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

“The Polar Mission” is the name of the record flight attempt by 36A-022 N31GJ and her crew to circumnavigate the globe from north to south by flying over both poles. The “Pole to Pole From the Air Capital” flight is scheduled to depart from the Learjet ramp near building 14 on April 30, 2025. After flying over both poles, is expected to return to the Learjet ramp on May 3, 2025. The scheduled flight path is shown below: