HISTORY
Established in April 1968 by
William P. Lear, LearAvia
Corporation (LAC) was
headquartered in Reno,
Nevada at the site of the
former Stead Air Force Base,
alongside Leareno
Development and Lear Motors
Corporation, other companies
Lear established at the same
time. Their products
included the Learjet sound
suppressor, a helicopter
muffler system for the Bell
47 series helicopters, and
the Lear Charger, a portable
battery charger for
recharging 6-, 12-, or
24-volt batteries.
Additional products they
manufactured include the
AFC-75, a yaw damper, a
battery temperature
indicator, a cabin
temperature control unit, a
nose wheel steering system,
an altitude data system, and
a synchroscope. LAC operated
an aircraft service center,
an aviation instruction
training school, and a
helicopter leasing/charter
service.
In addition
to avionics products, LAC
also developed three
aircraft: the LearStar 600,
the Lear Allegro, and the
all-composite turboprop Lear
Fan 2100. In 1976 Canadair
bought the design and
production rights to the
LearStar 600 and eventually
changed the name to the
Canadair Challenger. The
Allegro, designed in 1977 as
an improved version of the
LearStar 600, was never
built due to lack of
interest from Canadair. It
was followed by the Lear Fan
program which began in March
1977. The Lear Fan 2100 was
WPL’s last aircraft design
and was briefly known as the
“Futura” and possibly the
“Finesse” prior to being
named the Lear Fan 2100.
In early 1978, Lear’s
health faltered again. He
made arrangements for Lear
Fan development to proceed
even if he were to die, but
he desperately wanted to
live long enough to see the
prototype take to the air.
In March, Bill Lear was
diagnosed with leukemia, and
he passed away on 14 May
1978. Some of his last words
were urging that the Lear
Fan be finished. Development
of the Lear Fan did
continue, and construction
of a prototype was started
in November 1978. Moya Lear,
Bill’s wife, took over as
the face of LearAvia.
In mid-1980, the company was
restructured as Lear Fan
Limited with the financial
backing of investment firms
and the British government.
The agreement with the
British government was that
$25 million would go to the
project, and another $25
million would be provided
for Lear Fan production in
Newtonabbey, near Belfast in
Northern Ireland. British
financial support would end
if the prototype did not fly
by the end of 1980. At the
time, 126 aircraft were on
order. Production was
expected to start in 1982
and would create at least
1,200 jobs in Newtonabbey.
Paramount for Lear Fan
production was for the FAA
(Federal Aviation
Administration) to issue the
aircraft a Certificate of
Airworthiness. However, the
Lear Fan’s all-composite
construction was a first for
a production aircraft, and
certification was going to
be a long and costly
process.
On 31 December 1980,
E-001 was rolled out of the
hangar at Stead Airport to
conduct taxi tests before
its first flight. During a
high-speed taxi test, the
brakes were burned up and
needed to be replaced. With
15 minutes of daylight left,
the aircraft was preparing
for takeoff when the sleeve
of a pilot’s flight suit
caught on the cockpit fire
extinguisher handle,
inadvertently activating it
and forcing the flight to be
scrubbed.
The next day, 1
January 1981, the Lear Fan
took to the air. The first
takeoff was made by Hank
Beaird in the left seat,
with Dennis Newton in the
right seat. While
the aircraft’s first flight
was one day past the
deadline, in the spirit of
all that had been
accomplished and by a Royal
Decree signed by Queen
Elizabeth, the British
government declared that the
Lear Fan made its first
flight on 32 December 1980
and was still qualified for
funding.
In December 1982, cracks in
the wing were detected
during static tests. Rather
than undergoing a major wing
redesign, the existing wing
structure was reinforced.
These modifications added
weight and reduced the fuel
load by 10 US gallons (8 Imp
gal / 38 L), both of which
decreased the aircraft’s
range.
At the start of 1983,
276 Lear Fans were on order.
Flight testing of E-001 and
E-003 resumed during the
summer of 1983. In mid-July,
the lower aft pressure
bulkhead of the static test
airframe E-002 failed during
a pressurization test. On 20
July 1983, E-001 suffered an
explosive decompression
while at 25,000 ft (7,620
m). With the recent failure
of E-002 on their minds,
test pilots John Penny and
Mark Gamache declared an
emergency and brought the
aircraft quickly and safely
back to Stead Airport. The
cause of the decompression
could not be found, and the
event marked the end of
E-001’s flight career.
In December 1983, another
test fuselage failed during
pressure tests, and Fan
Holdings Inc was running
short on funds. At the time,
Lear Fans had accumulated
some 521 total flight hours.
In March 1984, E-003 flew
with its updated wing and
fuselage. In April 1984,
more fuselage issues were
encountered.
In June 1984,
the Newtonabbey plant, which
had been tooled up for
production and had made
various test parts, was shut
down. Also in June 1984, the
registration of E-003 was
changed from N327ML to
N21LF. Airframes E-004 through
E-008 were all test articles
for certification, but the
continuous issues resulted
in there being no end in
sight for the certification
process.
In late 1984, Fan
Holdings Inc was attempting
to get the Lear Fan
certified for unpressurised,
VFR (Visual Flight Rules),
day flight by January 1985.
Certification for
pressurized flight up to
25,000 ft (7,620 m) would
follow in the spring of
1985, and certification up
to 41,000 ft (12,467 m)
would follow in mid-1985.
On 15 December 1984,
airframe E-009 (N98LF) made
it first flight with John
Penny and Bob Jacobs at the
controls. In April 1985, the
aircraft was flown to
William P. Hobby Airport in
Houston, Texas to give
Sultan bin Salman an
orientation flight. At the
time, Sultan bin Salman was
undergoing training for his
Space Shuttle flight abord
Discovery, scheduled for
June 1985. Most likely, it
was hoped that the Lear Fan
orientation flight would
also result in additional
financing from the Zoysia
Saudi Arabian consortium,
but it was not to be.
On 25
May 1985, development of the
Lear Fan was halted; all
employees in Reno and
Newtonabbey were let go, and
all Fan Holdings Inc
facilities were closed. The
entire Lear Fan project had
consumed over $250 million.
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