![]() They greatly increase the pitch-down moment at high angles of attack and add to the yaw stability of the aircraft because of these fins, there is only a single yaw damper installed, and it is not required for dispatch as on many other jets. There is an engine synchronizer that keeps the big fans synced and passengers happy it’s a good thing, since engine noise is not easy to detect from the cockpit.ĭuring the walk-around inspection, you’ll notice large, fixed surfaces, called delta fins, extending prominently below the tail of the aircraft. The 45XR’s engines are equipped with a DEEC, or digital electronic engine control, which governs N1 speed and limits fuel during acceleration and deceleration, making power management a simple task. ![]() Variations of the TFE731 engines have powered various jets for decades and have proved to be reliable and efficient. The XR upgrade also upped the gross weight by a thousand pounds, greatly increasing the type’s utility. This power increase reduced balanced field length, especially under high and hot conditions and, of course, improved the aircraft’s climb performance. The XR version of the Lear 45 was first delivered in 2004 and includes up-rated TFE731-20-BR engines flat-rated at 3,500 pounds of thrust at 104 degrees F, up from the original Lear 45’s rating of 86 degrees F. More than 525 of the two models have been delivered, which means all the inevitable “new airplane bugs” should be worked out by now. The identical but 24.5-inch-shorter sibling, the Lear 40, was first delivered in 2003. When compared with FAR Part 23 aircraft, this translates into more robust system redundancy it also guarantees performance numbers in the aircraft’s POH. The Lear 45 was first certified in 1998 under FAR Part 25, transport category rules. That kind of comfort makes it a lot more likely pilots will use the aircraft for those shorter runways that we’re often asked to accommodate. I hope you’ll never even get close to stalling the Lear 45XR when you’re transporting corporate passengers to their Very Important Meetings, but that demo quickly created a high level of comfort for me after only a short time in the aircraft. I’d say their efforts paid off this is a very comfortable jet aircraft at slow speeds that can also fly fast and efficiently when asked. ![]() Lear is proud to tout the fact that its test pilots did more than 3,000 stalls during certification flights to dial in the qualities that I witnessed. I continued to hold the control yoke in my lap until is was full back - and the airplane just began to sink at 3,000 to 4,000 fpm, with no aggressive tendency to pitch down or roll off on a wingtip that’s a very benign stall for a jet. ![]() At 15,000 feet, with a large block altitude assigned by ATC in which to play, I pulled the thrust levers back to idle and let the aircraft decelerate through the visual and aural low-speed warnings and, finally, stick shaker. It’s a nicely balanced combination of fuel efficiency, runway performance and high- and low-speed handling qualities. One of the “big takeaways” after flying the Lear 45XR is the wing. “Are we really going to stall this airplane - intentionally?” I asked myself. As a jet pilot for many years, I’ve tried to keep the words jet and stalls in separate corners of the universe. “And then we’ll drop down to, oh … 15,000 or so and do some stalls if you’re up for it,” Learjet demo pilot Chris Barnett said casually during our preflight briefing.
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