Good point on Bill Lear
Good point LJDRVR. The absense of Bill Lear sort of shocks me too. I can't tell you how many times over the years that I've heard that name used describing a small jet. It doesn't matter if it were a Falcon, Hawker, Citation, or even a Gulfstream. To just about any regular Joe looking up in the sky or at the ramp, it would be a Learjet.
Thank God I got to fly one during most of my corporate career. Anytime someone would ask what I flew, I would just say "a Learjet." (Then they would at least act like they knew what I was talking about).
Bill Lear pretty much started it all for private jet travel, and was truly a pioneer in aviation.
It's been really funny over the years to see how certain names just sort of stick to certain things. We get so used to it. If the name were anything else, it may have never worked.
For example, if Kelly Johnson had invented the "Lear", would it be known as a "Johnson Jet"? Or if Braun had come up with the "Boeing airliner concept", would we have the "Braun 777"? (The Braun "Triple Seven" sounds like a razor to me). Or if Sikorsky came up with the Mach meter, would we hear "We're doing "Sikorsky 0.78", or for the military guys, "Igor 2." (and the "Mach Black Hawk" would be a little weird to say as well).
Good point LJDRVR. The absense of Bill Lear sort of shocks me too. I can't tell you how many times over the years that I've heard that name used describing a small jet. It doesn't matter if it were a Falcon, Hawker, Citation, or even a Gulfstream. To just about any regular Joe looking up in the sky or at the ramp, it would be a Learjet.
Thank God I got to fly one during most of my corporate career. Anytime someone would ask what I flew, I would just say "a Learjet." (Then they would at least act like they knew what I was talking about).
Bill Lear pretty much started it all for private jet travel, and was truly a pioneer in aviation.
It's been really funny over the years to see how certain names just sort of stick to certain things. We get so used to it. If the name were anything else, it may have never worked.
For example, if Kelly Johnson had invented the "Lear", would it be known as a "Johnson Jet"? Or if Braun had come up with the "Boeing airliner concept", would we have the "Braun 777"? (The Braun "Triple Seven" sounds like a razor to me). Or if Sikorsky came up with the Mach meter, would we hear "We're doing "Sikorsky 0.78", or for the military guys, "Igor 2." (and the "Mach Black Hawk" would be a little weird to say as well).
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