It’s almost the end of the line for one of the most famous names in business aviation, or in aviation, with the news that manufacturer Bombardier is ending production of the Learjet this year. It is a blow to the 500 million people in Wichita, who are being cut as a result, and it is also bringing down the curtain that is perhaps the world’s most famous budget.
With more than 3,000 aircraft delivered since its service in 1963, the iconic Learjet planes had a remarkable and lasting impact on business aviation, ”Bombardier President and CEO Éric Martel said in a statement today. “However, given the increasingly challenging market dynamics, we have made the difficult decision to end Learjet production.”
Bombardier
Model 75 Liberty now becomes the final production Learjet.
The main effect of the decision, apparently influenced by changing market trends, which include much more competition in the light beam segment, as well as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, will be felt by Montreal workers. head office company.
In Wichita, about 250 employees can expect to lose their jobs in the next 12 months, once production of the Learjet declines from this fall. There is still the possibility that some of them may reapply in roles elsewhere in the company, but that involves ‘collective bargaining’ with Bombardier, according to the Wichita Arend newspaper.
However, these job losses are unfortunately only a fraction of those likely to be in the company if it restructures, enduring the storm that COVID-19 is causing in the broad commercial aviation industries. A total of 1,600 jobs are expected to be lost in the entire enterprise, about half of which is in Canada.
Although most of these job losses are officials, the position is different in Wichita, where most of those at risk are the work floor workers responsible for building the Learjets.
Bombardier
Early learners are waiting for delivery at the factory airport in Wichita.
Martel described the reduction in staff as “absolutely essential for us to rebuild our business as we go through the pandemic.”
Among the changes coming into effect, as well as a leaner workforce, is a greater focus on service delivery, while manufacturing efforts in the budget segment will focus on the Challenger and Global Express aircraft families. Both of these series offer significantly more potential for growth and development, and are meanwhile much more popular among customers.
However, the decision does not take away from the incredible legacy that the Learjet has created. It is little surprising to think that the very first prototype that Learjet shot into the air on October 7, 1963 in Wichita.
It was part of the first-generation budget, but remarkably, its design was inspired by the native Swiss FFA P-16 single-seat fighter, who encountered William P. ‘Bill’ Lear after retiring in Switzerland in the late 1950s. While the P-16 was never ordered in quantity, the Swiss-American aircraft corporation Learjet 23, as it was originally known, became a success story.
Paebi / Wikmedia Commons
The P-16 jet fighter that inspired the design of the Learjet’s wing.
The Learjet 23, which looks fast, smooth and can be driven by a single pilot, is powered by a pair of General Electric CJ610 turbojets – an adaptation of the J85 powerplant that is not used in the T-38 Talon jet trainer was not, after incineration and quickly won orders. Reportedly, the new budget boasts a higher initial climb rate than the F-100 Super Saber jet fighter and the highest altitude of any aircraft in its class.
San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive
Father of the Learjet, William P. “Bill” Lear.
Other features include manual control for flight controls, but powered spoilers, a T-tail and a fuselage that is only 62 inches wide and 54 inches high. In 1965, the manufacturer, named Lear Jet Corporation, began work on the Learjet 24, with an increased maximum take-off weight, which was first flown on 24 February 1966.
NASA
A Learjet 23 on the left, along with a Cessna T-37, which has been used by NASA as a fighter since 1974.
On the way to the ubiquity of Bizjet, the Learjet soon became the choice of many of the rich and famous. Frank Sinatra swapped his French-made Morane-Saulnier MS.760 Paris Jet in 1965 for a brand new Learjet 23. He lent the plane to Elvis Presley when he and Priscilla Beaulieu flew to Las Vegas in 1967 to get married. The same plane also flew Sammy Davis Jr. and Marlon Brando to Mississippi to go on a freedom march with Martin Luther King Jr.
Eventually, the Learjet’s cultural capital was so large that in the early 1980s, the company itself claimed that its aircraft had appeared in more movies and TV shows than any other aircraft in history. Whether true or not, it certainly enjoyed a great deal of the iconic moments, including the final montage scene of Mal mans:
In 1966, the Lear Jet Corporation was acquired by the Gates Rubber Company and Gates Learjet Corp. That same year, the elongated Learjet 25 appeared, with seating for 10 in a cabin that was 50 percent larger, and reached a slightly reduced reach. Then came the Learjet 28 and the Learjet 29 Longhorn, of which only a few were produced, but they were the first in the family to add wings for better efficiency. It is a well-known feature of many commercial designs, and the NASA-developed wing aircraft were used in this aircraft for the first time. Between 1964 and 1982, 105 Learjet 23s, 255 Learjet 24s and 368 Learjet 25s were delivered.
