#learjet 23

[cliperry]

“Basically we are all a mess”

The band is broken and so are they — nearly. As the four remaining members of One Direction come to the end of their gruelling UK tour, they talk to Louise Gannon about pies, Pilates and why they need a rest

Louise Gannon Sunday November 01 2015, The Sunday Times (x)

ON A miserably grey day in Caledonian Road, north London, large groups of teenage girls sit huddled on the pavement outside a brick-built warehouse.

Elise, a student from Krakow, is carrying a fake Chanel clutch. She believes this accessory may attract the attention of Harry Styles, 21, who arrived 11 minutes earlier in one of two black Range Rovers and entered the building, along with Liam Payne, 22, Niall Horan, 22, and Louis Tomlinson, 23. In other words: One Direction.

Elise and the rest of the fans will wait another eight hours for one more glimpse of the band as they exit the building. Nobody appears to be mourning the late-departed Zayn Malik, 22, who quit the band in March, claiming he wanted a “normal” life. “Zayn never happy,” shrugs Elise. “Now he gone.” They take selfies, note number plates, talk to drivers, send endless texts. Within hours, their number has trebled.

This is life for One Direction. They have millions in the bank (last year the band collectively earned £202,000 a day), travel in private jets and limos and own property portfolios. But they can’t step outside without hordes of fans following them. They have 24/7 security and are as familiar with travelling inside the boot of a car as they are on the white leather seats of a Learjet.

The last time I interviewed them was in Australia. Payne told me a story about the time he and Tomlinson drove to a remote beach outside Sydney at dawn to learn how to surf. As they pulled on their wetsuits, they spotted one person with a phone. Within 20 minutes, more than 100 people were on the sand. Less than an hour later, their security advised them to leave the beach. “Sometimes, it’s like living in that TV show 24,” he said.

You can see why Malik wanted out. But already the fans have forgotten him.

One Direction are not a conventional band: they are a social-media musical phenomenon. A creation of the pop Svengali Simon Cowell, they were assembled on The X Factor in 2010 and went on to break America with their laddish wit and unschooled charm, propelled by a huge Instagram and Twitter following. (Styles is the most popular man in the UK on Instagram, with 13.3m followers.) Five years in and they have just finished their fourth world tour and are set to release their fifth album, Made in the AM, in two weeks’ time.

We divide into two sides of a coin. The pie-and-pint boys and the protein-and-pilates

It’s been a giddy rollercoaster of superstardom, tainted recently by a deluge of negative press stories about cancelling their Belfast gig after Liam apparently had a last-minute “meltdown” due to the pressure of fame. This came on the back of Malik quitting and Tomlinson soon to be a babydaddy (he’s not with the mother, Briana Jungwirth, the American stylist, but they are “still good friends”). Most damaging of all are the rumours that the remaining four are about to split. Things didn’t improve when, in August, the band announced they were planning to take an “extended hiatus” next year. “We still haven’t found a time to actually say definitely when,” admits Payne.

Inside Big Sky Studios, the band is in the midst of a 10-hour schedule of 50 interviews with press from around the world. Slots are between 10 and 20 minutes. Style — the only British magazine to be included — is given 20. While we wait, we’re made to listen to three songs from the new album. They are all instantly catchy pop songs, co-written by professional songwriters.

At 5.45pm, in this vast warehouse studio, a producer announces: “The boys are eating lunch.” Breakfast was midday.

Finally, Harry Styles emerges from behind a huge TV light, limping, a bootcast strapped to his leg following a stage injury. A wounded pop god in his black skinny jeans, Liberty-print floral shirt and girlishly long “Harry hair”, he explains why he isn’t that hungry.

“Bullet coffee,” he says, in a broad Cheshire accent. “It’s black coffee with a spoonful of butter in it and a spoonful of coconut oil, all mixed up together. I’ve been on it for two days. You don’t get hungry.” His diet makes you wonder who is looking after the boys.

Much has been written about Styles, especially about his sex appeal: exes include Taylor Swift, Kylie Jenner and, notoriously, the TV presenter Caroline Flack, who dated him when he was 17 and she was 32. He looks taller than he does in photos, not quite so baby-faced, and has the relaxed, fluid grace of a cat. We talk about Mick Jagger and how much he likes the Rolling Stone’s clothes.

www.thetimes.com

Liam Payne chilling on a private jet “I was looking at a photograph of him and Bianca [Jagger] the other day and he was wearing this amazing yellow suit. I’m a massive fan and I like him a lot. I don’t know what he thinks of me.” I tell him Jagger still wears 28in waist jeans. He grins. “I wear 26in waist women’s jeans. Boom.”

