The Learjet, which became synonymous with lifestyles of the rich and famous, is about to fade into aviation history.
Canada’s Bombardier announced Thursday that it will stop production of the Learjet later this year to focus on more profitable planes.
Time was that every small jet was called a Learjet, just like all small airplanes are Piper Cubs, all revolvers were Colt Peacemakers and all autopistols are Glocks.
I think it's a boneheaded move. Learjet still has a lot of name recognition. On the other hand, Bombardier sounds like the guy sitting in the glass noise of a B-29.
Agreed. And the Learjet still looks sexier than any of the competition, like the Citation II. The Spitfire of private jets.
ReplyDeleteIt looked like a fighter jet because it was based on a Swiss fighter prototype, the P-16. Wings, tip-tanks, and landing gear were unchanged.
ReplyDeleteMy dad flew in the "glass noise" of the B-29. His group was scheduled for Operation Coronet.
For years FL410 was an approved altitude for any direction of flight (functionally, not technically) as the only A/C up there were Learjets and it was just really hard to get them together. Probably not until the '70s did we regularly see anyone else up there.
ReplyDeleteLRod
ZJX, ORD, ZAU retired.
Having been an avid skier in my younger days, Bombardier will always be close to my heart. They make a majority of snow-grooming machines for the US. Big old tracked wonders that take a mushy and rough ski hill and turn it into groomed carpet.
ReplyDeleteOn a soggy day at Mt. Shasta, one of my favorite rides was following that groomer at a safe distance, back down the trail. Perfect untracked snow in its wake.
They aren't all bad.
w3ski