Meet Learjet 35 / 36
The Learjet 35 and longer-range 36 developed the earlier Learjet formula around Garrett TFE731 turbofans. Their rear-mounted engines, swept wing and prominent tip tanks give them a distinctive silhouette. The 35A improved the original Model 35, while the 36 traded some passenger accommodation for additional fuel.
This page covers the 35/36 family. Flysimware’s products represent the Learjet 35A, with separate original MSFS and native MSFS 2024 releases.
Learjet 35 / 36
Aircraft type designators
Use the code for the model you are flying. The linked authority lists the applicable aircraft.
History & design
Turbofans and a longer career
The 35/36 family entered production in the 1970s. More economical turbofans extended the usefulness of the compact Learjet airframe, and the aircraft found roles beyond executive transport. Medical evacuation and military support are part of that history, as the attributed accounts illustrate.
Wikipedia contributors · Learjet 35 / 36 background ↗Real-aircraft family history
Pilot accounts
Getting ahead of a fast-moving cockpit
Mahany describes a long-awaited training flight in a privately operated Learjet 35A. Even entering the small cockpit required explanation. Once airborne, the acceleration and climb demanded attention, and the firm feel of the controls was immediately apparent. Finding a reliable outside reference and holding altitude precisely took practice as he became accustomed to the aircraft.
Circuit work made the workload especially clear. Power changes, configuration, bank, pitch and the setting sun all competed for attention. Repeated approaches gradually brought improvement, and his final circuit felt much more controlled. He also recalls learning the sensitive steering on the ground. The pleasure in the account comes from earning familiarity through effort, rather than from suggesting that the Learjet is effortless to fly.
Real Learjet 35A training flight, May 2020. First-person account; source accessed through its public web extraction.
Read the full account · John Mahany CFI ↗A very different business-jet mission
Haines’s first encounter with a Learjet was aboard a 35A acting as a practice target for the US Navy in 1987. From a rapid descent to a low-level pass near a destroyer, the experience showed him a working side of the business jet that a corporate cabin photograph would never convey. He was an observer on this sortie, not the pilot flying it.
His later retrospective follows several other Learjet models and the end of production, but the 35A episode remains a striking introduction to the family’s versatility. The low-level naval exercise belongs specifically to that operator and mission. His later hands-on flights in a 31A and 45 are separate experiences and are not treated here as 35A handling evidence.
Observer aboard Flight International’s Learjet 35A in 1987; AOPA retrospective, June 2022. Later Learjet models are distinguished.
Read the full account · AOPA ↗The medical transport mission behind the flight
Lynch introduces his account from an FBO in Las Vegas, where his air-ambulance crew had finished transporting a patient and was waiting for its next assignment. Instead of receiving hotel arrangements, they were told to take their Learjet 35 to Chicago to help with another aircraft’s interrupted medical transfer. The crew included a first officer, nurse and paramedic, a reminder of the coordinated work behind this use of the aircraft.
FLYING’s publicly available synopsis describes the later loss of both engines and an unpowered landing at Page, Arizona. It attributes the event to contaminated fuel. The full narrative requires publisher access; this summary is limited to the public introduction and synopsis, without reconstructing the crew’s unseen decisions or procedures.
Air-ambulance pilot’s account published 3 July 2025. Public introduction and publisher synopsis only; full article requires an account.
Read the full account · FLYING ↗In your simulator
Systems, equipment and documentation for each developer’s aircraft.
Compare simulator versions →MSFS 2020 · MSFS 2024Learjet 35A — original MSFS release
Flysimware · Released
Learjet 35A — original MSFS release
Flysimware · Released
MSFS 2024Learjet 35A — native MSFS 2024
Flysimware · Released
Learjet 35A — native MSFS 2024
Flysimware · Released
Aircraft specifications
Published figures for the named real-aircraft variant. Simulator equipment and performance can differ.
| Specification | Published value |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 39 ft 6 in Flysimware original MSFS manual v1.4, PDF p. 4 |
| Length | 48 ft 7 in Flysimware original MSFS manual v1.4, PDF p. 4 |
| Crew | 2 Flysimware original MSFS manual v1.4, PDF p. 4 |
| Engine family | 2 × TFE731 Flysimware original MSFS manual v1.4, PDF p. 4 |
Manuals & resources
Read the original documentation from the people who created it. Manuals open on their publisher’s website.
Manual
Learjet 35A manual v1.4Flysimware · Flysimware original MSFS manual v1.4, PDF p. 4 Learjet 35A native-2024 manual v1.2Flysimware · Native MSFS 2024 release; downloaded manual v1.2Aircraft background
Learjet 35 / 36 backgroundWikipedia contributors · Family background; article retrieved 13 September 2026Product page
Learjet 35A — original MSFS releaseFlysimware · Official product page; checked 13 September 2026 Learjet 35A — native MSFS 2024Flysimware · Official product page; checked 13 September 2026Type designator
ICAO Doc 8643 — aircraft type designatorsInternational Civil Aviation Organization · Public search data retrieved 2026-09-14; authority update 2026-09-03Discuss this aircraft (0)
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