Page 26 - May 20 TNT

The Virus A seemingly simple Lear 31 trip turned into a journey fraught with frustration, inconveniences and unexpected risks. by Kevin Ware We were to pick up two of our regular passengers, one of them a teenager, the other his mother in her 40s. They were going to Palm Desert for three to four days to get some sun and meet with friends. Even though the coronavirus panic was in full swing in Seattle 60 miles south of us, there were no reported cases in our area. And with just four people in the little cabin all known to each other, we felt reasonably comfortable about the decision to fly. The airplane itself is a somewhat dated Lear 31 at 30 years old with that peculiar mix of old fashioned switches and early electronic display instruments. However, with a maximum gross weight (MGW) of 15,500 pounds and 3,500 pounds of thrust put out by each TFE 731-2 turbofans in back, it is one of the better performing Lears, with the ability to climb well over 5,000 feet per minute and reach a ceiling of FL510. With the little airplane’s Mach .81 cruise speed, 24 • TWIN & TURBINE / May 2020 the flight to the airport nearest our passengers’ destination (Thermal, KTRM) was to take just under two hours. We departed home base with full tanks and deadheaded the 20 minutes to the airport where the passengers were going to meet us. We then drank coffee while the line crew topped our tanks even though we had just flown for less than a half-hour. One of the problems with a Lear 31 is that it has very short legs. About 3.5 hours in the air, even in the high flight levels, is all it’s good for. If you cannot enter the high flight levels, or have to flight plan to an airport in low IFR conditions requiring an alternate, all the extra fuel requirements limit the airplane to about 2 hours in the air. Given these limitations, we thought replacing the 200 gallons we burnt on the way up a good idea. Our passenger arrives with her teenage son, both looking happy and healthy, and we escort them to the aircraft and load their baggage behind the back seat. That is another