To get my Mojo back, I would go out to the flight line and sit in the cockpit of a completed Lear 35. I remember getting frustrated trying to convince the VP of Manufacturing that the new system would help him. It was my job to implement a new manufacturing control system. ![]() I was the Director of Manufacturing Control Systems from 1984 to 1985. It breaks my heart to hear that the last Learjet just rolled off the line. And pride in making a lasting mark on aviation history.” ![]() Pride for being part of this amazing legacy. However, the emotion that I’ve seen most prominent in all of my conversations with over the past several days and months is pride. Tonya Sudduth, VP of Learjet operations, told the crowd at the rollout, “There’s no doubt that today is an emotional day for many of us, as it marks the end of the production era of Learjet. Executive VP of operations Paul Sislian said, “Bombardier is committed to making sure that these 2,000 aircraft presently in service will keep flying well into the future.” It represents the 24 th Learjet to make its way through Northern Jet’s pipeline and will join the company’s managed fleet.īombardier, which announced plans more than a year ago to discontinue Learjet production, assured all operators it will continue to support the product line. It was the last of more than 3,000 aircraft produced under the brand, many under the governance of current production-certificate holder Bombardier Aerospace, and went to an unnamed customer of Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Northern Jet Management. The insurance money enabled the struggling company to eke out the seven weeks needed to achieve certification on July 31, 1964, and Lear Jet #2 was delivered to its-real world-cash customer shortly thereafter.Īfter innumerable corporate twists and turns since then (during which “Lear Jet” morphed into “Learjet”), the last of Bill Lear’s legacy, a Learjet Model 75, was delivered on Monday (March 28). It burned to ashes, but not before the FAA pilot and company test pilot escaped uninjured. The galley has more storage space and amenities than ever, with a microwave option, dual ice drawers and other catering features that far exceed the light jet standard.As related in Richard Baske’s biography of Bill Lear, “Stormy Genius,” an FAA test pilot had neglected to retract the wing spoilers before a certification test flight, and the prototype Lear Jet 23 crashed into a field off the end of the runway. A new galley pocket door on both floor plans provides increased privacy and a quieter cabin, while the double-club swivel seating offers more headroom, legroom and mobility than any competitor. ![]() ![]() The Learjet 75 features a flat-floor design – the first and only one to have such a design among its immediate competitors – which helps to accommodate two distinct floor plans for six or eight passengers, with the former providing the most legroom in an aircraft configured for six seats, and the latter allowing a cabin to be at capacity without compromising range. Inside the aircraft, a wholly modern experience unfolds, as attentive as it is refined. On the exterior, the Learjet 75 aircraft builds on its predecessors’ sleek design and renowned performance with new canted winglets – inspired by the Learjet 28 aircraft, the first business jet to feature winglets – for improved aerodynamics and efficiency. No other aircraft has a faster climb rate or higher cruise speed among its direct competitors, and the Learjet 75 aircraft’s state-of-the-art carbon brakes provide superior landing performance – even on short runways and in challenging weather conditions, such as snow and rain. The flight marked the 50th anniversary of aviator Clay Lacy’s record-setting transcontinental round-trip, beating his time by 17 minutes. The Learjet family has accumulated 111 world speed records to date, including those set by the Learjet 75 aircraft on a round-trip between New York and Los Angeles in September 2015.
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