The genius of Bill Lear

[midnight rambler]

The Lear Fan 2100, a twin turbine turbo-prop, one of the most awesome aircraft designs ever (with respect to safety, reliability, performance, and fuel economy), killed by the bureaurats at the FAA ('cause it was too cutting edge, yet 30+ years later the FAA approves the Boeing Dreamliner utilizing the very same materials).

http://www.rc-network.de/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=730302&stc=1&d=1321217281

[midnight rambler]

And FWIW, a Beechcraft Starship which utilized the very same construction techniques (carbon fiber/kevlar composite) skidded off a (icy) runway at 120 MPH resulting in only very minor injuries to the pilot and passengers and that very same Starship was subsequently repaired and is now being flown based out of Mexico. It could be repaired because it was a composite construction, had it been conventionally constructed it would have been totaled.

And oh yeah, the FAA killed the Beechcraft Starship as well.

[Twisted Titan]

I thought it was Norman Lear

The Zio Prick that gave birth to Archie Bunker All in the Family and The Jeffersons

[midnight rambler]

I thought it was Norman Lear

The Zio Prick that gave birth to Archie Bunker All in the Family and The Jeffersons

Nope. Bill Lear was a cutting edge inventor. Amongst many other notable inventions (e.g. radio direction finders, other avionics, the aircraft autopilot, the first fully automatic aircraft landing system, and of course the Lear Jet) Bill Lear and Norman Gates pioneered the very first viable automobile radios and from that start formed Motorola, perhaps you've heard of that company.

The Lear Fan 2100 was Bill Lear's ultimate dream.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Lear

[midnight rambler]

Bill Lear was inspired to design his Learjet by the FFA P-16 -

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/FFA_p16_.jpg