Learjet 55B N73GP, the first 55B built, at Juan Santamaría International Airport, Costa Rica, in 2012. · Photo: Aeroprints.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Learjet · Midsize Jet
Learjet 55B
The second of three Learjet 55 versions, between the original 55 and the delta-finned 55C.
The 55B gives the Learjet 55 an early glass cockpit and a 21,500 lb takeoff weight, so it can fill seats and tanks together. It is quick and climbs hard, but only eight exist and none is advertised.
Buy it if
You want Learjet speed and a 51,000 ft ceiling with seven seats, fly with two professional pilots from runways of 5,600 ft or more, and find one with engines on an hourly program.
Skip it if
You need short-runway access, a true stand-up cabin or easy resale. A Learjet 55C or Citation III is easier to find and to sell, and plain 55s trade far more often.
Biggest compromise
Rarity. Only eight 55Bs were built, none is publicly for sale, and its original digital cockpit is unique within an already small fleet.
The numbers that matter
Purchase price
$567K–$930K
guide value (PlanePHD and Aircraft Cost Calculator (Learjet 55 family))
What it costs per year
$1.66M
at 300 hrs · two professional pilots
How far it flies
2,040 nm
1,823–1,950 nm with passengers
How fast
458 kt
high-speed cruise
Seats
7
7 typical, up to 8
Pilots needed
2
Always flown by two pilots; the type certificate requires a pilot and copilot on every flight.
Price
What one costs to buy
Guide value
$567K–$930K
Other sites
Priced vs call
with a price / call for price
No 55B is publicly listed for sale. Related Learjet 55s ask $195,000 to $875,000, and family guide values run about $0.57M to $0.93M.
Price vs its family and alternatives
Scroll to explore · select a jet for details
Learjet 55B · This aircraft
$567K–$930K guide
Guide value, not a listed asking price.
Sits between the Learjet 55 and the Learjet 55C.
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 other fixed stay the same however much you fly.
Where the money goes
- Two professional pilots$328,36920%
- Recurrent training$28,0582%
- Hangar$37,0422%
- Insurance$10,9581%
- Management$54,0003%
- Subscriptions and other fixed$31,9782%
- Fuel$515,46031%
- Airframe maintenance$312,97219%
- Engine program or reserve$201,95112%
- Crew travel, landing and handling$135,0008%
Fuel is the biggest single cost at 31% of the total.
The JetGrade
62 out of 100 — Below its class average
Peer group: Learjet 55, Learjet 55C, Cessna Citation III, BAe Hawker 700, IAI Westwind II, IAI Astra 1125
Seven categories at a glance
- - - 70 = typical— This aircraft
Strongest on speed & trip time, weakest on reliability & support.
Grades are editorial opinions about the model, not any specific aircraft. Sponsors and affiliates have no input. Reviewed 2026-10-28.
Where it flies
Sample trips and reach
Typical trips on a map
Nonstop
Depends on weight or weather
Fuel stop likely
Out of reach
5 of 8 sample trips are comfortable nonstops.
Sample flight times
- 0.9 hr
Carlsbad → Las Vegas
205 nm
- 1.9 hr
Carlsbad → Aspen
625 nm · Hot-and-high; depends on weight and weather
- 2.2 hr
Santa Ana → San José del Cabo
765 nm
- 2.6 hr
Teterboro → West Palm Beach
900 nm
- 3.2 hr
Dallas → Teterboro
1,190 nm
- 3.7 hr
Teterboro → San Juan
1,410 nm · Over-water leg; plan reserves carefully
- 5.8 hr
Carlsbad → Teterboro
2,100 nm · Needs one stop, typically mid-continent
Los Angeles → Honolulu
2,215 nm · Beyond range; no stop possible en route
Lineage
What came before and after
1986–1987
Learjet 55B
Glass cockpit and higher weights; only eight built.
What changed from the Learjet 55
- An early digital glass cockpit replaces the 55's analog instruments.
- Takeoff weight rises from 19,500 to 21,500 lb and landing weight from 17,000 to 18,000 lb.
- Full tanks plus about 1,700 lb of payload now fit, improving range when loaded.
- The TFE731-3AR version becomes standard, still rated at 3,700 lb thrust each.
- A new interior design arrived with the 55B.
