March 23, 2021 Here's Learing at You

The Liberty Gazette

March 23, 2021

Ely Air Lines

By Mike Ely and Linda Street-Ely

Mike: Last month, Bombardier, the builder of the Learjet, announced that it would cease production of that iconic aircraft. Though Lears will fly for many years to come, it is difficult to accept the end is on the horizon. The Learjet 35A is the model I have the most experience in. Since 1991, I have logged nearly 7,500 hours in Lears. There are 8,760 hours in a year, meaning about ten and a half months of my life were spent strapped to a hotrod. 

Learjet at La Carlota

The Learjet was the vision of Bill Lear, the inventor of the eight-track tape player. He was probably a genius, but he was also eccentric. I once landed in Salt Lake City unable to operate my landing lights. 

The mechanic found some funny looking crumbling electrical wiring that did not look like any of the electrical schematics. Yet, it looked like an original installation, so he contacted the factory folks. The engineers in Wichita didn’t know anything about what they assumed was a modification. 

They went looking for people who worked on the production line when our plane was built and found a guy who had been retired for more than ten years who remembered what happened. He told how Bill Lear came out to the production line one day and wanted to try out something new. I was told this was a common occurrence, Bill making ad-hoc modifications during production, which is what led to the affectionate saying, “the Learjet is the world’s most expensive homebuilt airplane.”

Learjet at General Fransico Miranda AB
Caracus Venezuela SVFM

 The first Learjet, model 23, took flight in 1963. Then came the 24, 25, 28 and 29 models, all of which comprised the “20-series”, followed by the “30-series” and the “50-series”. A pilot needed one type rating, LR-JET, on their certificate to be captain on any airplane in these series. Then, the Learjet 60 and later the 40-series were introduced, each requiring their own type rating. The Learjet 45 looks like its predecessors, but the first time I flew one, it flew more like a truck than a Ferrari, like the previous models. However, it is very efficient, and the pilots who fly it regularly, love it. 

I hold two of the three Learjet type ratings, the LR-JET and LR-60. I’ve flown the Lear at over 500 mph, topped 49,000 feet on a test flight, and across the Atlantic. 

Mike Ely, Captain, Learjet.
Winter 1994, Denver Stapleton

I once flew a Lear non-stop coast to coast in three and a half hours. Before take-off, the other pilot and I waited for an hour as technicians in San Diego carefully loaded a rocket guidance system on our Lear. 

They hooked up sensors to detect any possible damage caused by turbulence. A brisk tailwind kicked us all the way to Titusville, Florida where another group was waiting to offload our precious passenger. We were surprised because, unlike the careful loading, it took them just five minutes to rip it out.

The Learjet holds a special place in my logbooks, just like other pilots who’ve been fortunate to fly them.

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