Toward the end of World War II, Bill Lear along with his wife and five year old son were flying his twin Beech from Michigan to California, primarily to fine-tune the L-5 Autopilot he had invented. Distracted, he inadvertently entered restricted military airspace. Realizing that the Army Air Force had scrambled several fighters to investigate the intrusion, he placed his young son in the pilot’s seat. As he and his wife hid in the rear of the aircraft, his son, now at the controls, waved and smiled sweetly at the passing fighter pilots. Bill Lear collapsed in laughter as he thought of what the pilots would report to their commander.
Such was the audacity and daring of the man who would become one of the seminal leaders in aviation during the 20th Century.
William Powell Lear was born on June 26, 1902 in Hannibal Missouri. Within a few years the Lear family moved to Chicago where young Bill would attend school. Although unquestionably bright with an aptitude for mathematics and science, he was kicked out of Englewood High School in the 9th grade – for “showing up” his teachers. Years later he recalled, “I resolved first to make enough money so I’d never be stopped from finishing anything. Second, that to accumulate money in a hurry—and I was in a hurry—I’d have to invent something that people wanted, and third, that if I ever was going to stand on my own feet, I’d have to leave home”. So after helping his father rebuild a Model-T, he set out alone to travel across the country.
Toward the end of the “Great War” Lear lied about his age and joined the Navy, serving at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. With the war’s end in 1918, he returned to Chicago with his new bride where he volunteered as a “grease monkey” for a fleet of mail-carrying airplanes.
Lear and his young family soon moved to Tulsa where he started a radio repair shop in his home. There, he reenrolled in High School with a plan of completing the four-year curriculum in just one year. Again, he was forced to leave for the same reason – showing up the teachers.
A Life of Inventions
Moving back to Chicago in the mid 1920s, Lear opened a radio technology business in the building housing the Galvin Manufacturing Company. Partnering with a fellow engineer, he developed a “battery eliminator” enabling radios to operate on household electricity. He also invented an improved radio speaker that was successfully marketed as the “Majestic”.
With the stock market crash of 1929 and the demand for household electronics waning, Bill Lear understood that a new product idea was needed. Partnering with Elmer Waverling and engineers from Galvin, he began work on the first successful car radio. Such a radio had to be small yet durable to withstand the rough roads of the time. More importantly, such a radio had to be free of the irritating static caused by a car’s engine.
Their prototype developed, Paul Galvin installed the radio in his car and with his wife along for the ride, drove from Chicago to Atlantic City where the annual Radio Manufacturing trade show was to be held. Not having enough money to officially attend, Paul parked his car in a nearby parking lot. With his wife in the car and the radio volume turned up, Paul began taking orders from attendees on their way into the convention. As crowds dwindled, Galvin even ventured onto the convention floor to coax attendees outside for a demonstration. The Galvins then returned to Chicago with enough orders secured to begin production. They soon branded the new invention “Motorola” - combining “motor” with “Victrola”.
Lear and Aviation
In 1930, Lear purchased his first aircraft, a Fleet biplane. While on a solo flight to New York he became alarmed with the hazards of “seat of your pants” navigation. He was determined to find a better way. Lear began work on an aircraft receiver that could accurately navigate by picking up radio beacon signals. Sales of his new invention were poor and in the mid 1930s, Lear’s young company was facing bankruptcy. Fortunately, RCA paid him $50,000 for his patent rights and another $200,000 in consulting fees.
Now flush with cash, Lear poured his efforts into further aviation technology. He developed a direction finder called the Lear-O-Scope as well as the first fully automatic landing system. But his most profitable invention was the LearAvian, a portable, relatively inexpensive cockpit radio for private pilots.
World War II
With the onset of war, Lear’s efforts were understandably focused on military aviation. A new invention, the Lear F-5 Autopilot, became standard equipment for many Allied fighter aircraft.
When the war ended, the Lears moved to Grand Rapids and then to Santa Monica where he continued perfecting his F-5 Autopilot system. In 1949, the system went into large-scale production earning the “Greatest Achievement Award in Aviation” for that year. Pilots were now able to lock onto homing signals and land their aircraft in “zero-zero” weather conditions. The system won further acclaim when a French Caravelle made aviation history by completing a series of completely blind landings. By 1956, over 100,000 units had been produced.
Learjet Takes Off
In the early 1950s, Lear’s efforts were directed at developing a high-speed executive transport. His company, Lear, Inc., began with the conversion of the twin-engine Lockheed Lodestar into a luxurious business aircraft. By improving the plane’s aerodynamics, he was able to increase its speed from 280 to 320 mph. Although 60 “Learstars” would be sold, Lear knew that the future of private executive travel would center on jet aircraft. The Lockheed JetStar and North American Saberliner were gaining acceptance as private jets. But Lear knew that there had to be an alternative to these much larger and more expensive jets.
