Buying a used Bombardier Learjet 45: cost, checks and questions for the seller
The North American Learjet 45 fleet flew at two paces. In the twelve months to 31 Jul 2026, charter aircraft (39%) logged a median of 159 estimated hours a year and 10 flights a month. The other 61%, private and fractional aircraft, logged medians of 91 hours and 5 flights a month. When the cost of a used Learjet 45 comes up, a pre-purchase inspection judges the airframe. Tracking shows the landings and nights behind it.
Bombardier Learjet 45 fleet statistics →See a sample report →
One check for each TailCheck chapter: Fatigue, Corrosion, Engines and brakes, and Utilization. Each gives the fleet's figures on its lead measure, including the 1 in 20 aircraft at the harder end, then red flags and questions for the seller.
What has each flight cost the structure?
The median North American Learjet 45 flew 1.4 hours for each landing in the twelve months tracked. At the harder end, 1 in 20 landed every 0.9 hours or sooner, building the most cycles for its time in the air.
Hours per landing, short hops and leg length.
Each landing is one pressurization cycle, and cycles count against the airframe's structural and landing-gear life limits. A Learjet 45 flown on short legs builds cycles faster than its hours suggest.
Each aircraft’s average flight hours per landing
The 25th to the 75th percentile: typical.
The 5% that ask most of the aircraft
All 360 active Learjet 45s in North America, 1 Aug 2025 – 31 Jul 2026.
The rest of the check
Same aircraft and window| Measure | Fleet median | Middle half | Harder end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short hops Share of legs under 300 nm | 35% | 27–47% | 5% at 64% or more |
| Leg length Median leg | 431 nm | 334–542 nm | Highest 5%: 745 nm or more |
A landing every 0.9 hours or sooner: the 1 in 20 aircraft that landed most often for their hours.
Short hops, legs under 300 nm, on 64% or more of its legs. Only 1 in 20 Learjet 45s flew that many.
Logged landings that don't square with logged hours, judged against the fleet median above.
How many landings has it logged against its hours, and how does that ratio sit beside the fleet median?
How much of its structural and landing-gear life limits have its landings used, and when does the next limit come due?
What air has it lived in?
The median Learjet 45 spent none of its nights on salt air, within 2 km of the coast. Of the 205 aircraft we could place, a quarter spent 1% or more there and 1 in 20 spent 7% or more.
Salt, damp and freeze–thaw where it spends its nights.
Corrosion starts where an aircraft spends its nights. Salt air and damp feed it, and freeze–thaw opens seals and joints to water. A coastal base doesn't rule an aircraft out. It moves corrosion to the top of the inspection list.
Nights within 2 km of the coast
The 25th to the 75th percentile: typical.
The 5% that ask most of the aircraft
205 Learjet 45s in North America we can place on enough nights at known fields, 1 Aug 2025 – 31 Jul 2026; 6 on their record since 1 Jan 2025, with too few in the twelve months.
The rest of the check
Same aircraft and window| Measure | Fleet median | Middle half | Harder end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near the coast Nights within 10 km of the coast | 5% | 1–15% | 5% at 90% or more |
| Damp air Hours a day at 80% humidity or more, above freezing | 6.0 h | 4.6–7.6 h | 5% at 10.8 h or more |
| Freeze–thaw Nights that froze and thawed within the day | 10% | 4–19% | 5% at 32% or more |
| Moisture in the air Average absolute humidity overnight | 8.6 g/m³ | 7.0–10.8 g/m³ | 5% at 14.8 g/m³ or more |
Salt air on 7% or more of its nights, as for 1 in 20 aircraft, with nothing in the records about hangar storage.
Freeze–thaw nights, when it froze and thawed at the field within the day, on 32% or more of its nights, with no recent check of drains, seals and sealant.
Most of its nights within 2 km of the coast and no corrosion inspection in the records.
Where has it been based, and was it hangared there?
When was the last corrosion inspection, and what did it find?
What did its departures ask of the engines and brakes?
The median Learjet 45 left a short runway on 9% of its departures: a field whose longest runway is under 1.25 times the published takeoff distance. 1 in 20 did so on 36% or more.
Runway length, heat and height at takeoff.
A short runway calls for more takeoff thrust, and landings at those same fields work the brakes and tires harder. Hot, high takeoffs, at 5,000 ft density altitude or more, ask more of the engines. Match either pattern against engine trend data and brake records.
Departures where the longest runway was under 1.25× the takeoff distance
The 25th to the 75th percentile: typical.
The 5% that ask most of the aircraft
360 Learjet 45s in North America with enough departures we could assess, 1 Aug 2025 – 31 Jul 2026; 3 on their record since 1 Jan 2025, with too few in the twelve months.
