In aviation we admire fat logbooks of experience for both pilots and airplanes. New technology offers promise, but a successful history breeds confidence. And that's what the new Learjet 60 XR exudes -- confidence that you are getting the best of more than 40 years of Learjet heritage.
The 60 XR is a refined version of the Model 60 Learjet that was first introduced in 1993. The XR version has a supremely capable Collins Pro Line 21 flat glass avionics suite and a nicely restyled interior, but most importantly, it is at its core faithful to the original Learjet. And it is the last airplane that will carry the DNA of Bill Lear's Model 23, the airplane that many call the first business jet. Though the 60 XR will most likely remain in production for years, it is the last evolutionary step possible under the rules.
The 60 XR is much, much bigger than the first Learjet, but the family resemblance is unmistakable. The pointy nose, wraparound windshield, T-tail, short and stout landing gear, and most importantly the wing, are all easily recognizable as growth versions of the family founder. And the 60 XR's performance is familiar with very rapid climb rates, good cruise speed and excellent fuel economy.
The most fundamental link of the 60 XR to other Learjets that came before is the wing. It is the same eight-spar, thin section, slightly swept design that Bill Lear adapted from a Swiss military trainer in the early 1960s. The wing has eight spars and thick skins because, well, the military planned to put some stress on it. And the wing needs lots of spars and thick skins because it is so thin. A thicker wing with tall spar webs can be structurally more efficient, but nearly 50 years ago when it was designed nobody knew how to make a thick wing operate when flying at Mach .80. And performance was what Lear wanted, and the wing delivered.
Over the decades the wing has been stretched twice. The first was in the 1970s when the Garrett 731 turbofan engines were installed to create the Model 35. About two feet of wing was added outboard of the ailerons on each side. A few years later Learjet was the first business jet maker to use tall winglets when it created the Models 28 and 29 with the "Longhorn" wing that stretched the span nearly another four feet. The 60 XR flies on that Longhorn wing that is, like the rest of the airplane, still built at the original Learjet factory in Wichita.
The first Learjet wing did deliver performance, but at the price of unpredictable stall characteristics. The airplane had a stick pusher to prevent pilots from actually reaching an aerodynamic stall before the pusher automatically shoved the nose over. But, like the rest of the airplane, the wing has been refined over the decades. A new subtly reshaped leading edge, boundary layer energizers along the upper surface, shark teeth vortex generators, stall fences and even alternating round head and flat head screws on the leading edge have all helped transform the Learjet wing into a steady and predictable performer at all airspeeds. The stick pusher is gone along with the sometimes bad habits, but the incredible strength of the wing remains.
The windshield on the 60 XR closely resembles those on early Learjets, but it, too, is vastly improved. Yes, hot bleed air is still available to prevent ice formation, but the 60 XR windshield is electrically heated to prevent fogging, a big issue on the early airplanes. And though the electric elements are not quite powerful enough to remove the worst possible ice as required by certification, 60 XR pilots will almost never need to use the bleed air to keep ice off.
Though the core structure and design of the 60 XR hark back, the cabin and cockpit do not. The cabin features 5-foot 8-inch headroom, a wide aisle with enough room to easily move about, and there is a large, and private, potty in the rear, luxury never imagined in 1964. And the flat-panel displays of the Pro Line 21 system powered by dual flight management systems (FMS) delivers the latest capability in precision and safety.
The Learjet 60 is actually an evolutionary version of the Model 55 that was introduced in 1981. The 55 was the first Learjet with enough cabin room to stand up, and first to have a real lavatory. In 1993 Learjet introduced the 60 with a stretched cabin and new, more powerful Pratt & Whitney 300-series engines. Both range and cabin space moved the 60 solidly into the midsize business jet category.
The 60 has been a success with more than 300 flying, but its Pro Line 4 avionics -- one of the early electronic flight instrument systems (EFIS) -- was no longer cutting edge, and the cabin design and materials were due for an update. For the 60 XR the company created new floor plans that provide options on locating the galley and the three-place divan. There is also a layout that has six individual seats and no divan. A window was added in the lavatory to give it natural light, and fixtures were updated. The galley can be large or small. The seats are redesigned to fold flat to make berths. And all lighting is now from LED, and cabin lights and entertainment systems can be controlled by touchscreens at the seats.
