Today, Learjet is known for having produced some of the best business jets to have ever flown. Among these jets is definitely the Learjet 31, which as served in a number of capacities since its introduction in 1990.
Between 1987 and 2003, Learjet produced a grand total of 246 Learjet 31s. Although a few have been stored, the overwhelming majority of the jets are still in service, with some coming being almost 30 years old!
Development
Learjet have been producing business jets since the birth of the industry. Here, they released their Learjet 23, which was subsequently used to design the Learjet 24, Learjet 25 and the Learjet 28/29.
Around the mid-1980’s, the Learjet 29, Learjet’s then-flagship jet, was beginning to be outclassed by newer, more efficient jets. As such, Learjet began developing a variant of the Learjet 29 that would compete with the new jets.
By 1987, Learjet had completed development of their newest jet. By May that same year, Learjet had even built a prototype, which it designated as the Learjet 31, with the internal company designation of LJ31, sometimes referred to as the Lear 31.
In order to make the jet more competitive, Learjet slightly stretched the fuselage. This was done for a number of reasons. Primarily, this was done to lengthen the cabin, which allowed them to space the seats out a little more.
Learjet also re-engineered the jet to use brand new, more fuel efficient Garrett TFE731-2 engines (the same engines used on the Falcon 900 and Hawker 800 among others). This too was done for multiple reasons…
Principally, these newer engines would increase both the range and cruising speed of the LJ31. This would make it the fastest jet in its class, as well as having the longest range too, which was very appealing.
Essentially, Learjet designed the LJ31 to be a combination of all the jets it had released up until that point, including the Learjet 28/9, 35/6 and 55!
The LJ31 prototype first flew on May 11 1987, before being entered into service in October 1980.
Operational History
When Learjet first introduced the Lear 31, it was solely intended to be a business jet. However, following its introduction in October 1990, it has gone on to become one of the most versatile jets in history!
Civilian
In total, Learjet built 246 Lear 31s, the vast majority of which have been operated by civil operators, usually corporations and/or high net worth individuals.
When the Lear 31 was first introduced in 1990, almost all of the initial customers were corporations. Often, these corporations had operated previous Learjet business jets, such as the Learjet 23, 24, 25 or the 28/9.
These corporations were acquiring the Lear 31 as an upgrade from their previous corporate jet. For operators such as the Learjet 23 and 24, this was often done to transport more passengers, whilst for the rest, it was to lower operational costs.
Over time, a number of high net worth individuals would acquire Lear 31s to operate as their personal jets. Whilst most of these operators hide their ownership, the Eghtesad Family, who are one of the UAE’s largest banking families.
Moreover, high net worth individuals have also looked to charter Learjet 31s in order to travel in luxury, but also anonymously. As such, the Lear 31 has become a favorite of air charter companies too.
Although not as common as other, more modern, Learjet aircraft, it is possible to find the Lear 31 up for fractional ownership. However, these are usually private contracts, rather than through companies like NetJets.
Government
On top of becoming a favorite of civil operators, a number of governments have also become operators of the Lear 31. Most commonly, this is as an executive transport for government ministers.
The major government operator of the Lear 31 is the Indonesian Ministry of Transport, who operate two Learjet 31As. These too are used as executive transport for the ministry’s highest ranking civil servants.
Occasionally, the Ministry of Transport lends the jet to the Air Force. This is done to transport lower-ranking Indonesian ministers when the 737 fleet is unavailable, this negates the need to charter a jet from a private company.
Perhaps the most famous government operator of the jet is the Government of Balochistan, the largest province in Pakistan. This jet is used to transport the Governor, Chief Minister and their families whilst on official business.
More famously, the jet has been used on a number of occasions, by mid-level Pakistani diplomats and ministers in recent years. This has often been because the Pakistani Government jets simply haven’t been available.
In recent years, a number of other countries have also used chartered Lear 31s for government-related matters. Usually, this has been to transport diplomats and their families, to and from their new stations.
NASA
Over the course of the 1970’s, NASA had been developing its own winglets. NASA believed that if it could develop winglets that could be used on light business jets, they could simply be scaled up, and used on larger jets too.
At the time, however, the only light jets NASA had were other Learjet-made jets, such as the Learjet 23, 24 and 25. These jets couldn’t be used for winglets, as they had fuel tanks on their wingtips.
In order to add winglets, NASA would’ve had to redesign the Learjet’s wing, something that would’ve been extremely costly and time-consuming. As such, NASA began looking for another light jet it could use instead.
