Lear 45

I’ve got a couple hours in the type and can help a little. What’s your background/experience/type ratings? Familiar with the Universal FMS? Where are you training?
 
I’ve got a couple hours in the type and can help a little. What’s your background/experience/type ratings? Familiar with the Universal FMS? Where are you training?
Prop trash/PC-12NG/only type rating is LR-Jet SIC only with about 60 hours in the 31A. I’ve seen a Universal FMS before and that’s about it. Training is scheduled at FSI TUS.
 
Tucson is a good center for the 45, at least the last time I was there. They were/are the lead center on the 45 for FSI if I remember correctly.

The 45 is pretty straight forward and an honest flyer.

The nose wheel steer-by-wire is sensitive, so try to be smooth and gentle in ground handling (the sim is worse at higher ground speeds (PIO type stuff, so make smaller corrections, then wait for the response), while the actual plane is more twitchy at taxi speeds).

It’s a pretty slippery jet and there is a limitation against using spoilers with any flaps extended, so plan ahead for being on speed for configuration changes. Flap speeds for 8, 20, and 40 are 250, 200, and 150, and flaps 8 do very little to slow you down, so if it looks like you need to get the brakes out leave the flaps retracted and use spoilers to get below 200. Flaps 20, then gear down will do a good job slowing you down, but do your best to get below 150 and extend flaps 40 prior to GS/GP intercept, at least in the sim. Coming down the GS and trying to get to final flap extension speed can leave you with power pulled way back at a less than desirable time, and it’s easy to all of a sudden find yourself behind the curve. (That scenario often happens in real life at the larger airports (“maintain 170 to the FAF, contact tower”), but no sense putting yourself in that position during training in the sim. Real-life flying you’ll learn to recognize and figure it out OK.)

For the school house, learn the Limitations and Memory Items early. Then relax and learn the basics of the systems as they teach them, and don’t stress out on the minutia. Spend time learning the FMS button pushing, as the less you’re doing head scratching in the sim the more you can keep your situational awareness up.

Enjoy it!
 
The nose wheel steer-by-wire is sensitive, so try to be smooth and gentle in ground handling (the sim is worse at higher ground speeds (PIO type stuff, so make smaller corrections, then wait for the response), while the actual plane is more twitchy at taxi speeds).

It’s a pretty slippery jet and there is a limitation against using spoilers with any flaps extended, so plan ahead for being on speed for configuration changes. Flap speeds for 8, 20, and 40 are 250, 200, and 150, and flaps 8 do very little to slow you down, so if it looks like you need to get the brakes out leave the flaps retracted and use spoilers to get below 200. Flaps 20, then gear down will do a good job slowing you down, but do your best to get below 150 and extend flaps 40 prior to GS/GP intercept, at least in the sim. Coming down the GS and trying to get to final flap extension speed can leave you with power pulled way back at a less than desirable time, and it’s easy to all of a sudden find yourself behind the curve.
This part could be copy-pasted from the 31. Thanks for the info.

Definitely got shown the spoilers, <200 kts gear, clean up the spoilers, flaps 20 trick on a couple visual approaches.
 
FSI stuff showed up in my app today. Skimmed through it while I was home alone with the toddler for a bit, systems look pretty straightforward/standard for a part 25 twin jet. They automated some stuff that is kinda nice from the 31. I can see it being prone to computer/electrical gremlins since everything is run by or through a computer.

Kinda cool that it has a real FMS. The pilatus is a step up from a GPS navigator but doesn’t have all the functionality of the UNS like good performance planning and DME/VOR input as a backup. Supposedly we’re getting all the latest greatest avionics upgrades not sure what that entails beyond LCD screens and (I assume) LPV capability.
 
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... I can see it being prone to computer/electrical gremlins since everything is run by or through a computer.
...
There’s a little bit of that, and what little there is primarily happens during power-up and pre-flight checks. “Sigh. CTL-ALT-DEL time.” (I.e., power down and start over)
 
There’s a little bit of that, and what little there is primarily happens during power-up and pre-flight checks. “Sigh. CTL-ALT-DEL time.” (I.e., power down and start over)
Same-same on the PC12NG. Which is also Honeywell so some of the avionics architecture seems familiar.
 
I have been flying the 45 since last summer. @SteveC hits the nail on the head with all of his observations/advise. The nose steering still gets me occasionally. I have heard great things about Tucson, but went through ATL myself. Enjoy the plane. 2 of the guys in my class were with Reva and had been flying the older Lears. They loved just about everything about the 45.

I you have any questions while gong through training, post them up here. Hopefully we can help answer them for you.
 
I flew the -45 for the better part of a decade. Biggest complaint is the altitude selector only spins in 100’ increments.

Cant use flaps and speed brakes together unfortunately so just plan accordingly. Once you get flaps 20 and gear down she slows down nicely.

Other than that, easy airplane to fly, hard to slow down and go down especially in places like ASE with anti-ice selected on. Fully configured full flaps and gear down on speed by DBL and you can make it with A/I on.

Use the call “sync off, flaps 8” will save you a lot of nuisance chimes about engine sync.

Other than that, enjoy. I certainly did. Very capable airplane so long as you have the BR engines. Not many left out there flying with the AR’s.
 
Looks like I’m going to school on the 45 in July. I know we’ve got a few past/present 45 drivers in here, any tips/tricks/things to look for/dos and donts?
Congrats! The 45 is sweet and super easy. Bigger cockpit (a little bigger anyway). It's one of the few Lears with adequate wing surface area. And, unlike the 60, not every landing becomes a brake energy event.
 
I flew the -45 for the better part of a decade. Biggest complaint is the altitude selector only spins in 100’ increments.

Cant use flaps and speed brakes together unfortunately so just plan accordingly. Once you get flaps 20 and gear down she slows down nicely.

Other than that, easy airplane to fly, hard to slow down and go down especially in places like ASE with anti-ice selected on. Fully configured full flaps and gear down on speed by DBL and you can make it with A/I on.

Use the call “sync off, flaps 8” will save you a lot of nuisance chimes about engine sync.

Other than that, enjoy. I certainly did. Very capable airplane so long as you have the BR engines. Not many left out there flying with the AR’s.
True, mixed wing extensions (like mixed grill items) are POH verboten, but I've heard of folks who can safely descend and chew gum at the same time. Caveat- these are probably the same pilots, who at RTB, throw the chicken in with the steak.
 
One example of go-down/trying-to-slow-down:

KOCF.png
 
When do you wrap up in Tucson? Looks like I might be there for recurrent the very beginning of August.
 
When do you wrap up in Tucson? Looks like I might be there for recurrent the very beginning of August.
Supposed to leave on 30 July. Too bad. Laura G is great. The airplane seems like a very good machine that takes care of all the issues of the legacy Lears.
 
Supposed to leave on 30 July. Too bad. Laura G is great. The airplane seems like a very good machine that takes care of all the issues of the legacy Lears.
Enjoy the 45!

Looks like my recurrent is delayed again - I still don’t have a release back to work after having a ruptured biceps tendon surgically repaired earlier this year.
 
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