Has anyone been following the folks in Wichita undertaking the restoration of S/N 003 Lear 23? I think it’s a pretty interesting project.

https://classiclear.org/

Pure noise making awesomeness!

Our local airport had some of the last 24s operating on Air Ambulance exemption. It was alway fun to experience one taking off. Long gone now.

Any of the 20’s were a blast. I was fortunate to be doing 12 year inspections on them for ten years. The stall flight test could go from mild to wild.

I have a ticket to fly a 20 series but never got the opportunity. My dream to shove the throttles forward.

What a Project

I got my type rating in serial number 11, no sim, all training in the plane. I had been flying 402's and Navajo's in commuter service, about 100 hours a month, sharp on instruments flying in the Pacific Northwest.

What a transition that was. The first flight the instructor briefed what we were going to do; On takeoff I'd call for the gear and flaps at the right time, and he'd do it.

So I line up, stand the throttles up, he trims them to 100%. I release the brakes and before I could call for anything we were crossing the other end of the runway at 300 feet doing 300 knots! He had already got the gear and flaps, like he knew he'd have to.

It took 25 degrees nose up to keep it under 250, and my rotation was 402 style; not working.

So we go up and do some air work, and return for landing. During the debrief he say's "well, that was a typical first flight; but if we would have crashed you wouldn't have been hurt....because you were so far behind the airplane."

Never got typed, long story, but, have some time in a 25D. It was a hoot and a handful for a 400 hour greenhorn. The performance, especially when light, was breathtaking.

Here’s an oldie but goodie.

Blowtorch for Six. Have always loved that title.

http://www.airbum.com/pireps/PirepLear24.html

My first type rating a long time ago. Loved them all, except a 55 high and hot. Still less of a pig than the 737-900.

The Cj610 Lears are neat, I’ve flown formation with one recently.
Me in a Lear 31a and the WGFP in a light Lear 25 leading.
The performance difference was eye watering…

I had always wondered if the lore of the early Lear performance was as good as I had heard.

The 731s on that Longhorn Wing really scoot uphill.

Excellent footage & stories from the early days of Learjet.

First flight discussed at the 10:00 mark.

[youtube]https://youtu.be/sOiJRO24weM[/youtube]

The first Lear I ever flew was 23-009.

Give me a nice light 24 and a tank of gas and I’d be smiling for days.

Once the 20 series fleet started to be replaced by 30 series, I didn’t have much desire to fly the Lears anymore.

The picture in my avatar is of a panel in a 24B at 410 on the way home from San Diego to Hooks which we made nonstop. I earned 1600 hours pic time in 24s. B, D and E models.

Serial number 162, 23, 311, and 430 if my memory serves me correctly.

I was flying a brand new 2001 A36 for a guy from Hooks to Sugarland to West Texas small towns who owned a well servicing company. 7AM departure and back at 5 Monday thru Thursday rain or shine. That bonanza became and extension of my body. 692 hours of flight time in 12 months. I had begged borrowed and begged more for about 200 hours of king air pic time during the same time frame.

The owner sold the well servicing company and bought a Lear 24. He was adamant I flew it for him. So off to SimuFlite in Dallas I went with 2 other pilots who didn’t want to see me make it that had way more time and experience than me. They wanted my job!

I busted my ass and made that sim my bitch. The instructors were blown away at the fact I handled the airplane so well with no prior jet experience. I kicked the 2 guys trying to take my job asses!!! Ultimately they flew right seat for me after my 25 hour limitation was flown off. Those were also the good ole days of reasonable insurance and cheap jet fuel.

Looking back 20 years later I was an ATP MEI and had gone through a professional program and it reminds me I of all I went through to get there. Good times!

Flying the 24 was a blast. We would come out of Oklahoma City and get an unrestricted climb to to 210. Power set 80 knot cross check v1 vr positive rate gear up lights out yaw damper on. Hold the airplane as low to the runway as you could. At the numbers pull the yoke back firmly and smoothly. At 190 power to idle and push the nose over. Everyone in the back was floating LOL. The boss loved doing it with oil deal buddies on board .

I remember having to pull the power back while on one engine because if you didn't you would shoot straight thru 250 knots below 10k.

Pardon my rambling and reminiscing as I remember glory days of my aviation career.

After I got my type in the 23 a Texas oil company sent me to Flight Safety on the Lear 35 and I flew it for them until the oil bust and it was sold.

Then I moved back to northern California and flew a Lear 24B for a car dealer that had 13 dealerships and did a lot of television advertising on the west coast. The airplane had the Dee Howard Mark ll smooth wing, hydraulic reversers , drag chute and a gravel kit. It had a 98 knot basic ref. We kept it at the bosse's ranch which had a 3000 foot oiled dirt strip and our own 10,000 gallon Jet-A tank.

That airplane was a blast to fly. We were always light and came off the ranch straight to FL450 coming out of the Sacramento area. But like all the 20 series Lears they were range limited, and too many times we were in the descent with the low fuel lights flashing.

I kept pressuring the boss to get a Lear 35, and after I went to the airline he got one.