NASA selected two jets, the Learjet 31 and Learjet 55. This was done because Learjet had previously released the Learjet 28 Longhorn, which was the first jet to have winglets.
As such, NASA knew that a Learjet’s wing was physically capable of having winglets on them. However, Learjet did not have winglets on either jet, as they had spent millions developing winglets for the Learjet 28, for it to sell only nine copies.
In 1988, NASA took ownership of the first Lear 31, and a Lear 55, and began work on adding its winglets to their wings, often working in tandem with Learjet engineers. By the end of the year, both jets had NASA winglets on them.
NASA made the winglets available to Lear 31 and Lear 55 customers for a slight fee, which many operators gladly paid for.
Features
Compared to previous Learjet models, the Lear 31 is noticeably longer. For example, the Lear 28/9 had three windows on the port (left) side, whilst the Lear 31 has five. It is also slightly larger than the average jet in its class too!
Looking back at marketing material for the Lear 31 family, much of it was to do with the Lear 31’s performance-related specs. In particular, this was the Lear 31’s superior cruising speeds and range.
On average, the Learjet 31 is 18% faster than other light business jets of the same era. This in particular was extremely appealing to operators, who often looked for fast business jets in particular…
Moreover, the Lear 31 also had a 15% longer range than its contemporaries. These two facts combined made the Lear 31 the obvious choice for anyone who wanted to buy a light business jet in 1990’s.
Whilst still usable, the Learjet 31 has one of the smallest baggage areas of any jet I’ve ever flown on. This is especially so for the light jet category of business jets that the Lear 31 is apart of.
On top of this, despite being longer than its contemporaries, the Lear 31 has a smaller cabin. This is mostly due to the cockpit of the Lear 31 being largest than its counterparts, and thus taking up extra room.
Price
In 1990, Learjet listed the price of a brand new Learjet 31 for $4.5 million, which made it one of the cheapest private jets of its day. Today, this $4.5 million would be worth a little over $9 million.
With that being said, Learjet ceased production of the jet in 2003. As such, the only way for you to acquire the jet would be to buy it on the secondary market, where you can buy them in multiple different conditions.
On the low end, you can buy an early 1990’s Lear 31 for as low as $325,000. With that being said, these are generally the oldest (and standard) Lear 31s, which have the least competitive specs.
However, on the higher end, you can get a Lear 31A or 31A/ER from the late 1990’s and/or the early 2000’s for $1.15 million on the high end. As of the time of writing, the average Lear 31 goes for around $700,000.
In terms of cost to operate, the Lear 31 may appear to be quite cheap to operate. However, for a light jet, the Lear 31 is particularly expensive to operate, even more so than the Learjet 45 that would replace the Lear 31.
Assuming you were to fly the jet for 450 hours per year, it would cost roughly $2,819.15 per hour to operate. This number includes fuel, wages, maintenance, insurance and airport costs.
Variants
The initial Lear 31 was extremely successful. As such, Learjet developed the jet into several different variants, all of which have been designed to suit various different needs.
Learjet 31
The Learjet 31 is the standard variant of the Learjet 31 family. As such, it served both directly and indirectly, as the base of all subsequent jets within the Lear 31 family. By the same token, it is also the weakest member of the family too.
On paper, it was designed from the Learjet 28/9 Longhorn. However, in reality, it was a combination of the Learjet 28/9 and the Learjet 35/6.
The LJ31 took the Learjet 28/9’s wing design, which was superior to that of previous models. On top of this, the LJ31 also took the lengthened fuselage and newer engines of the Learjet 35/6.
Learjet also designed brand-new Delta-Fins and Ski-Locker mechanisms. This increased performance of the jet, to make it Learjet’s flagship aircraft (of the time!)
The jet would be produced from 1987 until 1990, when it was replaced by subsequent variants of the Lear 31 family.
However, this initial variant was unsuccessful, mostly due to its lack of galley, and a rather crude lavatory. In total, only 38 standard Lear 31s were built…
Learjet 31A
Months after the introduction of the standard Lear 31, Learjet announced a new variant of the jet. This would be known as the Learjet 31A, and would host a number of new features, pioneered on other Learjet aircraft.
The majority of these modifications centered around the cockpit. In many ways, the cockpit on the standard Lear 31 was the same as the cockpit on the Lear 23, released in the 1960’s, with it only seeing a few, minor upgrades in this time.
