Learjet 36 N101AJ, photographed in 2026. · Photo: DUNCAN KIRK via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
Learjet · Light Jet
Learjet 36 / 36A
The long-range sister of the Learjet 35, trading cabin length and two seats for a larger fuselage fuel tank.
The 36A is a rare light jet that can cross the US nonstop with four people aboard. The price is a short, low cabin, a thin market with almost no public listings, and the same demanding upkeep as the 35A.
Buy it if
You regularly fly two to four people on legs of 2,000 nm or more, value speed over cabin space, have experienced Learjet crews and shops lined up, and are comfortable buying through specialist brokers.
Skip it if
You usually carry five or six passengers, want standing room or a private lavatory, need a jet that is easy to resell, or cannot absorb a six-figure inspection or engine bill.
Biggest compromise
Fuel versus people. The extra tank that gives the 36A its range takes space a 35A uses for cabin and bags, leaving a cabin about 10 ft 6 in long and 27 cu ft for luggage.
The numbers that matter
Purchase price
$400K–$1.1M
guide value (AviaCost, Conklin & de Decker and PlanePHD)
What it costs per year
$1.32M
at 300 hrs · two professional pilots
How far it flies
2,874 nm
2,250–2,500 nm with passengers
How fast
450 kt
high-speed cruise
Seats
4
4 typical, up to 6
Pilots needed
2
Always flown by two pilots; the 36 and 36A were never approved for single-pilot operation.
Price
What one costs to buy
Guide value
$400K–$1.1M
Other sites
Priced vs call
with a price / call for price
No Learjet 36 or 36A showed an asking price in September 2026. Published guide values run from about $400,000 to $1.1M; most sales happen privately.
Price vs its family and alternatives
Scroll to explore · select a jet for details
Learjet 36 / 36A · This aircraft
$400K–$1.1M guide
Guide value, not a listed asking price.
Sits between the Learjet 55 and the Learjet 35 / 35A.
For sale now
None listed right now
Cost to own
What it costs per year to run
300hours / year
Per year
Per flight hour
Estimate — your operator will quote actual numbers.
Fuel, airframe maintenance, engine program or reserve and crew travel, landing and handling rise as you fly more. Two professional pilots, recurrent training, hangar, insurance, management and subscriptions and misc fixed stay the same however much you fly.
Where the money goes
- Two professional pilots$203,15815%
- Recurrent training$23,1702%
- Hangar$25,6182%
- Insurance$19,2261%
- Management$48,0004%
- Subscriptions and misc fixed$30,0002%
- Fuel$439,92033%
- Airframe maintenance$220,50017%
- Engine program or reserve$231,30018%
- Crew travel, landing and handling$75,0006%
Fuel is the biggest single cost at 33% of the total.
The JetGrade
64 out of 100 — Below its class average
Peer group: Cessna Citation II, Cessna Citation V, Beechcraft Beechjet 400A, Learjet 35 / 35A, Dassault Falcon 10
Seven categories at a glance
- - - 70 = typical— This aircraft
Strongest on speed & trip time, weakest on cabin & passenger comfort.
Grades are editorial opinions about the model, not any specific aircraft. Sponsors and affiliates have no input. Reviewed 2026-09-29.
Where it flies
Sample trips and reach
Typical trips on a map
Nonstop
Depends on weight or weather
6 of 8 sample trips are comfortable nonstops.
Sample flight times
- 0.9 hr
Carlsbad → Las Vegas
205 nm
- 1.8 hr
Carlsbad → Aspen
625 nm · Hot-and-high; depends on weight and weather
- 2.2 hr
Santa Ana → San José del Cabo
765 nm
- 2.5 hr
Teterboro → West Palm Beach
900 nm
- 3.1 hr
Dallas → Teterboro
1,190 nm
- 3.6 hr
Teterboro → San Juan
1,410 nm · Over-water leg well within range
- 5.4 hr
Carlsbad → Teterboro
2,100 nm · Nonstop in still air; strong headwinds may need a stop
- 5.7 hr
Los Angeles → Honolulu
2,215 nm · Possible with light load and favorable winds only
Lineage
What came before and after
1974–1993
Learjet 36 / 36A
Bigger fuselage tank for about 2,500 nm, with a shorter cabin.
What changed from the Learjet 35 / 35A
- About 7,440 lb of usable fuel versus about 6,240 lb, adding roughly 500 nm of range.
- Cabin about two feet shorter, at roughly 10 ft 6 in long.
- Six passengers at most instead of eight; four club seats is the usual layout.
- Baggage space falls to about 27 cu ft from 40 cu ft.
- Same Garrett TFE731-2 turbofans, wing and exterior dimensions as the 35.
- The 1976 36A raised maximum takeoff weight to 18,000 lb, later 18,300 lb.
