Bombardier’s Learjet division surprised the aviation world on January 22 when it announced that the airframe of the new Learjet 85 will be built entirely of composite materials. Launched as the Learjet NXT last October, the Learjet 85 is a midsize jet that will fill a niche between Bombardier’s Learjet 60XR and Challenger 300. Bombardier also announced that Grob Aerospace will design the jet’s structure and build the first three prototype Learjet 85s.
Before last month’s announcement, observers assumed that the Learjet NXT/85 would be built using aluminum, bearing in mind the distinctly Learjet configuration and Bombardier’s extensive experience building various Learjet models, including the in-production 40XR, 45XR and 60XR models. But for the past two years, Grob Aerospace CEO Niall Olver lobbied Bombardier Aerospace CEO Pierre Beaudoin to consider extensive use of composites in the new Learjet and to contract with Grob to design the jet’s structure, according to Olver.
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