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The final sealing of the fuselage, tip tanks and horizontal stabilizer has been completed and they were prepared to be shipped off to have their external paint removed. All openings, seams, windshield and windows had aluminum tape or sealer applied to keep the chemical stripper out of the inside. The tip tanks and horizontal stabilizer were loaded onto a trailer on August 5, 2025 and taken to a paint facility for paint stripping using Al Goodwin’s truck and a trailer borrowed by Dave Dendurant. The tip tank cradles were the same ones that were used for their trip from Florida. The fuselage was lifted off of its jacks and placed in its cradle on a trailer for its trip to have the paint stripped on August 12, 2025. The truck and trailer, as well as the trip to the paint facility, were donated by Patton Trucking of Clearwater, Kansas. These parts should be back in building 14 in early September and ready to have the remaining bits of paint removed. Then we will remove the windshields, windows, panels, finish the internal foam removal and start the Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI). Any issues found on the skins, stringers, etc., such as corrosion, will be repaired or replaced. While these parts are out to be stripped, we are currently setting up to do a pressure check of the right hand wing looking for any leaks. These results, along with the corrosion found on the left wing, will help us make a decision about the wing. Whether it is repairable or we must replace it. Cross your fingers! We just passed 1,400 volunteer hours since 23-003 arrived in Wichita! Thank you to all of you who have contributed your time to help restore 23-003!
We are prepping the fuselage, tip tanks and horizontal stabilizer for transport to a paint facility for paint stripping. The keel beam and doors have been reinstalled to prevent the fuselage from twisting or bending during lifting and transport. The parts room has been set up and we now have a couple of volunteers that are developing the inventory control system and ordering parts. When the airplane comes back from paint strip, we will remove the windows, finish the internal foam removal and get the Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI) started. We will then start repairing or removing any corrosion that is found on the skins and structure. Also, we are looking into a potential repair of the discovered wing corrosion. We will also get the wing leading edges cleaned up and inspected for any excessive corrosion. Will you volunteer? We need your help with the restoration of 23-003! Help in all areas! A&P’s, electricians and all people willing to assist others, move stuff around, hand a screwdriver to a mechanic, fill out forms and paperwork, push a broom or just provide enthusiastic support to others! We can use your expertise, whatever and however you can help! Schedules are flexible to your availability! You don’t have to be a former or current Learjet employee to volunteer! Direct questions and to volunteer please contact our volunteer coordinator, Brenda Parks, through her email: Brenda.Parks@ClassicLear.org
The dry ice blasting to remove the remaining foam is nearing completion on the rest of the areas in the cockpit and under the floorboards. The dry-ice blasting is doing a fantastic job of removing the foam remnants! Thank you Ryan Thimesch of BEPC for his time and talent! The dry ice blasting turns the foam, remaining after manual scraping, into a fine dust that requires continuous cleanup! After the completion of the foam removal in the cockpit, we have decided to proceed with another novel use of dry ice blasting; to clean the grime and crud from other areas around the airplane. Trial areas show great promise to reduce the amount of manual labor required! The nose landing gear doors have been removed and the nose avionics bay and nose landing gear bay are now ready to be cleaned by dry-ice blasting. We now have large prints of the wiring schematics to help us identify wires and components. This will assist us in developing the new wire harnesses. A completely new wiring harness will be built to replace the 61 year old brittle harness that was recently removed. Some components are not planned to be reinstalled, such as the thrust reversers, so all of the wiring and components associated with these will not be a part of the new harness. We just received the shelving to get our parts room sorted. We will need some volunteers to help assemble the shelves and move some things around inside the storage cage. Will you volunteer?
23-003 has been officially assigned the registration number “N200Y” by the FAA! Bill Kinkaid, President of the Classic Lear Jet Foundation, made the announcement at the Polar Mission Hangar Party on the evening of April 26 th . We then witnessed Bart Gray, Vice-President of the CLJF, sign the AC Form 8050-64 to formally complete the official assignment process. We owe a big ‘Thank You’ to Joel Weber for tracking down the chief pilot and owner of the airplane that had N200Y and explaining the significance of this number to our historic Lear Jet and asking them to let us have it. He then worked tirelessly with them to help them find another suitable number for their airplane. Joel started this quest on October 28, 2022, a little over a month after CLJF received our Articles of Incorporation, and on April 26, 2025 we own it! This is the same registration number that she wore at her delivery on October 13, 1964! “The Polar Mission” – Huge Success! The Polar Mission events started the evening that 36A-022 N31GJ and crew arrived at Jim Lee’s hangar at Stearman Field on April 24, 2025. The airplane was all decked out with the colorful logos of each of the mission sponsors. A special decal, placed on each side of the fuselage, just aft of the cabin door, was a note dedicating the mission to William Powell Lear, Jr. by his wife Brenda. Also, special windshield sunshades were made to honor Bill, Jr. and Brenda Lear.
"The Polar Mission" The Polar Mission will the circumnavigate the globe from south to north by flying over both poles. Learjet 36A-022 N31GJ and her crew, Captain Bart Gray, President of Global Jetcare (also CLJF Vice President), Joshua Podlich, John Bone and Kirby Ezelle will attempt the flight to earn the coveted Polar Circumnavigation Diploma. The Polar Mission is dedicated to William Powell (Bill) Lear, Junior. The Polar Mission flight is entirely funded by Bart Gray and Global Jetcare and he has allowed the Classic Lear Jet Foundation to use the flight for our fundraising efforts to restore 23-003.
Captain Bart Gray, President of Global Jetcare and CLJF Vice President, announced that “The Polar Mission” will be dedicated to Mr. William Powell Lear, Junior. Bill Lear, Jr. played a critical role in the birth of the original Lear Jet. Being a well established test pilot, he was invited to fly and evaluate the Swiss FFA P-16 ground attack fighter. After 2 of the prototypes and their pilots were lost, he successfully flew 5 flights and went supersonic twice. He was very impressed with exceptional structural qualities of the Swiss P-16 ground attack jet (ex. the 8 spar wing) and was responsible for convincing his father, Bill Lear, Sr., that this was what he was looking for in his new business jet. He also told him that since the Swiss government had cancelled the P-16 project there were a lot of skilled aircraft engineers available to help with the design of his business jet. The rest, as they say, “Is History”. If it were not for William Powell Lear, Jr. the Lear Jet would have been an entirely different airplane! "The Polar Mission" - Update Final flight planning for “The Polar Mission” around the world pole to pole record flight is well underway and the necessary equipment is being assembled. In addition to the FAA required overwater life vests and rafts, they also require special survival equipment for flights in the Arctic and Antarctic Regions. Part of the special equipment is extreme cold weather suits. These suits are designed to protect the crew in the event of an emergency in some of the coldest and most remote places on Earth. The crew has been hard at work putting the final touches on the flight plan, fuel stops, required coordination with each airport authorities, etc. Since the crew of The Polar Mission flight will be the same crew that accomplished the world record setting The Century Mission last April, all ‘lessons learned’ will be thoroughly reviewed and included. Follow the flight at polarmission.org
