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#1743

North American Sabreliner

first flew 1958· trainer aircraft , business jet

💼 business jet 2× jet ✓ still flying
10 photos from Wikimedia Commons · credits & licences
  1. 1. CT-39E Sabreliner VR-30 in flight 1980: PH2 Berry, USN· Public domain
  2. 2. D-CAVW Sabreliner CVT 24-06-80 (24722574041): Rob Hodgkins· CC BY-SA 2.0
  3. 3. North American Sabreliner 'N168W' at National Elecronics Museum: Jonathan Schilling· CC BY-SA 4.0
  4. 4. Ntps-sabreliner-N211BR-071112-01-16: Alan Radecki Akradecki· CC BY-SA 4.0
  5. 5. T-39D Sabreliner PRNAM-2: Balon Greyjoy· CC0
  6. 6. A Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 24 (VR-24) CT-39G Sabreliner aircraft sits on the air station's crowed flight line - DPLA - 80173674338d8a31e56e276a368098e3: Department of Defense. American Forces Information Service. Defense Visual Information Center. 1994· Public domain
  7. 7. N58JM Sabreliner MAN SEP90 (6783787698): Ken Fielding· CC BY-SA 3.0
  8. 8. North American CT-39A Sabreliner ‘24452’ (30457115435): Alan Wilson from Stilton, Peterborough, Cambs, UK· CC BY-SA 2.0
  9. 9. North American Sabreliner (10864828494): Bill Larkins· CC BY-SA 2.0
  10. 10. RF-14423 Sabreliner (7287352920): Aeroprints.com· CC BY-SA 3.0
Read about it on Wikipedia ↗
North American Sabreliner, photo 1 of 10
1/10 PH2 Berry, USN· Public domain

what is it?

The North American Sabreliner, later sold as the Rockwell Sabreliner, is a mid-sized business jet designed and produced by American aircraft manufacturer North American Aviation. It was named "Sabreliner" due to the similarity of the wing and tail to North American's F-86 Sabre jet fighter. The Sabreliner was developed during the late 1950s and early 1960s.

How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · 13.6 m wingspan

base stats

  • speed 885 km/htop speed
  • range 4,020 kmwithout refuelling
  • size 8,056 kgmax take-off weight
  • built 212made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

  • First flew 68 years ago, in 1958.
  • Top speed is 6.8× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
  • Wingspan of 13.6 m: about 3 cars parked nose to tail.
  • Range of 4,020 km: 22× Amsterdam to Brussels.
  • Can fly 1.4× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight
1958-09-16
introduced
1963
status
still flying
number built
212
role
trainer aircraft , business jet
makers
North American Aviation, Rockwell International
engines
2× Pratt & Whitney J60-P-3
length
13.4 m
wingspan
13.6 m
height
4.9 m
max take-off weight
8,056 kg
top speed
885 km/h
cruise speed
800 km/h
range
4,020 km
ceiling
12,200 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

Sources: Wikidata Q844656, Wikipedia: North American Sabreliner (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.

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