There is no sign that Styles feels any pressure from this bizarre life he has led since he was 16, swapping his part-time bakery job for stadiums and screaming fans, with his every move covered on social media. “I do yoga, a bit of meditation, Pilates,” he says. “I’m reading a book about Buddhism.” He talks about books, films, custard ice cream in the American Midwest and how he buys NutriBullets for “any of my mates when they move into a flat”.

Every member of the band has put their money into property, buying at least one place for themselves, either in or just outside London. All have bought new houses for their parents — except Horan, who has so far paid off his mum’s mortgage, bought her a car and rents her a flat in London. Horan’s dad, who split from his mum, is reported to have politely turned down his son’s offer of a new house. Mostly, these millionaires don’t have time to spend their money, or even spend time in the houses they have bought.

After Styles bought his big house in north London “in about 2011”, he filled it with builders and ended up moving into the attic room of the producer Ben Winston (son of the genetic scientist, Robert) and his wife for 18 months. “That saved me,” he says. “I was only supposed to be with them for three weeks. Nobody knew where I was — that can actually, sometimes, be possible.”

They have drivers instead of cars, and stylists who shop for them, so they end up talking a lot about food. It represents the breaks in their jam-packed days and is something of an obsession. When Tomlinson enters the room a few seconds behind Payne and Horan, he says, as they arrange themselves on the sofa: “Sorry, it’s just I needed a bit of Greggs. Sausage roll and a steak bake. You can’t beat it.” A £2 lunch is what makes this pop star very happy.

Well trained, their phones are switched off and, bar the odd bit of nudging and pushing, they pay attention. They are all dressed in versions of skinny jeans and casually tight shirts. Like Styles, Horan also has one foot in a cast, a war wound from the tour.

We all need to go away, become mad old recluses, then come back again with giant beards

Like siblings, all four know each other’s habits intimately and settle into specific family roles. Tomlinson, from Doncaster, is the confident eldest, Payne, from Wolverhampton, is the responsible one: the only one whose long-term relationship — with his secondary-school sweetheart, Sophia Smith — has stayed the course. Styles is the easygoing and thoughtful diplomat, and Co Westmeath-born Horan the excitable extrovert.

Asked how they would describe each other, Horan says: “We divide into two sides of a coin. The pie and pint boys and the protein-and-Pilates. Harry is protein-and-Pilates. Liam and me flit between the two and Louis is all about the Greggs. Harry is superfit. He does 12 five-minute rounds of boxing every day and goes for runs. Except he can’t do it now because of his boot.”

But it is Payne who was recently voted sexiest man of the year by Attitude magazine and lauded for his rippling pecs and perfect thighs. “I’ve been letting all that slide,” he groans, admitting he didn’t go to sleep until 3am. He looks tired and pale, the dark shadows under his eyes emphasised by his black shirt and black jeans. In fact, he looks like he is coming down with flu - little wonder that two weeks laterm, he was the source of the cancelled gig. “Basically, we are all a mess.”

It could be the most prescient statement they make all day.

As a band, they rarely do interviews. With a profile built on social media, Snapchat and five-minute television appearances, they certainly don’t do “in-depth”. Like puppies, they were taken away from their families as teenagers by Cowell and set off on this bizarre, gruelling, money-making odyssey. It’s said that Payne’s mother bought a lifesized cut-out of her son to keep in the house, as she never sees him. Every second of every day is accounted for. They often wake up oblivious to which city they are in, generally unable to leave their hotel due to the fans.

Each of them says they have come to terms with the way they live their lives, but you wonder how they are really coping. They are well-versed in trotting out the lines about “the fans”. “We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the fans,” says Payne. “You have to remember that. You can’t complain about it. And yes, it gets crazy, but it’s been all we know. Because of social media, we’re probably the first band to go through it like this. It’s intense, but you’ve got to be grateful for that. You’ve got to be grateful there are people screaming for you, standing outside your hotel room.”

Horan adds: “When things got tough for us this year [with Malik leaving], the fans stayed loyal. That’s a big one for us. They were there.”

“If we went back to before we were famous and told ourselves this would be what it was like,” says Tomlinson, “we wouldn’t even be able to prepare ourselves for it. There was no preparation for this, except to say roll with it, good and bad, keep rolling with it. It’s what you’ve got.”

