Learjet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Fate | incorporated into Bombardier. |
|---|---|
| Successor | Bombardier Aerospace |
| Founded | 1960 |
| Defunct | 1986 |
| Location | Wichita, Kansas |
Learjet is a manufacturer of business jets for civilian and military use. It was founded in 1960 by William Powell Lear Jr. as Swiss American Aviation Corporation. Learjet is now a subsidiary of Bombardier and marketed as the "Bombardier Learjet Family".
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[edit] History
The starting point for what became the very symbol of the "biz jet" started life as an abortive attempt by a Swiss aircraft company to build a new ground-attack fighter aircraft, the FFA P-16 of 1955. Although this effort proved unsuccessful and by 1960 efforts to produce the warplane had ceased, the basic structure of this aircraft was seen by Bill Lear and his team as a good starting point to the development of a business jet. In fact, the wing (with the distinctive tip tanks) and landing gear of the first Learjets were little changed from those used by the Swiss warplane prototypes. The tooling for building the aircraft was purchased and moved to Wichita, Kansas, United States, in 1962.
In 1963, the company was renamed the Lear Jet Corporation.
The original Learjet 23 was a six to eight seater and first flew on October 7, 1963, with the first production model being delivered in October 1964. Several derived models followed, with the Learjet 24 and 25 first flying in 1966. In the same year, the company was renamed Lear Jet Industries Inc.
In 1967, all of Bill Lear's assets — he held approximately 60% of the company (US$27,000,000) — were acquired by the Gates Rubber Company of Denver, Colorado, United States. However, he remained on the board until 1969. Later in 1969, the company was merged with Gates Aviation and in 1970 the company name was changed to Gates Learjet Corporation.
In 1974, the worldwide Learjet fleet had exceeded the one million flight hours mark and in 1975 the company produced its 500th jet. In both instances they were the first manufacturer to do so. By late 1976, the company had increased the number of aircraft being produced each month to 10.
In 1984, the Gates Learjet Corporation announced the start of their Aerospace Division, a high technology endeavour. However, by the end of the year the company had ceased production of its commercial jets in an effort to reduce inventories. This lasted until February 1986, when the company headquarters were transferred to Tucson, Arizona, United States, and production was restarted both in Wichita and Tucson.
In 1987, the Gates Learjet Corporation was acquired by Integrated Acquisition, Inc. and the next year the name was changed to Learjet Corporation. By January 1989 all production had been moved from the Tucson facility back to Wichita. The next year, 1990, Bombardier Aerospace purchased the Learjet Corporation.
Later models of Learjet aircraft generally have a greater range and capacity and are produced by Bombardier and marketed as the "Bombardier Learjet Family". These have a swept back wing rather than the straighter wing with prominent fuel tanks on their extremities that characterised the early models, being reminiscent of the Lockheed T-33 military trainer. These later variants bear the model numbers 45 and upwards and are far quieter.
[edit] Aircraft
The ICAO designators as used in flight plans are for the various models are as follows. The ICAO listing of the company name is in parenthesis:
- Learjet 23 — LJ23 (Lear Jet)
- Learjet 24 — LJ24 (Lear Jet & Gates Learjet)
- Learjet 25 — LJ25 (Lear Jet & Gates Learjet)
- Learjet 28 — LJ28 (Gates Learjet)
- Learjet 29 — LJ28 (Gates Learjet)
- Learjet 31 — LJ31 (Lear Jet & Gates Learjet)
- Learjet 35 — LJ35 (Learjet, Gates Learjet & Shin Meiwa)
- Learjet 36 — LJ35 (Gates Learjet). Basically a Learjet 35 with increased range. This increase is possible through the removal of two seats for an extra fuel tank.
- Learjet 40 — LJ40 (Learjet)
- Learjet 45 — LJ45 (Learjet)
- Learjet 55 — LJ55 (Gates Learjet)
- Learjet 60 — LJ60 (Learjet)
- Learjet 40 XR — LJ40 XR (Learjet)
- Learjet 45 XR — LJ45 XR (Learjet)
- Learjet 60 XR — LJ60 XR (Learjet)
[edit] Incidents and accidents
On October 25, 1999, Payne Stewart and several others (Jerri Gibbs of Leader Enterprises of Orlando, and Robert Fraley and Van Ardan, officers of Leader who acted as agents for Payne Stewart, and the pilots, Michael Kling, 43, and Stephanie Bellegarrigue, 27) were flying a Learjet 35 designated N47BA from Orlando International Airport to Dallas-Love Field Airport. The plane suffered a loss of cabin pressure, which was not acted upon by the flight crew. Jacksonville's Air Traffic Control Center attempted to contact the plane and got no response. The jet continued to fly over several states on autopilot until all fuel was exhausted. It is estimated that all aboard were dead from hypoxia before the plane left the Florida radar. The plane crashed ten miles west of Aberdeen, South Dakota. Later, Learjet was cleared of responsibility in the accident [1].
On May 2, 2000, race driver David Coulthard survived a Learjet 35 crash. The chartered plane in which they were travelling from Farnborough Airfield to Côte d'Azur International Airport developed engine trouble, and crashed while attempting an emergency landing at Saint-Exupéry International Airport near Lyon, France. While Coulthard received only minor injuries, the front of the aircraft disintegrated upon impact, killing both pilots.
On October 10, 2000, a Canadair Challenger CL-604 Flight Test Airplane, C-FTBZ crashed during take off from Wichita Mid-Continent Airport. Wichita, Kansas is home to both the Bombardier Learjet manufacturing facility and the Bombardier Flight Test Center. Killed in the crash were Experimental Test Pilot, Bryan Irelan and Flight Test Engineer, David Riggs. Experimental Test Pilot, Eric Fiore died 36 days later at a local hospital from serious burns he received in the crash.
On June 2, 2006 a Learjet 35 registered to Christian televangelist Pat Robertson crashed a half-mile short of the runway at Groton-New London Airport in Groton, Connecticut. Both pilots were killed, however the three passengers aboard escaped without injury. Robertson was not aboard the plane.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External link
Learjet 23 • Learjet 24 • Learjet 25 • Learjet 28 • Learjet 29 • Learjet 31 • Learjet 35 • Learjet 36 • Learjet 40 • Learjet 45 • Learjet 55 • Learjet 60 • Learjet C-21