Size and cabin
How big it is, inside and out
Outside
Silhouette · scaled to length
Length
Wingspan
Height
Inside the cabin
Cabin length
Width
Height
Compare
How it stacks up
This aircraft
Learjet 36 / 36A
- JetGrade
- 64
- Price
- $400K–$1.1M guide
- Cost per year
- $1.32M
- Range
- 2,874 nm
- Speed
- 450 kt
- Seats
- 4
- Cabin length
- 10′ 6″
- Pilots
- 2
- Years built
- 1974–1993
← Before
- JetGrade
- 67
- Price
- $581K–$920K guide
- Cost per year
- $1.31M
- Range
- 2,196 nm
- Speed
- 451 kt
- Seats
- 6
- Cabin length
- 12′ 11″
- Pilots
- 2
- Years built
- 1974–1993
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 65
- Price
- $2.8M
- Cost per year
- $1.95M
- Range
- 2,390 nm
- Speed
- 465 kt
- Seats
- 7
- Cabin length
- 17′ 8″
- Pilots
- 2
- Years built
- 1993–2007
Alternative
- JetGrade
- 65
- Price
- $649K
- Cost per year
- $1.93M
- Range
- 2,244 nm
- Speed
- 458 kt
- Seats
- 7
- Cabin length
- 13′ 7″
- Pilots
- 2
- Years built
- 1981–1986
- Learjet 35 / 35A instead: Same engines, wing and speed with a longer cabin, up to eight seats and 40 cu ft of baggage, for about 500 nm less range.
- Learjet 60 instead: A stand-up midsize cabin and enclosed lavatory with long range, at a higher purchase price and operating budget.
- Learjet 55 instead: An older Learjet with a stand-up cabin and enclosed lavatory, for buyers who need more room than range.
Gold marks the best figure in each row.
Owning one
What to know before you buy
Engines & inspections
2 × Honeywell (Garrett) TFE731-2-2B · 3,500 lbf each
No APUEngine hours until overhaul
- A inspection · 300 hr
- B inspection · 600 hr
- C inspection · 1,200 hr
- Engine midpoint inspection (MPI) · 1,400 hr
- Engine overhaul (CZI) · 4,200 hr
- 12,000-hour inspection · 12,000 hr
- 12-year inspection every 144 months
Many jets are enrolled on Honeywell's hourly engine plan. Without one, overhauls and life-limited engine parts can cost six figures per engine.
Known issues
12-year inspection cost
The 12-year and 12,000-hour inspections run roughly $80,000–100,000-plus in labor and ground the jet for weeks.
Engine overhaul exposure
Without an hourly engine plan, TFE731 overhauls and life-limited discs can cost six figures per engine.
Tight payload with full tanks
Only about 790 lb of people and bags fit with full tanks, so six passengers means carrying less fuel.
Pre-buy checklist
0 of 9 checked
Bombardier still holds the type certificate and says it supports Learjets, and many independent US shops specialize in the 35/36 family. Most airframe and engine parts are shared with the far larger Learjet 35 fleet.
Review
The full review
Strengths
- Flies roughly 2,500 nm with four passengers, enough to cross the US nonstop in still air.
- Cruises at about 450 knots and climbs to 45,000 ft, faster than most light jets of its era.
- Shares engines, wing and most parts with about 670 Learjet 35s, keeping shops and parts within reach.
Limitations
- Cabin is 10 ft 6 in long and 4 ft 4 in tall, with four comfortable seats and six at most.
- Only about 790 lb of payload with full tanks, so filling the seats cuts into range.
- No asking prices were advertised in September 2026, so values are hard to judge and resale is slow.
The Learjet 36 is the long-range sister of the Learjet 35. Both were certified on the same day in June 1974 and share the same wing, Garrett TFE731 turbofans and exterior. The difference is inside: the 36 carries a much larger fuel tank in the fuselage behind the cabin. The 36A followed in 1976 with higher weight limits and is the version most still flying. Only about 60 of the two models were built, against roughly 670 Learjet 35s, and many went into military, target-towing, electronic-warfare and air-ambulance work rather than executive service.
Pilot's take
We see the 36A as a 35A with longer legs and less room. It shares the 35's wing, TFE731 engines and cockpit, so it climbs hard, cruises near 450 knots and asks for the same discipline: the stick shaker and pusher, approach speed additives and weight limits are there for a reason. The difference is planning. With the fuselage tank full, payload is tight, and crews routinely trade fuel for people leg by leg. Recurrent simulator training for both pilots is a safety item, not an expense line.
Who this is for
Special-mission, air-ambulance and cargo operators, and experienced owners with professional crews, who fly two to four people on long nonstop legs and care more about range and speed than cabin room or easy resale.
Ask about this aircraft
Answers come only from our research file on the Learjet 36 / 36A.
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