As a band, they often travel separately for security reasons, or simply because they need a break from each other. There are two planes — a party one and a quiet one. Styles is generally on the quiet plane. “I read books, watch films, sleep.” Payne nods. “Sleep. None of us ever gets enough sleep.” Most of the year is spent travelling, touring or promoting, except January, when they get one whole month off. “Top banana,” nods Tomlinson.

I ask how they feel about Malik’s departure. According to psychologists, most of our communication is in our facial expressions. Tomlinson looks hurt, Styles looks sad, Horan looks away. Payne shrugs: “We sort of knew it was coming. We saw a lot of the signs, especially in a lot of the gigs abroad that we did. And it’s sad. Like with a football team, or when someone in your office goes. But the fans stuck around, they didn’t believe it was the end.”

www.thetimes.com

Louis Tomlinson smokes in a car

Tomlinson nods: “It was hard. I think maybe for me the most. But he wanted to be happy and he wasn’t. Everything had always been good and then something bad happens and you have to make decisions, you have to work out what you want, and it makes you really know what you want, and we all knew we wanted this. The good thing was, he left just before we made the album. It was like, ‘Right, let’s make it the best album.’ So we worked our backsides off because we want to show we are a band, we’re here, this is what we do.”

So why then immediately announce a break? Payne rolls his eyes. “It’s just a break. It’s not a split. We’re not going anywhere. In five years we’ve done four tours, five albums, we’ve done films. I’ve not even watched our films, because we are always running for the next thing. I’m really conscious that all this crazy stuff has happened to us and, you know, I haven’t even taken it in. We can’t ever answer questions properly because stuff hasn’t sunk in. I want to just sit still and let it sink in. We just want a little break. I don’t know if anyone’s noticed, but Katy Perry hasn’t done anything for a year…”

Horan adds: “Basically, this is where we are at with 1D. We’ve had five years of craziness. Now we all need to go away, become mad old recluses, then come back again with giant beards. That’s the plan.”

Outside, the temperature has dropped and the screens of 100 mobile phones glow in the darkness as the fans continue their vigil. Elise, sitting with her back against the wall, is merely a shadow in the gloom, the fake Chanel bag invisible. I warn them the band won’t be leaving for hours yet and a heavily made-up girl rolls her eyes. “We know that already,” she says. “We’re waiting.” The story of their lives.

Made in the AM is released on November 13

[westkkr]

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[lynnmkrogh]

Foundation Purchases and Begins Restoration of First Learjet

In August 2023, the Classic Learjet Foundation (CLJF), made up of past and present Wichita, Kansas, aerospace workers, raised the $90,000 required to acquire the first production Learjet (23-003). CLIF achieved this milestone less than a year after the nonprofit’s establishment, with the express purpose of acquiring and restoring the first purpose-built business jet ever made.

The acquisition, part of the foundation’s Living Flight History initiative, stemmed from an owner who had kept the light jet on his property intact for years, aware of its historical significance. The groundbreaking Lear Jet 23 aircraft accommodates eight people and first came off the Learjet production line in October 1963. The Chemical and Industrial Company of Ohio, on October 13, 1964, received the first commercial model, the 23-0023.

When first produced, the groundbreaking Learjet represented a culmination of William Lear’s aircraft design ethos. Having launched an aircraft business in Switzerland in the 1950s, Lear oversaw its relocation to Wichita in 1962, focusing on expansion that took advantage of a skilled local workforce. In 1990, Bombardier took ownership of the Learjet product line and delivered innovation by creating the Learjet 60, which earned a name as the top-selling aircraft within its class.

The long-tenured business aircraft's last flight was in 1998, giving it 34 years of corporate service. After its flight, the aircraft remained grounded for 27 years, including over 10 years in outside storage with its previous owner in Florida. The Learjet product line itself ended production in 2022, with the final production aircraft in that lineage delivered to the Grand Rapids, Michigan, company Northern Jet Management. The nearly 60 years of production produced over 10,000 Lear business jets manufactured in Wichita.

Representatives negotiated a selling price with the aircraft owner, but the foundation’s fundraising still found itself $50,000 short of meeting its goal in June 2023. At this point, it invited Clay Lacy, a longtime aviator and Learjet owner, and International Jet Services CEO Lynn Krogh to Wichita to tour the Bombardier Learjet’s delivery hangar. Accompanied by the daughter-in-law of the late Bill Lear, the visitors procured an aircraft. The hands-on experience led them to take on roles as primary acquisition sponsors, covering the remainder of the funds needed. Although the aircraft's engine had already seen an overhaul, it still served the necessary purpose.

