LIGHT JET WITH MEDIUM PLANE PERFORMANCE
Best known as Bill Lear, William Powel Lear was born in 1902 in Missouri, USA. Being a self-taught person, he became a radio specialist. Together with Paul Galvin, he developed the first automobile radio set, named “Motorola”, whose name has become the brand everybody knows today. His passion for aviation, together with his radio knowledge, made him develop many avionic products, such as ADF (Automatic Directional Finding) and the Auto Pilot. In 1960, he moved to Switzerland where he founded the Swiss American Aviation Company. The goal was using the FFA P-16 fighter as a base for developing a small-sized business jet. However, his plans were frustrated and, without support for the project, he sold his share in Lear Incorporated. Then, he moved to Wichita, in Kansas, where he founded Lear Jet Inc. and, in October 1963, he promoted the first test flight of his Lear 23.
Lear Jet was responsible for the development of several new technologies. The company was the first one to homologate not only a business aircraft in FAR Part 25 (the Lear 24) but a business aircraft with 51,000 ft. operating ceiling. Lear Jet was also the first manufacturer to use winglets (Lear 28).
In 1990, the Canadian Bombardier acquired Learjet and from this merge the Lear 40/45 was born, which would replace the famous Lear 35. Lear 45 was a completely new project, and it has initially faced some setbacks, such as delayed deliveries, pressurization problems and cracked windshields. In 2003, the entire Lear 45 fleet was forbidden to fly by FAA because a faulty screw in the horizontal stabilizer. But after one month, Bombardier managed to develop a solution and the fleet was released.
FAR PART 25
When called for doing Learjet 75 flight test, I try to imagine which were the improvements and modifications introduced by Bombardier in Lear 45 to be able to name it as Learjet 75. I have to admit that which was good has become better.
Lear 75, which is derived from Lear 45 is regarded a light jet; however it is difficult to compare it with other aircrafts of its category, due to the fact of being the only one certified by FAR Part 25. Certification requirements are far more demanding and complex than those of FAR 23, a standard applied to the certification of other light jets. Moreover, it
