Aircraft model
GATES LEARJET CORP. 35A
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Learjet 35A is the aeroplane most people picture when they hear the word Learjet: tip tanks, a narrow fuselage, and performance that came from a wing designed for a Swiss ground-attack fighter. It cruises at 460 knots, climbs at 4,300 fpm and reaches 45,000 feet faster than almost anything else, and large numbers served as air ambulances and military support aircraft.
It is now among the cheapest jets available and the reasons are the cabin and the engines. The cabin is narrow and low — passengers describe it as a tube — and the TFE731 engines require a Major Periodic Inspection ahead of overhaul that costs a substantial fraction of the airframe's value. Approach speeds are high, the aeroplane demands precise flying, and Bombardier ended all Learjet support-relevant production in 2021. Buy only with the engine programme status established.
Compare with…
Put GATES LEARJET CORP. 35A side by side with up to two other models.
- GATES LEARJET CORP. 35A
What it is
| Seats | 10 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 2 |
| Engine | Honeywell TFE731-2-2B |
| Horsepower | — |
| Fuel | JetA |
| Certification basis | FAR25 |
| Production start | 1976 |
| Production end | 1994 |
| Endorsements required | multi-engine |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 460 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 2,200 nm |
| Service ceiling | 45,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 4,300 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 97 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 5,000 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 3,075 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 10 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 8,400 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 2,202 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 18,300 lb |
| Empty weight | 9,900 lb |
| Usable fuel | 925 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 195 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $350,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $1,200,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 4,200 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $450,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $700,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 513 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 135 |
| Median year built | 1980.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 7 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 3 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 51.851 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 02 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 21 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 15.563 |
| Airworthiness directives | 0 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | ok |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 135 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 135 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 135 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing multi-engine, turbo-fan, 2 engines, 7+ seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | 7.9 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)1 |
| Severity | 3.8 of 10 · scored on 21 years of events (fewer than 10 in the last 10)2 |
| Access | 6.6 of 103 |
| Support | 3.7 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 0.2 of 105 |
| Overall (sum of the categories shown) | 22.2 out of 506 |
These record scores treat GATES LEARJET CORP. 35A as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes 23 aircraft registered under LEARJET INC; includes 1 aircraft registered under LEARJET CORP. Prices are not combined.
- Accident record: class median 1.23 · 42 models in class.
- Severity: class median 10.
- Access: class median 9,850.
- Support: class median 197.5.
- Liquidity: class median 32.81.
- Each of the five categories places the model within its peer class, from 0 (the worst of the class) to 10 (the best): a position among comparable models, not a grade. The overall score is the sum of the categories shown that are scored, out of 10 for each (50 when all five are); it is given only when at least 4 of the five are scored, and it can be set against another model's only when both are in the same peer class and scored on the same categories.