The rest of the check
Same aircraft and window| Measure | Fleet median | Middle half | Harder end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot, high takeoffs Departures at 5,000 ft density altitude or more | 5% | 1–12% | 5% at 31% or more |
| Density altitude Typical density altitude at takeoff | 1,787 ft | 1,272–2,149 ft | 5% at 3,256 ft or more |
Short runways on 36% or more of its departures, with no brake and tire records to match.
Hot, high takeoffs on 31% or more of its departures, with no engine trend data to match.
Are the engines on an hourly maintenance program, and does it transfer to a new owner?
Is there engine trend data, and do brake and tire changes line up with landings at short fields?
How hard has it been flown?
Charter Learjet 45s flew medians of 159 estimated hours a year and 10 flights a month; private and fractional aircraft, 91 hours and 5 flights a month. 1 in 20 aircraft logged 360 estimated hours a year or more.
Estimated hours, flights and flying days: how much of its life it has used.
Estimated hours are the quickest read on how much an aircraft has been used, and hours-based maintenance runs on them. Compare tracked flying with the logbook, month by month.
From time in the air
The 25th to the 75th percentile: typical.
The 5% that ask most of the aircraft
All 360 active Learjet 45s in North America, 1 Aug 2025 – 31 Jul 2026. Tracking misses some flights, so hours are minimums.
The rest of the check
Same aircraft and window| Measure | Fleet median | Middle half | Harder end |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flights a month In the months it flew | 7.4 | 4.6–10.6 | 5% at 21.5 or more |
| Days flown a month Days with at least one flight | 5.0 | 3.3–7.0 | 5% at 12.5 or more |
360 estimated hours a year or more, presented as typical: only 1 in 20 aircraft flew that much.
Logbook hours well below what tracking shows. Tracking misses some flights and its hours are estimates, so a small gap means little; a large one needs an explanation.
Do the logbook hours match the tracked flying, month by month?
Has it flown charter, in a fractional program or under management, and for how long?
What affects the price of a used Learjet 45
Buyers of a used Learjet 45 weigh its age, hours, landings, charter history, demanding fields and corrosion. Each factor below comes with the fleet's figures. The checks above grade the same factors, chapter by chapter.
| What moves the price | Across the Learjet 45 fleet | TailCheck chapter |
|---|---|---|
| Age | Build year says little about wear. The 267 aircraft with a registry build year, from 1997 to 2022, flew band medians of 102 to 120 estimated hours a year, with no steady pattern by age. Calendar inspections come due with the months; check them in the records. | Fatigue |
| Hours | Hours time the hours-based inspections and engine overhauls, so ask when each next falls due. Set a candidate's hours beside its group's median in the Utilization check. The fleet's middle half flew 70 to 184 estimated hours a year. | Utilization |
| Landings | Each landing is a pressurization cycle counted against structural and landing-gear life limits. The middle half of the fleet flew 1.2 to 1.5 hours per landing. Its median leg, 431 nautical miles, was the longest in its size group, which also holds the Cessna Citation CJ2, Cessna Citation CJ3, Beechcraft Premier I/IA and Bombardier Learjet 31. | Fatigue |
| Charter history | Charter flying added hours and landings faster: compare the group medians above. Charter means on our charter list; fractional, flown by a program such as NetJets or Flexjet. The 4 fractional aircraft are counted with the private ones: too few for a median of their own. Ask which maintenance program a charter aircraft flew under. | Utilization |
| How hard it has been flown | The Engines and brakes check covers short runways and the brake and tire wear from landings there. Hot, high takeoffs work the engines harder. A quarter of the fleet made 11% or more of its departures hot and high. | Engines and brakes |
| Base and corrosion exposure | Salt air, damp and freeze–thaw at the fields where an aircraft spends its nights all drive corrosion, which takes time to find and repair. The Corrosion check gives the salt-air figures. A quarter of the aircraft we could place spent 19% or more of their nights in freeze–thaw. | Corrosion |
Asking prices vary by aircraft, and the tail’s history explains much of the difference. Check a tail →
Where TailCheck fits in a Learjet 45 purchase
The usage checks cost least at the start, before any deposit or contract. From then on, the report serves the records reviewer and the inspection shop: it shows them where to look hardest.