While at his 22-acre estate outside of Geneva, Switzerland, Bill Lear began to consider utilizing the low-aspect-ratio wing found on the Swiss ground-attack P-16 fighter jet. Initially designed in 1953, the P-16 had attracted considerable attention until the crash of a prototype prompted the Swiss company to abandon production.
Lear brought in his top Learstar engineer along with the former chief designer for the Swiss manufacturer. They soon drew up plans for converting the P-16 into a light business jet. The aircraft would have a small-diameter cabin that could seat seven. It would also have a 35.7-foot wingspan and a length of just over 43 feet. Two General Electric turbojet engines would provide power.
Back at his Santa Monica headquarters, firm resistance from his board met Lear’s enthusiasm for the project. Lear, with the prompting of his wife, negotiated a $15 million dollar buyout of his stock and then purchased the rights and the equipment needed to build his jet. He established his new venture, the Swiss American Aircraft Company, in Switzerland.
Within months, problems with suppliers and tooling manufacturing within Europe prompted him to relocate the company to Wichita Municipal Airport in 1962. Bankrolling the entire design and production process, Lear pressed for the rapid completion of the prototype. In September of 1963 the first unpainted aluminum Learjet was wheeled from the assembly hangar for its first ground test.
Test pilots Henry Beaird and Bob Hagen took the plane up for its initial test flight on October 7th. Beaird, with years of commercial and military test-flight experience, declared that the plane flew flawlessly. He added that the Learjet accelerated faster than any jet he’d flown. Initial tests confirmed that the jet was able to fly at over 40,000 feet and reach speeds of over 600 miles per hour. With FAA certification granted on July 31, 1964, the first production model was delivered to Chemical and Industrial Corporation of Cincinnati in October. It was the third Learjet ever built.
Lear knew that his business jet would be a huge hit. It was. Within the first year, sales totaled a staggering $52 million. Corporations, Heads of State, and even rock groups were lining up to buy the sexy light jet. By this time, the company now renamed Lear Jet Corporation had become publicly owned with Bill Lear owning 60% of the stock.
The Learjet 25 and 35
In February of 1966, the first Model 24 was delivered followed by the Model 25 several months later. In 1971, Garrett TFE731-2 turbofan engines were added to the aircraft, which became the successful Learjet 35. By this time, Lear had sold his interest in the company to Gates Rubber Company to continue his inventive “wanderlust”.
Lear Inventions Continue
Lear’s restless pursuit to invent led to the creation of the eight-track stereo system. Primarily intended to provide high quality stereo entertainment for his Learjet passengers, the “Lear Jet Stereo 8” was soon found wide acceptance in homes and in automobiles.
In 1968 Lear bought an airfield outside Reno where he began development of a closed circuit steam powered engine for cars and buses. A transit bus and Chevrolet Monte Carlo were equipped with his turbine to test the concept. He and friend Art Linkletter even offered their support for Craig Breedlove’s supersonic car project. After investing $17 million from his own funds to produce an operationally successful engine, Lear was forced to concede that his steam engine was not as fuel efficient as a conventional engine.
Lear’s Final Aviation Dreams
In the early 1970s, Lear returned to aviation to back the development of the Foxjet ST600 - the original “Very Light Jet”. Toward the end of the 1970s he produced a twin-jet powered “pusher propeller” aircraft called the Lear Fan. With a large composite fuselage, and one-tenth the operating cost of typical business aircraft, Lear had bet nearly $25 million that the Lear Fan would become the next generation of business aircraft. Sadly, the project was abandoned soon after his death from leukemia in 1978.
Bombardier Takes Over the Legacy
In the 1980s, Gates Learjet announced the start of their Aerospace Division and began manufacturing parts for the Space Shuttle. By the end of 1984 production on commercial jets had ceased. In 1987, Gates Learjet was purchased by Integrated Acquisitions and renamed Learjet Corporation.
In 1990, Bombardier Aerospace, who had earlier produced their Canadair CL-600 based on Lear’s design for the LearStar 600, purchased Learjet Corporation. Bombardier has continued to expand the Learjet fleet with the release of the popular mid-size Learjet 60 and the “super light” Learjet 45 series. Recently, the Company has begun development of the larger Learjet 85 as it continues to expand the horizons of Bill Lear’s original vision for private jet travel.