Disassembly work on the 23-003 airframe began just after Christmas 2023, with seven volunteers coordinating the removal of gyros, avionics, air bottles, and oxygen. As the CLJF volunteers reported, the oxygen and air bottles still retained internal pressure, even after many years of no use. They found several old wasps' nests in the avionics bay, revealing how nature had partially reclaimed the aircraft.

During the process, they removed and tagged each 23-003 part before storing it. Restoring and replacing the various parts became an ongoing process, with the full refurbishment expected to take five years. Once the restoration is complete, pilots and crew members will be able to take flights in an aircraft that helped define the business jet industry as it exists today.

[nocternalrandomness]

One of the remaining original Learjet 23 models,  flown by former test pilot Clay Lacy, performs a photo pass at the Reno Air Races

[airmanisr]

Gates Learjet 23 ‘N73CE’ by Alan Wilson Via Flickr: c/n 23-068. Built 1965. Stored outside at the Yanks Air Museum, Chino, California, USA. 28-2-2016

[tangoscout]

“Learjet. We did not just invent the business jet, we perfected it.”

[frenchcurious]

James Brown avec son coupé Lincoln Continental Mark III de 1969 devant son Learjet 23 personnel de 1965. - source Cars & Motorbikes Stars of the Golden era.

[usafphantom2]

More than 100 aircraft participate in the first Red Flag of 2023

Fernando Valduga By Fernando Valduga 23/01/2023 - 08:33 in Military, Red Flag

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Fighters from three countries arrived in Nevada before the start of this year's first Red Flag training event organized by the U.S. Air Force.

The Red Flag 23-1 will take place between January 23 and February 10 and almost 100 aircraft are scheduled to depart from Nellis twice a day and can remain in the air for up to five hours during this large-scale exercise. There will also be night launches to allow crew training during night combat operations.

During Red Flag 23-1, Nellis will receive about 3,000 participants from all branches of U.S. military service and the Royal United Kingdom Air Force (RAF) and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

The United Kingdom has deployed a Typhoon detachment from Squadron II (Army Cooperation) of the RAF Base of Lossiemouth, supported by Voyagers of Squadrons 10 and 101 of the Brize Norton RAF Base, along with ground support personnel from across the RAF.

"After months of construction and preparation by the Squadrons and Air A7, the Red Flag Exercise is underway. This is the most rigorous training in which the Royal Air Force participates. All those out for Nellis will learn how to do their work in the most challenging conditions, in the best combat training environment in the world; this is a huge opportunity to prepare for the most difficult operations with our allies in the U.S. and Australia," commented Captain Roger Elliott, commander of the Royal Air Force detachment.

RAAF said it deployed “up to five” Squadron No. 6 EA-18G Growler aircraft and approximately 100 aviators in support of the exercise.

“Exercises like Red Flag Nellis are an opportunity to promote relationships and interoperability with the United States and the United Kingdom,” said Commodore John Haly of the Royal Australian Air Force. "Although Australia conducts similar training activities internally, the scope and scale of Red Flag Nellis cannot be replicated in Australia."

The 355th Wing of Davis-Monthan Air Base, Arizona, will take command as the main wing of the participating aircraft, including the F-35 Lightning II, the F-22 Raptor, the B-52 Stratofortress and the Australian E-7 Wedgetail.

Nellis has been performing Red Flag exercises since 1975 to provide crews with the experience of multiple and intensive aerial combat outs in the safety of a training environment.

There are three Red Flag iterations annually: one only in the US, one open to FVEY (Five Eyes) participants and another that receives an expanded list of international allies and partners.

Tags: Military AviationRAAF - Royal Australian Air Force/Royal Australian Air ForceRAF - Royal Air Force/Royal Air ForceRed FlagUSAF - United States Air Force / US Air Force

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Fernando Valduga

Fernando Valduga

Aviation photographer and pilot since 1992, he participated in several events and air operations, such as Cruzex, AirVenture, Dayton Airshow and FIDAE. He has works published in specialized aviation magazines in Brazil and abroad. He uses Canon equipment during his photographic work in the world of aviation.

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[aviationgeek71]

Happy Birthday to the Learjet 23! 🥳

TDIH October 7, 1963, the Learjet 23 prototype departed on its maiden flight at Wichita, Kansas. The test pilots were Henry Grady (“Hank”) Beaird, Jr. and Robert S. Hagan.

