More than 15 months after Bombardier announced its upgraded Learjet, the Learjet 75 Liberty has entered service.
The Canadian airframer announced. Auctioneering firm and long-time Learjet operator Alex Lyon & Son has taken delivery of the first Liberty.
The company promised to bring modern technology to the twin-Honeywell TFE731-powered Liberty while also cutting its price to $9.9 million, down from the 75’s $13.8 million list price, Bombardier has said.
The Liberty has six seats – two fewer than a typical 75 layout – including two “executives suites” in front and four club seats aft. The jet’s cabin measures 6m (19ft 10in) long, and its cockpit has Garmin G5000 avionics.
The APU and external courtesy lights are optional on the Liberty, whereas they were standard on the baseline Learjet 75.
It does retain a 51,000-foot ceiling and two Honeywell TFE731-40BR engines, each with 3,850 pounds of thrust. High-speed cruise remains Mach 0.79 but range improves by 40 nm, to 2,080 nm (3,850km)-range (with six people aboard), with NBAA IFR reserves. Also standard on the Liberty is the Bombardier Vision flight deck with an upgrade to the jet’s Garmin G5000 avionics. Gogo ATG 4G wireless connectivity is available as an option.
Bombardier has stressed it would certificate Liberty under Federal Aviation Administration Part 25 rules, a higher bar than the Part 23 standards under which some other light jets are approved.
