Bombardier’s ceremonial handover of a Learjet 75 to Leggett & Platt on Friday commemorated two major milestones: the 3,000th Learjet manufactured and the 100th Learjet 75 delivery. The milestone comes more than 50 years after Bill Lear helped pioneer the business aviation industry with the introduction of the Lear Jet 23, which it claims as the first purpose-built business jet to enter production. The nascent Lear Jet company, which had established a home in Wichita, handed over the first Model 23 to Chemical and Industrial Corporation of Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1964, about a year after first flight, according to the U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission. Originally known as Lear Jet (two words), the company built a little more than 100 of the $540,000 model 23s before moving to the 24 in 1966, followed by a succession of later models. Along the way, its corporate brand changed to one word, Learjet.
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