Lear Jet
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Template:Expand Lear Jet was a company which produced business jets for civilian and military use. It was led by Bill Lear. The original Lear Jet, the Lear Jet 23, was a six to eight seater and first flew on October 7, 1963. Several derived models followed. Production ceased in 1982 when 745 jets of all models had been built. More than three-quarters of them were still flying as late as 1998.
Later models of Learjet aircraft generally have a greater range and capacity and are produced by Bombardier and marketed as the "Bombardier Learjet Family". These have a swept back wing rather than the straighter wing with prominent fuel tanks on their extremities that characterised the early models, being reminiscent of the Lockheed T-33 military trainer. These later variants bear the model numbers 45 and upwards and are far quieter.
Models
- Lear Jet 23
- Lear Jet 24
- Lear Jet 25
- Lear Jet 28
- Lear Jet 29
- Lear Jet 31
- Lear Jet 35
- Lear Jet 45
- Lear Jet 55
- Learjet 60
- C-21 Learjet
- LearStar 600 became the Bombardier Challenger