| # | Step | Where TailCheck helps |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Shortlist Screen candidates on how they have been used before spending on anything else. | Free record for each tail, then TailCheck on the shortlist |
| 02 | Letter of intent Price and terms, subject to inspection and a records review. | — |
| 03 | Records review Logbooks, maintenance programs and damage history. | Hours, landings and long gaps to check the logbooks against |
| 04 | Pre-purchase inspection At a shop that knows the type. | Brief the shop on what the usage data flagged |
| 05 | Discrepancies and price Negotiate on what the inspection and records found. | Grades against the type support the conversation |
| 06 | Closing and delivery Title, escrow, registration and acceptance flight. | — |
What each part of the purchase answers
Usage is one leg of a purchase; paperwork and condition are the others| Item | Why it matters on a Learjet 45 | Who answers it |
|---|---|---|
| Usage history | Hours, landings, bases and gaps, against the 360 North American Learjet 45s. | TailCheck |
| Logbooks | Complete, back-to-birth records, and whether they square with the tracked flying. | Records review |
| Damage history | Any structural repair, how it was signed off, and whether it was disclosed. | Records review |
| Inspections due | When the next major inspections fall due, by hours, landings and calendar. | Records review |
| Engine program | Whether the Honeywell (AlliedSignal) TFE731-20R, TFE731-20AR or TFE731-20BR-1B engines are enrolled on an hourly maintenance program, and whether it transfers.Engines: EASA TCDS EASA.IM.A.020 Issue 18, p.11 | Records review |
| Physical condition | Corrosion, structure, systems and interior: what the usage data says to look at hardest. | Pre-purchase inspection |
| Title and registry | Liens, the ownership chain and any export or import between registries. | Title search |
What tracking can and can’t tell you
Tracking covered the active North American Learjet 45s in the twelve months: their flights, runways and the fields where they spent their nights. It misses some flights and sees nothing of condition. Use it alongside the inspection and records review.
| What it can show | What it can’t establish |
|---|---|
| What it has flown, and where | Its mechanical condition, maintenance quality or airworthiness |
| How hard it is used against other Learjet 45s | Its exact hours and landings, or flights we didn’t see |
| Long stays on the ground, and gaps in the track | What work was done at any shop, or why it sat anywhere |
| Where it spends its nights, and the weather there | Whether it was hangared or parked outside |
| What its departures asked: runway length, heat and height | Its takeoff weight, or which runway it used |
Ben
Ben founded The Aircraft Ledger to show buyers how an aircraft has really been flown. Before that, he spent five years researching what more than 140 private jet models cost to buy and run, for clients mostly in the US.
Down to two Learjet 45s?
Check both tails before you choose.
Enter the two tails on your shortlist. TailCheck grades each one on Fatigue, Corrosion, Engines and brakes, and Utilization against the Learjet 45 fleet, then puts them side by side.
Buying a used Learjet 45: questions
How many hours a year is normal for a Learjet 45?
Normal is close to its own group's median, given in the Utilization check above, because charter aircraft flew more than private and fractional ones. Across the whole fleet, in the twelve months to 31 Jul 2026, the middle half flew between 70 and 184 estimated hours a year. At the quiet end, 1 in 20 flew 46 hours or fewer. A candidate far from its group's median deserves a question about why.
Is a high-hour Learjet 45 a bad buy?
No, not on hours alone. With more hours, hours-based inspections and engine overhauls come due sooner, and the records should show them done. Landings count against structural and landing-gear life limits, so the same hours flown on long legs use less of those limits than hours flown on short hops. Read a candidate's hours and landings together, against the fleet median hours per landing in the Fatigue check.
Does a TailCheck report replace a pre-purchase inspection?
No. A TailCheck report shows how the aircraft was flown: hours, landings, runways and the fields where it spent its nights. A pre-purchase inspection shows its condition. The report tells the inspection team which areas deserve the closest look.
Can tracking show whether a Learjet 45 was hangared?
No. Tracking shows where a Learjet 45 spent its nights and the weather at those fields, including salt air and freeze–thaw. Whether it sat in a hangar is a question for the seller and the records.
When should I run these checks?
Run them before a letter of intent, while you can still step back freely. Then pass the report to your records reviewer and the shop doing the pre-purchase inspection.
Cite this data
The Aircraft Ledger. “Buying a used Bombardier Learjet 45.” Data to 29 August 2026. theaircraftledger.com/guides/bombardier-learjet-45
Method: benchmarks are North American Learjet 45s with at least 20 tracked flights in the latest twelve full months, ADS-B tracking 1 Aug 2025 – 31 Jul 2026; each figure is the fleet median with its middle half (25th–75th percentile) and the 5% at the harder end. Estimated hours from time in the air; tracking misses some flights, so counts and hours are minimums. We assume the longest runway at each field, so short-runway figures are conservative. Engines from the type certificate data sheet, cited. This guide is general information, not an inspection, appraisal or records review. About our data