May 1964 - Third LEAR JET Takes To Air

Piloted by Hank Beaird and Glen David, the third production Lear Jet took-off in close formation with N801L from Runway 14 at 6 p.m. last Friday, May 15th. They IeveIed off at 12,000 feet where? speed ranges up to 400 mph were approached. All of N803L's operating systems functioned satisfactorily during the 60-minute test flight. After FAA certification in June, Chemical & Industrial Corporation of Cincinnati Ohio will take delivery. Lear Jet Number Four is now in final assembly while the fuselage and wing are being mated on Number Five.

C7,655 Nautical Mile Total Posted By Lear Jets
During 13 Flights

Our Lear Jets have been seen in eight new ports -of-call from New York to Texas and from Florida to Colorado over a 23 - day period. Covering a criss-cross distance of 7,655 nautical miles, the flights began when Bi 11 L ear took N802L to LaGuardia on April 23rd in 2:21 for an average block- speed of 490 knots. The last cross- country was made to Denver last Friday with a return time of 53 minutes.

Distances ranged from 1,150 nautical miles to New York and a short 294 mil es to Dallas. The 2:50 Westward - leg from Tampa to Dallas was the longest flight time. Lear Jets have now visited 13 cities. The 20 hours logged during this period brings combined totals for Number One and Number Two up to 244 hours in 201 test flights.

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Progress Report - October 2025

By Kristen Nuss • November 4, 2025

We continue to work toward preparing 23-003 for the Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI) phase of her restoration. The cabin windows were removed on October 8, 2025. As of October 9, 2025, we are moving forward with the preparation efforts for the removal of the windshields. Lee Aerospace will do the actual removals in order to accurately manufacture duplicate windshields to fit into the existing structural framework and fastener hole pattern. Lee Aerospace will also manufacture new cabin windows for 23-003 N200Y! We are going through the wiring from each connector in the wiring bundle, that was previously removed from 23-003, comparing each wire to the production wiring diagrams to identify the purpose of each wire. This information will be used when we build the new wiring harness to ensure that it accurately covers all of the needs of 23-003. The tip tanks were taken to the K&L Body Shop by owner Larry Ortiz to have the last remnants of paint and aerodynamic filler (Bondo) removed on October 21, 2025. Thank You Larry Ortiz and the K&L Body Shop for coming forward to help with the restoration!

Progress Report - September 2025

By Kristen Nuss • October 2, 2025

A major step in the restoration of 23-003 N200Y was achieved on September 9, 2025 when it returned from having the paint stripped from the fuselage, tip tanks and horizontal stabilizer. As you can see in the photos, we will have to manually remove the remaining bits of paint (download the full newsletter to view photos). The next step is to complete some additional dry ice blasting and remove the windshield and windows then start the Non-Destructive Inspections (NDI) of the fuselage structure. This will identify any structural components, skin, frames, etc. that will require repair or replacement. The crew that stripped the paint paused in front of the fuselage of 23-003 just before it was loaded onto a Patton Trucking trailer for the trip back to building 14. They are (not in order in the photo): Dave Lewis, Kevin Dome, Harold Haviland, Will Brown, Joseph Irwin, Adam Biggs and Jay Prideaux (not pictured). A big THANK YOU to the anonymous vendor that donated his company’s time and resources to strip the paint! Also, THANK YOU to Patton Trucking for donating their equipment and personnel to take 23-003 to the paint stripping facility and bring her home again.

Progress Report - August 2025

By Kristen Nuss • September 10, 2025

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!