Learjet 25 Price

The Spirit Wing Learjet 25 is flying with FJ44 Powers

This is Calvin Burgess, a seasoned property development and ownership firm and Chairman of Spirit Wing Aviation in Guthrie, Okla. AIN said in November 1999: "I always wanted a Learjet, but the [General Electric] CJ610 in the 20s is an outdated one. "Shortly before the NBAA convention in Atlanta in 1999, when I learned about the Williams FJ44-2C jet in Atlanta, I became seriously interested in upgrading the new turboprop on a Learjet," he said.

Burgess experienced his dreams on 9 January of this year on the run. Test pilot Ed "Moose" Skowron and Paul O'Donnel (staff from Fellowship of Test Associates, Tucson, Ariz. The first Learjet 25D with FJ44 engine, converted by Spirit Wing, was launched from Guthrie Municipal Airport.

Shortly after dinner, this one-hour trip was followed by a 1.4-hour trip and two more next morning trips with George Hillman, also on the plane, for a 6.4 hr time. However, now the rigorous research, development and construction work is behind them and Burgess said last months that he expected the test run for aircraft calibration, which is expected to take about 250 hrs, to run smoothly. However, the test is still under way.

"That FAA was grand," he said, guessing that Spirit Wing would get the STC in the third quarter of this year. Burgess is so convinced of the need for the upgrade that he has already ordered 24 more Williams RJ44s. The work on this aircraft will help establish the duration of the upgrade, which Burgess estimated at around 90 workingdays, and the price.

Today's 5,200-hour Burgess pilots are planning to keep the N17AH, which was banned after two flying days for installing air borne recording devices and computer systems. Test flights by our test associates are scheduled to take five to six month. San Antonio-based Aircraft Designs Services took over the civil and structural works, with the exception of the gondolas, which were carried out by Nordam Nacelles/ThrustReverser Systems Division in Tulsa, Okla.

FJ44-2C has a special refuelling regulator that has been specially adapted for the Spirit Wing upgrade. Burgess compared the main advantages of the Spirit Wing modifications to AIN were adherence to the level 3 sound limits, overall 800 ppm mean consumption, which is about half that of the OEMs, significantly lower running cost and the factory RVSM Pack.

It was necessary to remove the middle part of the NBAA IFR reservoir of the NBAA FAR 25 (reducing the weight of the vehicle's petrol by 1,300 pounds) in order to meet the new FAR Part 25 standards, but with the reduction in combustion, the NBAA IFR reach with four occupants even rises to 1,700 nm in comparison to the initial 1,014 nm. The launch thrusts of the FJ44-2Cs at 2,400 lbs are actually about 450 lbs lower than the GE CJ610-8As of the aircraft.

Bourgess stated that several construction changes offset this distinction by decreasing the amount of push needed. The launch gains 260 lbs of push because the J610s are designed for 59 degree Celsius and the J44s for 72 degree Celsius. Greater propulsion is due to the fact that the older thrusters were fitted with a slightly inclined upwards inclination (more resistance, 56 lbs of propulsion), the faster ones (FJ44s) work with venting at all times (40 lbs) and eventually at 100 kn, the turbofans (FJ44s) do not loose as much propulsion as the turbojets (CJ610s) do due to back pressure, 100 lbs of propulsion.

Burgess says the FJ44-2C and CJ610-8A generate almost equal available thrusts at 72°F and 100knots when these adjustments for deployment are taken into account. Meanwhile on the cruiser, the 150 pound resistance was eliminated by installing the FJ44s further outside (four inches), above (eight inches) and behind (16 inches).