Aircraft model
GATES LEARJET CORP 55
Everything here is true of every aircraft of the type, not of any one aircraft.
The Learjet 55 Longhorn was Learjet's first stand-up cabin: the Longhorn wing with winglets grafted onto a taller, wider fuselage, giving eight passengers a cabin they could move around in rather than the Learjet 35's famously cramped tube. It climbs to 51,000 feet faster than almost anything and cruises at 440 knots.
It behaves like a Learjet, which means high approach speeds, a wing that wants to be flown precisely, and very little tolerance for being flown slowly. Training and currency matter more than on most types. Purchase prices are now low, but these are forty-year-old FAR 25 aircraft with two TFE731 overhauls due on a schedule that does not care what was paid for the airframe. Bombardier ended the Learjet brand in 2022; parts support continues but the line is closed and residuals reflect it.
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Put GATES LEARJET CORP 55 side by side with up to two other models.
- GATES LEARJET CORP 55
What it is
| Seats | 10 |
|---|---|
| Landing gear | tricycle |
| Engines | 2 |
| Engine | Honeywell TFE731-3A |
| Horsepower | — |
| Fuel | JetA |
| Certification basis | FAR25 |
| Production start | 1981 |
| Production end | 1987 |
| Endorsements required | multi-engine |
Performance
| Cruise speed | 440 KTAS |
|---|---|
| Range | 2,000 nm |
| Service ceiling | 51,000 ft |
| Climb rate | 4,000 ft/min |
| Stall speed (Vso) | 95 KCAS |
| Takeoff over 50 ft | 5,015 ft |
| Landing over 50 ft | 3,080 ft |
Load and fuel
| Seats | 10 |
|---|---|
| Useful load | 8,500 lb |
| Full-fuel payload | 1,800 lb |
| Max takeoff weight | 21,500 lb |
| Empty weight | 13,000 lb |
| Usable fuel | 1,000 gal |
| Fuel burn at cruise | 180 gal/h |
Cost of ownership
| Price, low | $400,000 |
|---|---|
| Price, high | $900,000 |
| Prices as of | 2026 |
| Engine TBO | 5,000 h |
| Overhaul cost, low | $500,000 |
| Overhaul cost, high | $750,000 |
The fleet and its record
| Registered, all time | 121 |
|---|---|
| Active fleet | 54 |
| Median year built | 1983.0 |
| NTSB events, last 10 years | 3 |
| Fatal events, last 10 years | 0 |
| Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years | 55.56 · thin base (low)1 |
| Personal-flying events per 1,000 active | 18.52 · thin base (low)2 |
| Ownership transfers, last 24 months | 23 |
| Transfers per 100 active | 42.59 · thin base (low)3 |
| Airworthiness directives | 1 |
| Directives, last 5 years | 0 |
| Rate confidence | low |
- Events per 1,000 active, last 10 years: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 54 active.
- Personal-flying events per 1,000 active: per 1,000 active aircraft · base 54 active.
- Transfers per 100 active: per 100 active aircraft · base 54 active.
Peer scores6
| Peer class | Fixed wing multi-engine, turbo-fan, 2 engines, 7+ seats |
|---|---|
| Accident record | —1 |
| Severity | —2 |
| Access | 1 of 103 |
| Support | 0.7 of 104 |
| Liquidity | 7.8 of 105 |
These record scores treat GATES LEARJET CORP 55 as one design with the same aircraft registered under other names: it includes 4 aircraft registered under LEARJET INC. 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.