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 55B
- JetGrade
- 62
- Price
- $567K–$930K guide
- Cost per year
- $1.66M
- Range
- 2,040 nm
- Speed
- 458 kt
- Seats
- 7
- Cabin length
- 13′ 9″
- Pilots
- 2
- Years built
- 1986–1987
← Before
- 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
After →
- JetGrade
- 63
- Price
- $855K–$950K guide
- Cost per year
- $1.6M
- Range
- 2,040 nm
- Speed
- 447 kt
- Seats
- 7
- Cabin length
- 16′ 8″
- Pilots
- 2
- Years built
- 1988–1990
Alternative
- JetGrade
- Not yet graded
- Range
- 1,900 nm
- Speed
- 450 kt
- Seats
- 8
- Years built
- 1983–1992
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
- Learjet 55C instead: Same cabin and engines, plus delta fins that improve low-speed handling and remove the stick pusher; a little more common on the market.
- Cessna Citation III instead: Longer cabin, better runway performance and a far larger fleet and support network, at a slower cruise speed.
- Learjet 60 instead: The 55's successor: a longer cabin, more powerful PW305A engines and more range, for a higher purchase price.
Gold marks the best figure in each row.
Owning one
What to know before you buy
Engines & inspections
2 × Honeywell (Garrett) TFE731-3AR-2B1 · 3,700 lbf each
No APUEngine hours until overhaul
- A inspection · 300 hr
- B inspection · 600 hr
- C inspection · 1,200 hr
- Engine hot-section inspection (MPI) · 1,400 hr
- Engine core inspection (CZI) · 4,200 hr
- 12,000-hour inspection · 12,000 hr
- 12-year inspection every 144 months
Hourly engine plans make costs predictable. Without one, a core inspection can run well into six figures per engine.
Known issues
Engine program exposure
Off-program TFE731 core inspections can cost well into six figures per engine, a large share of the airplane's value.
12-year inspection cost
The 12-year inspection runs about $96,000 in labor alone, before parts and X-rays.
Spoiler life records
A 2022 directive requires replacing spoilers without valid life records; about $50,000 per assembly.
Pre-buy checklist
0 of 8 checked
Learjet Inc., part of Bombardier, still holds the type certificate, and specialist shops such as Spectra Jet, Duncan Aviation and West Star work on the 55 series. Parts for older Learjets come largely through specialist distributors.
Review
The full review
Strengths
- Fast and high: about 458 kt cruise, a 51,000 ft ceiling and roughly 4,000 ft per minute initial climb.
- A 21,500 lb takeoff weight lets it carry about 1,700 lb of people and bags with full tanks.
- Roomy for a Learjet: a 13 ft 8 in by 5 ft 11 in cabin, seven seats and an enclosed toilet.
Limitations
- Runway hungry: about 5,600 ft to take off at maximum weight, and more at hot or high airports.
- Only eight were built and none is advertised, so value, parts and avionics support vary with each airplane.
- Costly to run for its size: roughly $1.66M a year, about $5,500 an hour, at 300 hours.
The Learjet 55B is the middle child of the Learjet 55 "Longhorn" family, the first Learjets with a cabin big enough to be called midsize. The FAA approved the 55B in August 1986, and Gates Learjet announced it that September; only eight were built, serial numbers 55-127 to 55-134, before the 55C with its delta fins took over in 1988. On the outside it looks like any other 55: winglet-tipped wing, T-tail and two Garrett (now Honeywell) TFE731 turbofans of 3,700 lb thrust each.
Pilot's take
From the front seat, the 55B feels like a bigger Learjet rather than a different airplane. It accelerates and climbs the way Learjets are known for, and getting to the 40s quickly is its biggest advantage on short trips. The wing that makes it fast also makes it demanding at low speed: approach speeds are high, the stick pusher stays on this version, and runway margins deserve respect, especially hot and high. Two pilots are required, and the early digital cockpit is only as good as the upgrades and support each airplane has had.
Who this is for
Operators and experienced owners who want classic Learjet speed and altitude with a bigger cabin, fly mostly 500 to 1,500 nm trips with up to seven passengers from long runways, and already have two professional pilots and a Learjet-savvy shop.
Ask about this aircraft
Answers come only from our research file on the Learjet 55B.
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