Most of the 1960’s-era cockpit was ripped out, with newer instruments being added in. Primarily, an all-new Bendix King Electronic Flight Information System (EFIS) 50 was installed, to remove most of the analog elements of the cockpit.
Other upgrades included adding a brand-new autopilot system, flight management system, navigation system, radios and flight directors, with additional yaw dampeners.
In 2000, Learjet revamped the Learjet 31A once again. Here, they gave the aircraft newer engines, thrust reversers and an all-new air recycling system, which was split into two parts: cockpit and cabin.
Learjet 31ER
In 1991, Learjet announced yet another development of the Learjet 31. This aircraft would use the original Learjet 31A as a base, and would primarily focus on increasing the cruising speed and range of the jet.
Naturally, much of the work was centered around the engines. Once again, Learjet added newer engines, which were not only more powerful, but also more fuel efficient (per seat).
This increased the range of the jet dramatically, going from 3,021 km (1,877 mi; 1,631 nmi) to 3539 km (2199 mi; 1911 nmi). This also increased the cruising speed of the jet from 0.81 Mach to 0.83 Mach.
Learjet also gave the jet an updated interior. This was done mostly to bring the jet’s interior into the 1990’s, and allow it to compete with its competitors, however, this was a fleet-wide update.
Specifications
| Specifications | Learjet 31 |
|---|---|
| Length | 48 ft 8 in (14.83 m) |
| Wingspan | 43 ft 10 in (13.36 m) |
| Height | 12 ft 3 in (3.73 m) |
| Crew | 2 |
| Passengers | 8 |
| Cruise Speed | Mach 0.81 (829 km/h; 515 mph; 448 kn) |
| Range | 3,021 km (1,877 mi; 1,631 nmi) |
| Service Ceiling | 51,000 ft (16,000 m) |
| MTOW | 17,700 lb (8,030 kg) |
How Safe is The Learjet 31?
Whenever people talk about the safest and most dangerous aircraft you could fly on, you’ll notice that private jets are seemingly always left off. Instead, these lists are comprised solely of commercial aircraft.
And this is often done deliberately. After all, the sad reality is, that unless something changes dramatically, the vast majority of people will never travel on a private jet in their lives!
On top of this, the laws that govern commercial and private are intrinsically different. Mostly, this pertain to maintenance, with laws often being different depending on the country you are in.
Regardless, for someone who is planning on flying the Learjet 31, you still probably want to know how safe or dangerous the jet is.
As of the time of writing, the Lear 31 is considered to be one of the more dangerous private jets you could fly on. This is because a total of five Lear 31s (out of 246) have been involved in hull losses.
In total, these five hull losses have led to a total of six fatalities. According to official reports, all five of these accidents have been due to either poor maintenance or pilot error. One was even a mixture of the two!
The majority of these five hull losses occurred in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. However, the most recent occurred in October 2015, which had a total of four fatalities – the most of any incident involving the type.
What’s it Like to Fly on The Learjet 31?
Personally, I was fortunate enough to fly on the Learjet 31 well over 20 times, flying on all three variants of the jet. On top of this, I have also flown on both the Learjet 28, Learjet 35 and Learjet 36 on several occasions too.
As such, I have a pretty good perspective on what the Learjet 31 is like compared to its contemporaries. From my experience, how much you’ll like the jet is based on the variant you fly on.
For example, if you fly on a standard Lear 31 from the early 1990’s, you’ll be sorely disappointed. The seats, whilst not uncomfortable by any stretch of the imagination, are less comfy than its successors.
This isn’t really too much of an issue if you’re flying on a short route (roughly a half to three quarters of the jet’s range). However, on flights longer than this, the seats do become a little uncomfortable.
Newer Lear 31s, from the late 1990’s, or especially the early 2000’s, however, are as good as the Learjet 35 and 36s that outsold the Lear 31. For those Lear 31s that were build in 2003, they’re arguably better!
Oftentimes, these Lear 31s are still at the height of luxury, almost 20 years later. These jets often have superfast WIFI, extra comfy chairs and quieter cabins, which make the Lear 31 superior to the Learjet 28, 35 and 36.
With that being said, from my experience, the Learjet 31 doesn’t handle too well in turbulence. However, that may have just been down to the pilots, who may have been inexperienced on the jet at the time…
What do you think of the Learjet 31? Have you ever flown on it? Tell me in the comments!
Photo courtesy of Bill Word via Flickr.