Corner.

These "legacy" jets may also experienceMach buffet at speeds approaching themax Mach (MMo)' Even if you're belowMMo'there's a good chance of gettinga buffet in a steep bank because of theadded load factor (G load) on the wing.It's best to limit your banks to 15 degreesup high.

5. No flight above the max altitude for

your weight. Today, everybody wants tosave some fuel and flying high is usu­ally the best way to do it. Unfortunately,if you're flying at a heavy weight, theresimply isn't enough wing to support theweight at that altitude. Pilots who flyright up to the max allowable altitude inan attempt to save fuel or top weatherand/or turbulence are putting them­selves at risk and possibly burning morefuel than flying at the airplane's opti­mum altitude for the current weight.Your stall margin is minimal at the maxaltitude and if you get some spirited tur­bulence while flying up there, you mayend up "falling out" to a lower altitude.

6. Don't overcontrol the rudder. Man­

handling a Cessna Skyhawk in howlingcrosswinds can be done and it's quite

satisfying when you and your machineovercome Mother Nature for another

successful landing. However, Dutch rolltendencies are higher in swept -wingjets making crosswind landings a littledifferent and trickier for the uniniti­

ated. Step on a rudder and the airplanewill authoritatively roll the same direc­tion thanks to the geometry of sweptwings and how they hit the oncomingair. Remember that Internet video of a

Lufthansa A320 scraping its wing dur­ing a landing in a strong crosswind?The jury's still out, but it appears thatwhen the pilot jabbed in a huge dose of

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left rudder to line the airplane up withthe runway, the right wing lifted up inreturn, causing the left wing to scrapethe runway. That crew was lucky to goaround with only a scraped wingtip.The crew of an American Airlines Air­

bus was not so lucky after an encounterwith wake turbulence led to another in­

cident of overcontrolling the rudder. Inthat November 2001 accident, the NTSBdetermined that the vertical stabilizer

and rudder of the Airbus A300 departedthe airplane following full or nearly fullapplication of rudder in both directionsthat exceeded the load limits. Conven­

tional wisdom traditionally stated that,at low speeds, pilots couldn't exceedan airplane's load limits. This accidentproved us wrong. It's best to let an air­plane ride through turbulence with a

Dutch roll tendencies

are higher in

swept-wing jets

making crosswind

landings a little

different and trickier.

minimum of input, especially with a hy­draulically boosted rudder, rather thanheroically trying to fight the bumps. It'sa smoother ride, too.

7. Consider your wing tips when land­ing in crosswinds in airplanes withhighly swept wings like the Bombar­dier Global Express and the Cessna Ci­tation X. In a Cessna or Piper trainer,there's lots of bank angle to play withbefore you catch a wing tip. At highangles of attack in a jet with a bigsweep, the wing tips, which are closerto the tail than you probably think, arenot very far above the ground. Drop­ping a wing into the wind could eas­ily lead to a wingtip scrape. Get a littlelow and bring the nose up to com­pensate, the wing tips get closer still,reducing the roll margin even more(see 1. above). Four-engine airlinersare also susceptible to this. However,with those behemoths, it's the out-

AOPA PILOT' 86 . NOVEMBER 200B

board engines that get scraped. In air­planes susceptible to scrapes, it's notunusual to land in a slight crab. Onceboth mains are on the ground and theground spoilers lock them down, it'squite easy to get things straightenedout on the centerline.

8. Avoid Mach tuck. In high-speedflight when an airplane approaches thespeed of sound, a shock wave formsand moves farther aft on the wing asspeed increases. This causes the cen­ter of lift to move rearward causing thenose to pitch down. That's the oppositeof what you'd expect in a high-speed

descent in light airplanes where a high­er speed causes the nose to pitch up.Back in the jet, if the Mach tuck is notcorrected with Up trim (using a Machtrim system), the problem gets worse.The faster the airplane goes, the morethe nose points down and the faster theairplane goes. This can reach a pointwhere there's not enough up elevatoravailable to counter the Mach tuck and

a high-speed dive into terrain ensues.Respect MMOand Mach tuck won't bean issue. Bust the redline, and you're intest-pilot territory.

Thankfully, modern wing design haseliminated many of the high-altitudehandling problems for those fortunateenough to afford a later-model jet. Ifyour coffers aren't full of cash and youplunk down money for an old Lear Jetor JetStar, keep these handling traits inmind. Any training company can get acompetent pilot on track with a design'squirks with minimal fuss. From thatpoint, you'll enjoy your new ride andthe capabilities that jets bring. /alA

Pete Bedell is a first officer for a majorairline. He holds type ratings in the Boe­ing 737, Canadair Rj, andjetstream 41.

AOPA PILOT' 87 . NOVEMBER 200B