Learjet history

With $10 million of his own money, plus an additional $8 million borrowed from Wichita banks, he set up a factory at Wichita Municipal Airport in January, 1963, employing a work force of 75 people.

When the first Learjet was delivered on October 14, 1964, Lear had collected 72 firm orders for the new jet.

With this invention he founded a stereo division of Learjet, based in Detroit, in 1965.

Several derived models followed, with the Model 24 first flying on February 24, 1966 and the Model 25 first flying on August 12, 1966.

On April 10, 1967, Bill Lear's approximately 60% share of the venture was acquired by the Gates Rubber Company of Denver, Colorado, for US$ 27,000,000.

Gates Learjet lost $4.6 million on $34.6 million in sales in 1968, but a year later turned a $2 million profit on $58 million in sales.

Lear remained on the company board until April 2, 1969, when the company was merged with Gates Aviation Corporation and was renamed Gates Learjet Corporation.

In October 1970, unable to properly manage both Gates Rubber and Learjet, Gates asked G.H.B. Gould, head of Learjet's marketing department, to lead the aircraft company.

In May 1971, Combs oversaw the reorganization earlier proposed by Gould of the Learjet properties.

But truthfully, it was in 1973 when the oil crisis forced Bombardier to halve its snowmobile production that it became more serious about the railway business.

In 1974, Bombardier won its first mass transit contract to manufacture 423 cars for the city of Montréal’s subway system.

Under Combs's leadership, Gates Learjet became even more viable, marking a $6.9 million profit on $115.4 million in sales in 1975.

On August 24, 1977, the Learjet 28 made its first flight.

Bill Lear, who founded two large companies, received 150 patents, and was instrumental in the development of modern avionics and business jets, died of leukemia in a Reno, Nevada, hospital on May 14, 1978.

The all-composite Lear Fan, which he had conceived several years earlier, flew in 1980.

Later, in 1982, the $1 billion US contract to supply 825 subway cars for the New York City Transit Authority positioned Bombardier as a North American leader in rail transit.

In 1984, Gates Learjet announced the start of their Aerospace Division, a high technology endeavor.

Stillwell retired in 1985 and was succeeded by James B. Taylor, who took the helm of Gates Learjet at a time when "bizjet" sales had fallen so much that Learjet had to temporarily halt production.

Sixteen years after diversifying into rail transportation, Bombardier took flight in the aerospace sector in 1986 with the purchases of Canadair, the leading Canadian aircraft manufacturer of Challenger widebody business jets, and the CL-215 amphibious firefighting aircraft.

However, in January 1988, after buying up all outstanding shares in Learjet, the partners fired Taylor in favor of Beverly (Bev) Lancaster, head of the company's growing aerospace division.

Nevertheless, in 1989 Learjet succeeded in acquiring the thrust reverser business of the Aeronea company, which it transferred from Middletown, Ohio, to Wichita.

By 1990 Integrated had fallen under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

In September 1992 the company announced plans for its first plane in 30 years to be a "clean sheet" design--one which was not a variation on an existing aircraft.

Sales were good, and 1993 was the company's best year ever, with delivery of over 40 airplanes.

Following in the CL-215’s footsteps, the Bombardier 415 amphibian launched in 1994 remains the only aircraft specifically designed for aerial firefighting and can be configured for other utility roles, including maritime search and rescue, surveillance and personnel transport.

By 1995, Bombardier had half of the personal watercraft market with its Sea-Doo and Speedster boats and created an engine offering a 50% reduction in hydrocarbon emissions and up to 25% better fuel economy for its snowmobiles.

Moreover, new to the all-terrain vehicle (ATV) market, Bombardier received industry recognition within a year, earning the best ATV award from ATV Magazine in 1999.

As our aviation business was growing, Bombardier Transportation became the worldwide leader in the rail equipment industry by acquiring Adtranz in 2001.

In 2002, Bombardier relocated its transportation headquarters from Montréal to Berlin.

As the company refocused on rail transportation and aerospace equipment, the recreational product business was sold in 2003.

In October 2007 Bombardier Learjet launched a brand new aircraft program, the Learjet 85.

The C Series five-abreast commercial airliner family was launched in 2008, offering the economics, performance, environmental and passenger-oriented improvements demanded by airline customers for the next quarter century.

The first flight of a C Series aircraft took place in 2013.

Since 2014, deliveries have concentrated on the Learjet 75 as production ramped down from 2 to 1 aircraft per month on average.

On October 28, 2015 Bombardier announced cancellation of the Learjet 85 program.

Bombardier’s largest C Series order came from Delta in 2016; an order for 75 firm CS100 aircraft with options for 50 more CS100 aircraft.

In the fall of 2017, Bombardier announced a partnership with Airbus on the C Series aircraft program.

Financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018

Financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2019

In February 2020, Bombardier announced the sale of Bombardier Transportation to Alstom; a transaction that would close another important chapter of its history.