Ironically enough, I started my career in corporate aviation on this date, but in 1996 😎

[bigglesworld]

Learjet 23 built in 1964. Type first flew in '63. Bill Lear also invented the 8-track stereo

[spaceexp]

History of Airborne Astronomy at NASA

NASA - Armstrong Flight Research Center patch / NASA & DLR - SOFIA patch. Sept. 26, 2018 Sixty years ago, in 1958, NASA was founded as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The agency has a long history of using airplanes to study space. Flying at high altitudes puts telescopes above the water vapor in Earth’s atmosphere that blocks certain types of light, like infrared, from reaching ground-based telescopes. Airborne observatories can also go anywhere to conduct observations, enabling researchers to study transient events, such as the eclipse-like events called occultations to learn about distant planets and objects. When airborne observatories land after each flight, the telescope instruments, such as specialized cameras, can be upgraded or serviced, and new ones can be built to harness new technologies — which is not possible on most space-based telescopes.

Image above: NASA’s Galileo I aircraft during a flight to study a solar eclipse in 1965. The modified Convair-990 aircraft had multiple observations windows in the top left side of the aircraft. Image Credit: NASA.   NASA paved the way for airborne astronomy in 1965 by flying a modified Convair 990 aircraft to study a solar eclipse from inside the path of totality. In 1968, astronomers used 12-inch telescopes in the cabins of Learjet aircraft to study objects like Venus using infrared light.

Images above: Left: The Learjet Observatory (Learjet 24B aircraft) flying above California in the early 1970’s. The telescope was just in front of the wing. Right: Scientist Carl Gillespie using a 12-inch infrared telescope while flying aboard the Learjet 23 aircraft at 50,000 feet in 1968. Image Credit: NASA. The work on the Learjet Observatory led to the development of NASA's Kuiper Airborne Observatory, or KAO, a converted C-141 cargo aircraft that carried a 36-inch reflecting telescope. Named after the planetary scientist Gerard Kuiper, it operated from NASA’s Ames Research Center in California from 1975 to 1995. Scientists used the KAO for solar system research, galactic and extra-galactic observations, and even studied the space shuttle’s heat shield in infrared light as it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere. Discoveries made from the Kuiper Airborne Observatory included: - Pluto’s atmosphere - Rings around Uranus - ​A ring of star formation around the center of the Milky Way - Complex organic molecules in space - Water in comets and in Jupiter’s atmosphere

Images above: Left: The Kuiper Airborne Observatory flies with its telescope door open in 1980. The converted C-141 aircraft had a 36-inch telescope just in front of the wing. Right: Inside the KAO, where the mission crew sat during flight. These consoles were positioned along the side of the aircraft's cabin. The portion of the telescope system that was inside the cabin can be seen at the back of the image. The open telescope cavity was separate from the pressurized cabin. Image Credit: NASA. The Kuiper Airborne Observatory was decommissioned in 1995 to enable the development of a flying observatory with a larger, more powerful infrared telescope — the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR) jointly operate SOFIA. They chose a Boeing 747SP aircraft to carry the largest airborne telescope to date, at 106 inches (2.7 meters) in diameter. NASA modified and maintains the aircraft — which once flew for both Pan American World Airways and United Airlines — that now carries the telescope, its support systems, and the mission crew. The DLR designed, built and maintains the telescope which operates while flying at altitudes up to 45,000 feet at more than 650 mph.

Images above: Left: SOFIA soars over the snow-covered Sierra Nevada mountains with its telescope door open during a test flight. Right: Inside SOFIA during an observing flight at 40,000 feet. The mission crew, including telescope operators and scientists, sit facing the telescope at the back of the aircraft. The portion of the telescope that is inside the cabin is the blue round structure. The beige wall around the blue telescope structure is a pressure bulkhead that separates the open telescope cavity from the pressurized cabin, so the cabin environment feels similar to a commercial aircraft. Images Credits: Left: NASA/Jim Ross Right: NASA/DLR/Fabian Walker. Aircraft modifications included cutting the hole for the telescope cavity, adding a new pressure bulkhead to separate the pressurized cabin from the cavity, and adding airflow ramps around the cavity that allow the plane to fly normally while the telescope door is open. Inside the cabin, mission control systems required for the observatory replaced the seats from the aircraft’s days as a passenger plane. The modifications and test flights took place in Waco, Texas and at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Hangar 703. About 20 people are aboard each flight to operate the aircraft, control the telescope and collect astronomical data.

