In terms of total cost of operation, would you buy an older light jet like C550/560 or Beechjet with JT15D or a Lear 35/31 with TFE731? I guess by total cost of operation I am including scheduled maint, overhauls and fuel flow. Also a case can be made on other aircraft systems and support from Cessna, Beech and Lear.
Direct operating costs aren’t significantly different for the Citation V, Beechjet, or Lear 35.
Aircraft DOC Fuel Service Program Labor
CE560 $1800/hr $1100/hr $285/hr $190/hr
Beechjet $1800/hr $1200/hr $275/hr $170/hr
Lear 35 $2000/hr $1200/hr $335/hr $275/hr
CJ3 $1400/hr $950/hr $215/hr $85/hr
Basically comes down to mission requirements. Seats, range, runway requirements, etc.
Thanks fly… somewhere I thought I heard one of the jt15d variants used on the 550 was a dog. Or was it the new PW530A used on the 550/Bravo?
Now that the FJ44 has been in operation for 16 years (wow! 
) what is their reputation? I recall when they were introduced they had about 100 fewer parts and of course were lighter weight. Has this translated to actual lower mx operating costs?
If I were to consider a plane in this category my thoughts about cost are… I can buy an 80’s 550 in the $1-2mil range and operate it in the same ballpark as a newer 550 or 525 series. You can cover a lot of operation, maint. and overhauls for the $2-3mil price difference of a newer CJ series. My use would be 150-200 hours per year.
The JT15D is an old design and has relatively high fuel burn compared to the Williams, but it’s a very proven engine. The PW530 hasn’t had any huge issue that I’m aware of, maybe someone just didn’t like the performance of the Bravo. It isn’t exactly a rocket.
The thing to remember about buying a 25 year old jet is that it’s a 25 year old jet. You might save a lot on the purchase, but you could get eaten alive on maintenance. Having said that, the Citation V I flew was about as bulletproof an airplane as I’ve ever seen. I flew it for 2 years and we had 1 mechanical! A connector on a wiring harness pulled loose and gave us an ITT spike. I’d probably buy a well cared for CE560 in a heartbeat.
I think you would have to look in to a later model 560, or if you can go with the smaller variation, get in to a 525 or CJ1. I have purchased one of each of these in the past 6 months and the prices have come down substantially.
Don’t forget that an aircraft’s reputation as a “dog” has as much to do with aerodynamics as the engine. Both are good reliable powerplants.
The Cessna’s wing is geared more towards short runways while the Lear is tilted towards higher speed. Having said that the 35 is a pretty good short field airplane at lighter weights.
I too had great luck with a CE 550. 70 hours and 90 landings a month. Very, very few problems.
Airplane maintenance, as with anything mechanical, increases with age. A rough estimate is the number of maintenance hours per flight hour will triple by the time the airplane is 30 years old.
The real question is what is your flight profile–range of trips and persons aboard. The Lear family 31/35 will carry full fuel and full seats. Citations fill the seats half the fuel/fill the fuel and 1 passenger. Most Lears are on an MSP for engines, most Citations are not, so it is a pay me now or pay me later when overhaul is due, so the cheaper purchase may cost more sooner to maintain. I presently operate an older 550-1980 and at gross struggles to mid 30’s/350kts. Lears 20 minutes to FL390-430/440kts. What $$budget?
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GO LEAR ( I’m Biased)
I flew a Citation Isp w/ the FJ44 Mod good airplane. The Citation V is great. The Encore (a V w/ new Pratt{305’s??} had an expensive fuel line that always needed to be changed per SB, but great airplane) The CJ3 is a good performer. But NONE are a LEAR!! We flew two Lear’s, 9 hrs a day about 300 days a year for a few years and they were bullet proof.
Bombardier support has become $$ by the minute but WestStar, Duncan & Stevens have you covered.
I love the idea of putting the CJ-3 engines on the Citation 2 and S-550.
I had read about a company planning a mod like the Sierra/Eagle thing.
I did an engine change on a CJ-3 on the road, what a great machine.
Not sure which Citation you are referring to when you say “fill the seats, half the fuel?” If you fill every seat in the V and have a few light bags, you gotta take off about 600# of fuel out of 5800# for the V. Perhaps you are referring to the I or the II. (P.S. Fill the seats and almost max fuel gets you SAFELY out of a 4500 foot strip)
I must admit, I’m a little partial to the V, I’ve got a couple thousand hours in them, and I’ve had to cancel 1 flight for mechanical reasons!
msh168. It is quite obvious you didn’t read in the body of statment I said I have an “older 1980 C550” which has 13300 gwt. So if math is correct 8000# airplane and 5000# fuel does not leave much for pax, whereas 10000# Lear35+ 6200#fuel leaves 2100# for pax enough to fill all the seats. That is why Cessna kept evolving the 550 into the V, Ultra, Encore with engines and wings to correct the short fall of the original 500/550.
Actually, I did read your original post, and it painted the Citation family of airplanes as being operationally limited as far as range/payload. In your last sentence of the original post you made a comment about currently operating a 550 and it being a crappy climb/cruise performer. Just wanted to make sure the OP knew the V is a much different animal than the 501/550.
go CJ3…greatest little citiation there is
Until the CJ4 arrives… 
One very nice thing that the TFE731 has is MSP. They both have JSSI, but over 80% of the 731 engines are on MSP for a reason.
Regarding JT15D vs. TFE731 from a maintenance point of view (I’ve worked on both, but much more on the TFE731)… with the Overhauls vs. CZI issue the winner is the TFE731.