Poll: 80's Era Lear Fan - Love It, Hate It, Or Just Don't Care?
Wednesday, January 12, 2011 at 11:21PM 
(click pic to enlarge)
The last project that Bill Lear attempted to advance was the Lear Fan. Combining a carbon fiber airframe, two turbine engines driving one pusher prop, and extreme efficiency at 350 knots for 8 souls was some pretty hot thinking for the late 70's and early 80's... in fact, that's still some pretty hot thinking. But for whatever reasons, the Lear Fan just wasn't able to clear all the hurdles on the way to certification/production. The fact that Bill Lear passed away over 2 years before the first flight certainly didn't help the project.
I wondered if things would be different today. With carbon fiber common place, and with some fresh thinking to solve the gearbox problems that had gotten in the way, maybe there's still some hope for this specific configuration. The simplicity of just one prop, and especially twin engine safety while still getting centerline thrust are just two of the really great concepts that the Lear Fan promised. Honestly, I still think this idea if fantastic (no pun intended), and it seems like someone would be pursuing it.
I also wondered what you think. So if you know some of the Lear Fan history, vote now in the poll. If you need more info, check out this Flying Magazine article on the Lear Fan. Then, come back and vote based on what you've learned. I'm curious to see if a lot of others agree with me that this is one airplane that should have made it.
Reader Comments (10)
Bill Lear jr.'s book, 'Fly Fast-Sin Boldly' goes into some detail of the downfall of the Learfan. Well worth a read, Bill jr. was a real interesting guy. Got to see the fan up close at Reno '81 but it did'nt get to fly as scheduled because of.............mechanical problems.
I remember the Lear Fan flying into MYV in the 1980s. The crew would stop for fuel and have lunch at the The Sky Harbor Inn. Great memories of this aircraft, too bad it did not go into production.
I remember that project very well. The facility at the Reno Stead airport was maybe 5 miles away from my house. During the summer months they would test the engines at night for extended runs. I was fortunate to have someone give me one of the signed artist renderings they gave to prospective customers. It hangs proudly in my office.
HWR
Reno, Nevada
Thanx for the comments guys... I'm looking forward to doing some detailed research on the whole story and putting up a detailed post eventually. It'll be interesting to see how the poll winds up in a few days, but so far, I'm kinda surprised there are so many people who really don't care about the Lear Fan. Interesting.
Incidentally, the prototype Learfan hangs in the main gallery of the Seattle Museum of Flight. Gorgeous aircraft, looks fast just hanging there.
AWESOME. I just might have to build a flying model of this. Minus the turbines though.
Last year, I found a Lear Fan sitting on the FAA HQ compound in Oklahoma City. I quickly found a contact to give me a tour and before I knew it, I was crawling all over the plane and taking many pictures. I've long admired the Lear Fan for not only being a radical design but it also gave birth to a new generation of composite technology. The FAA rep giving me the tour was also a fan and readily admitted that the FAA basically killed the Lear Fan because they were unfamiliar with the technology. Very sad but the lineage lives on.
I am in aviation today remembering the dream to reality of such and awesome peice of technology! It is the memories and the excitement of Moya that carries my interest. "don't tell me I can't do it...WE DID IT! It really should happen again!
It was one of the most fascinating and memorable times of my life. I worked in Lear fans Tooling and Experiment Departments for many years.
I helped build this Aircraft.
Truly a delight and a memorable and proud experience.
Too bad Govt has to get in the way of progress.
If the Wright Bros appeared today, the Govt would not have ever let them fly.