Image above: SOFIA’s telescope, as seen during construction before its reflective aluminium coating was applied, reveals the honeycomb design that reduces its weight by 80%. Image Credits: NASA/Ron Strong. The German-built telescope is made of a unique glass material that has almost zero thermal expansion, so the mirror is unaffected by the temperature changes between the warm ground-level air and the cold stratosphere. The back of the telescope has a honeycomb design to make it approximately 80 percent lighter than most telescopes of this size. An intricate stabilization system isolates the telescope from the aircraft’s movement, keeping it fixed on its observing target during overnight flights. SOFIA reached full operational capacity in 2014 and flies three or more times per week for 10 hours at a time.  Astronomers are using SOFIA to study many different kinds of astronomical objects and phenomena, including: - Star birth and death - The formation of new solar systems - Identification of complex molecules in space - Planets, comets and asteroids in our solar system - Nebulae and the ecosystems of galaxies - Celestial magnetic fields - Black holes at the center of galaxies

Image above: NASA’s airborne infrared observatories — the Learjet Observatory, the Kuiper Airborne Observatory and SOFIA — are pictured next to illustrations showing how the size of each telescope approximately compares to an adult. Image Credits: NASA/SOFIA/L. Proudfit. NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley manages the SOFIA program, science and mission operations in cooperation with the Universities Space Research Association headquartered in Columbia, Maryland, and the German SOFIA Institute (DSI) at the University of Stuttgart. The aircraft is operated and maintained from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Hangar 703, in Palmdale, California. Add-on for Flight Simulator X:

Image Credit: Orbiter.ch Aerospace

NASA & DLR Boeing 747/SP SOFIA Observatory repaint for FSX https://simulators.jimdo.com/ Related links: Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA): https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/SOFIA/index.html NASA's Kuiper Airborne Observatory: https://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/watchtheskies/kuiper.html NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center: https://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/home/index.html Images (mentioned), Text, Credits: NASA/SOFIA Science Center/Kassandra Bell. Best regards, Orbiter.ch Full article

[luxurytravelexemplified]

Bombardier Learjet 60

(7 seats)

From: (KLZU) Lawrenceville, Georgia, United States - Gwinnett County Briscoe Field

Jul 23 2022

$6,903.00 USD

To: (KDAL) Dallas, Texas, United States - Dallas Love Field

#DominionCharter #iFlyPrivate #EmptyLegs4U #weekendvibes

[greatpacificbooks]

About the engine: The General Electric CJ610 is a non-afterburning turbojet engine derived from the military J85, and is used on a number of civilian business jets. The model has logged over 16.5 million hours of operation. Civilian versions have powered business jets such as the Learjet 23 and the Hamburger Flugzeugbau HFB-320 Hansa Jet. A development, the CF700 added a rear-mounted fan mounted directly on the free-running low-pressure turbine. CJ610 was built from GE's experience on the J85 military engine. Today, the CJ610 has over 16.5 million hours of flight time and continues to perform well in corporate service. The success of GE's J85 fighter engine led to the development of the CJ610 for commercial use. The introduction of the CJ610 engine brought jet power to business aircraft. There are over 560 CJ610-powered aircraft in operation around the world, with an experience base of over 16.5 million service hours. With a current in-flight shut down rate of .02, and an unscheduled removal rate of .04, the CJ610 continues to perform well even after many years of service.

[bulletinwave]

Learjet: Why can't the legendary plane compete with today's jets?

Learjet: Why can’t the legendary plane compete with today’s jets?

(CNN) – Learjet. For generations, the identify has been synonymous with enterprise jets, with over 3,000 of the small non-public jets delivered for the reason that first Learjet 23 flew in 1963. In an age the place direct flights have been few, lengthy connections and irregular schedules – and Zoom meets “Star Trek” stuff fairly than actuality – the Learjet has grow to be a should for firms that…

[airmanisr]

N88B at the Pima Air & Space Museum.July 2016 by Simon Boddy Via Flickr: Learjet 23

[travelinghobby]

Learjet: Why the legendary plane is no match for today's jets

Learjet: Why the legendary plane is no match for today’s jets

(CNN) — Learjet. For generations, the name has been synonymous with business jets, with more than 3,000 of the small private jet planes delivered since the first Learjet 23 flew in 1963. In an age when nonstop flights were few, connections long and schedules irregular — and Zoom meetings the stuff of “Star Trek” rather than reality — the Learjet became a must-have for corporations needing to…