When Bill Lear created the Learjet, the bizjet was born.
Its small field performance opened access to America, allowing businessmen to move rapidly across the US. Entertainers and celebrities quickly followed because of the plane’s luxury, speed, and convenience.
You can see the Learjet 23 prototype in the “We All Fly” exhibit at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum on the National Mall here in Washington, DC. It’s so significant to the story of general aviation that curator Dorothy Cochrane shoehorned the plane into the gallery with inches to spare on either side.
Bill Lear was recently honored for his contributions to aviation by the First Flight Society. They inducted him into the Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine at the Wright Brothers National Memorial for his “first” in creating a plane that spawned a new category of air travel. Lear’s portrait joins other greats such as Charles Lindbergh, Sally Ride, and Charles McGee.
Visit the LearJet and learn more about its significance in the Thomas W. Haas “We All Fly” exhibit on the first floor of Air and Space. Free timed entry passes are needed to get into the Mall museum.