NASA
The Learjet 28 and 29 were the first production budget to include wings.
Launched in 1973 with the eight-seater Learjet 35, customers can now enjoy all the benefits of cheaper and quieter Garrett TFE731 turbocharged engines, replacing the previous turbojets. The six-seater Learjet 36 is offered next door and both have slightly larger wings and a slight trunk. The Learjet 35 also became a major favorite of the U.S. Air Force, which acquired it under the military designation C-21. Meanwhile, it was a Learjet 36 that golfer Arnold Palmer used in 1976 to set a new world record that covered a distance of 22,984 miles in 57 hours, 25 minutes and 42 seconds. By the end of production in the mid – nineties, more than 730 samples of the Learjet 35/36 had been sold.
Tomás Del Coro / Wikimedia Commons
A C-21 – a U.S. Air Force Learjet 35 – operated by the Connecticut Air National Guard.
Meanwhile, the 10-seater Learjet 55 has been added to the family, along with the long-distance Learjet 55LR with seven seats, the even longer-range Learjet 55XLR and the Learjet 55B with a modern glass cabin launched in 1986. This series was the first in which the passengers in the cabin were able to get up and also added distinctive downward sloping “delta fins” on the rear fuselage. A total of 147 of the various Learjet 55 models were built up to 1992.
Eddie Maloney / Wikimedia Commons
A privately held Learjet 55 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
It was in 1990 that Bombardier acquired the Learjet line after Gates began to run into financial difficulties. The acquisition initially built the budgets under the Learjet Inc. brand, and the new Canadian owner introduced a whole new range of designs to ensure success in the 1990s and beyond.
The Learjet 31 combined the wing of the Learjet 55 with the eight-seater Learjet 35 propeller and was the first of the “next generation” Learjets. By the time the Learjet 31A was on the scene in 1991, the budget now had a fully integrated Bendix / King Electronic Flight Instrumentation System with five screens in the cabin and a maximum speed of Mach 0.81.
Kambui / Wikimedia Commons
A TAG Aviation Learjet 31 in Geneva.
The Learjet 60, first flown in 1990, was a replacement for the Learjet 55 and was the largest Learjet to date, with seating for up to 12 and Pratt & Whitney Canada PW300
turbofans.
AP
Visitors watch a Learjet 60XR at an air show in Hong Kong.
The first of the series designed entirely on computers, the Learjet 45, has seating for 10-11 seats and is the first new addition to the family since the original Learjet 23. The abbreviated version is the Learjet 40, which replaces is the Learjet 31 on the Wichita production line from 2002.
redlegsfan21 / Wikimedia Commons
A Learjet 45 lands at Billings Logan International Airport, Montana.
The last of the line is now the Learjet 70 and Learjet 75, known as the Liberty, which started delivery in 2013. These are essentially updated Learjet 40/45 aircraft, featuring the latest equipment, including Garmin touchscreens fitted with the touchscreen and modern luxury interiors.
Bombardier
The cabin interior of the Learjet Liberty 75.
However, the famous Learjet will not soon disappear from our air. To that end, Bombardier has announced a remanufacturing program for Learjet 40 and Learjet 45 aircraft, known as the Learjet RACER. It is also part of the increasing focus on delivering services to existing customers.
The Learjet is also likely to have many years of service in the hands of contractors who provide services to various armies around the world, with the fact that the Learjet has established itself especially as a popular choice for adversaries in the air, including electronic warfare and target drag. Other examples are still strong in the execution of plans for radar maps, and are even used as aerial displays.
The RACER process will include improvements to the interior and exterior components, advanced aviation, high-speed connections, improved engines and lower maintenance costs. “The site will be busy,” Martel told reporters. “Wichita will remain an excellent place for Bombardier.”
That welcome decision will also help keep the remaining staff members in Wichita busy as they continue to work on the many existing Learjet aircraft in use in North America and beyond.
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