Learjet from the First Luxury Aircraft to Space
Learjet is known for being the company that built one of the first luxury, private aircraft. Today, the American aerospace producer designs and manufactures business jets for both military and civilian use.
However, there is much more to the story. Everything began long ago in the 1950s when William Lear founded his Swiss-American Aviation company in Switzerland. From this point in time on, the company built several aircraft models that had great success, went through several mergers and acquisitions to become a Bombardier subsidiary in 1990 and continue building high quality aircraft to this day.
From a Small Project to Global Success
The Swiss-P16 was the first major success model manufactured by the Swiss American Corp. It was a small project which involved an international team of engineers from Britain, Switzerland and Germany. At first it all started in Switzerland, but later on the whole project moved to the U.S, Kansas in particular.
There the young company started assembling its first Learjet. The year was 1963, within the same year the Learjet 23, 8-seater made its first flight. The next year was the first important milestone for the company; it got renamed to Lear Jet Corporation and became publicly owned.
After several name changes in 1969 Learjet became Gates Learjet after a merger with Gates Aviation. The following years 1974 and 1975 were very successful for the company. It fleet exceeded a very important worldwide mark – over one million hours in the sky. Another good news, the company produced its 500th aircraft, both of these were industry first events.
The official start of the aerospace division was in 1984 when it was established in Tuscon, Arizona. One year later it won an important contract and started producing the parts for the Space Shuttle’s engine. This is how Learjet grew from a small project to working on flights in space.
In 1987 the Learjet Corporation was born after an Integrated Acquisition.
The company welcomed the 90’s with new changes and restructuring. It was purchased by Canadian aerospace leader – Bombardier. This is how Learjet became part of the Bombardier family.
From its humble beginning in Kansas, Learjet grew to a company with over 3200 employees by 2013. And it remained very closely involved with the community in Wichita, Kansas. A curious fact about Learjet is that the founder got an offer for a more than one million dollar revenue bond. Historically, it was the first industrial bond of this kind offered by Wichita city. Learjet’s production facility is still located there and was recently renovated.
In June 2017 Learjet delivered its 3000th jet. Although Learjet’s program 85 was cancelled by Bombardier back in 2015, the company continues to manufacture one of its most famous model the 70/75.
Success and Recognition
The 70’s were a time of great success for Learjet not only in terms of growth but also when it comes to recognition. Only 9 years after it was founded in 1971 the company launched one of its most successful aircraft – Learjet35 and received great honor - the special award from the President for the contribution to export sales.
The 45th anniversary of the first Learjet was celebrated in 2008 by Bombardier with a special campaign called “The year of Learjet”. As part of the campaigns Lewis Hamilton, the famous Formula One driver raced a Learjet at a grand Air Show in Farnborough.
Although it is no longer and independent company and is part of the Bombardier’s family, Learjet is proud of its rich history and legacy encoded in the modern aircraft which can still be seen up in the sky.
Learn more about Learjet on https://businessaircraft.bombardier.com/en/aircraft