Rockwell Sabreliner 65 Specs and Description

Background/History

In 1956 the U.S. Air Force issued its specification UTX for a Utility Transport Experimental aircraft. Although it was originally developed as a private venture, North American Aviation submitted its NA-264 prototype for evaluation. The NA-264, powered by a pair of General Electric YJ85 turbojet engines, made its first flight in September 1958 and completed the military evaluation at Edwards Air Force Base in December 1958. North American replaced the engines with Pratt & Whitney J60 turbojets and assigned the designation NA-265, which was subsequently ordered by the Air Force as the T-39. The first civilian version was the Sabreliner 40, powered by two Pratt and Whitney JT12 turbojets and certificated in April 1963. In April 1967 North American Rockwell received certification for the Sabreliner 60, which featured a 3.2 ft. stretch of the fuselage and had five windows per side. The models 75 followed in 1969 with its deeper fuselage and square windows. The 75A, fitted with a pair of General Electric CF700’s, introduced fan-power to the line in 1973. The Sabreliner 65, with its Garrett TFE731-3-1D turbofans, first flew in June 1977 and received FAA certification in November 1979. It was produced through 1981, when Sabreliner production came to a close.

Power

The Sabreliner 65 is powered by a pair of Garrett TFE731-3-1D turbofans producing 3,700lbs. of thrust each. Inspection interval on the engines is 4,200 hours.

Avionics

The Sabreliner 65 comes standard with dual Collins panels, including flight directors, air data computers and GPS integration. For weather safety, the Sabreliner 65 can be found with Collins 300 weather radar, Benebix RDR 1200 or Sperry Primus Radar with data nav.

Design Features

The Sabreliner 65 is a medium to long range, multiengine turbofan business aircraft equipped with low mounted, sweptback wings with a conventional tail configuration. The retractable landing gear is in a tricycle arrangement with dual tires in the nose strut and single tires on the main struts.

Accomodations

The Sabreliner 65’s center club seating arrangement enables 4 occupants to face each other, and includes another 4 seats in a conventional airline style. The cabin of the Sabreliner includes a side refreshment center and a rear lavatory. The main baggage compartment is in the forward cabin area. A secondary baggage compartment is accessible in the rear of the cabin. Cabin Length is 19ft., cabin width is 5.25ft., and cabin height is 4.6ft.