Our March progress has been slowed somewhat because of the construction activity being accomplished in bays 1 and 10 at the north end of building 14. 23-003 is in bay 9 which shares a hangar wall with bay 10. The construction has cut electrical power to this wall, but we are working around this problem. Also, our access to bay 9 now involves having to go through a badge access turnstile which limits our volunteers to those of us who have contractor badges. Even with these construction issues, we are continuing with the cutting and marking of the new wiring for the new wiring harness and tracking parts. Also, the wing that we acquired from 23-024 arrived at building 14 on March 3, 2026. We are using this wing to salvage parts including the leading edges, hydraulic components, etc. that will help with the restoration of 23-003 and needed spares. We are completing the final leveling of the fuselage and securing the supports. This will allow us to remove damaged fuselage skins. With these skins removed, Non-Destructive Inspections (NDI) can continue in order to provide us additional data on the fuselage structural integrity. Ed Grabman, Experimental Test Pilot at the Bombardier Flight Test Center, has agreed to chair the 23-003 Cockpit Configuration Committee. This committee is tasked with determining the cockpit upgrades required to operate 23-003 in the current airspace system while maintaining, as much as possible, the look of the original cockpit. Parts donated by Incora are continuing to arrive with the latest delivery on March 3rd. These much needed, and greatly appreciated, parts include mechanical hardware, aircraft wiring and some electrical components.

The tip tanks and keel beam are back in Florida!! S.E.A.L. Aviation has generously volunteered to rebuild and restore our tip tanks and keel beam! Since they are in southern Florida, we loaded them up in a truck for the trip back to Florida. Ron Forshee and Chris Marshall volunteered to make the long drive. They departed Wichita on February 15 th at 12:35 pm and arrived in Florida at the Global Jetcare hangar two days and 1,306 miles later on February 17th. The tip tanks and keel beam will now be taken to the S.E.A.L. facility for restoration. A volunteer has started cleaning the flight controls, ailerons, flaps, etc., so that we can accomplish the necessary detailed inspections. As you can see in the photo below, they are quite dirty after sitting outdoors for years. Volunteers Dan DeMott and Cliff Ives are identifying all of the hydraulic and fuel tubes and components that have been removed from 23-003 with part numbers and Parts Catalog locations. The tubes will also have metal ID tags to facilitate vapor degreasing when the time comes for this operation.  Another milestone was reached late this month in the restoration of 23-003: The fuselage has been firmly tied down, securing it to prevent any movement. This will allow us to now start the necessary structural repairs! In the photos below you can see the cradles and supports securing the fuselage. One cradle just forward of the cabin door, a cradle aft of the cabin window, the jacks on the engine beams, a cradle just aft of the engine pylon and the tail stand.

LATE BREAKING NEWS: The rebuilding of 23-003 N200Y has officially started! On January 28, 2026 the first set of wires for the new wire harness were cut! Volunteers Denver Plumb and Mike Johnson made the first cut! We would like to thank John Bowman and Larry Thimmesch of Incora for the donation of the wire. We are making great progress in getting all the removed parts identified with part numbers and returned to the storage racks. We are working with Katie Yaverski to get all the racks identified and labeled for location identification. We are moving forward with a partnership with S.E.A.L. Aviation for overhaul and repair of numerous items and components! They will be a great asset to CLJF and the efforts to rebuild 23-003. The wing from of 23-003 is now in a stored position on its leading edge against the south hangar wall in order to give us some additional working room in the hangar.

Classic Lear Jet Foundation has entered into our next major step in our restoration of 23-003 N200Y, the Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI)! NDI testing started on the forward fuselage of 23-003 on December 11, 2025. This will be a lengthy process that will continue into next year. It is a slow and steady work that uses X-ray photography to detect structural defects such as corrosion, cracks, etc. Because of the use of X-rays, we cannot be in the hangar so our restoration work has had to be paused when the NDI testing is in progress. The process starts with placing unexposed x-ray film on the fuselage at the desired inspection location. Then aiming the x-ray emitter on the opposite side of the structure. When the emitter is activated, x-rays pass through the structure and into the film. After the film is developed, the result is a ‘picture’ of the structure that shows any defect, corrosion, crack, etc. The structural visual inspections, using flashlights, mirrors and trained eyes, are also progressing, but slowly because of the NDI testing. It is amazing that we have entered the NDI phase on 23-003 in less than 2 years since our restoration started! On December 30, 2023, Jay Thomas removed the first Dzus fastener, officially kicking off the restoration of 23-003. Thanks to the dedicated volunteers who have put in nearly 2,000 hours of work to get us to this major phase on the road to fly N200Y again!

If you receive the RECHARGE newsletter, we assume you are already a valued supporter or donor to the Classic Lear Jet Foundation. We want to wish you a happy holiday season and we feel it appropriate to provide feedback on just what exactly your support has provided over the last year. Our mission is to restore the aircraft to an airworthy condition and return it to its 1964 original appearance. Due to its historical significance, we are looking much more in depth than a traditional aircraft inspection. Every part of this aircraft is being removed, inspected and cataloged for future repairs, restoration and reinstallation. Our electricians are fully documenting the electrical wiring in the aircraft, carefully identifying each individual wire and preparing to re-manufacture that wiring. With 147,000 inches (2.3 miles) and hundreds of engineering changes that’s a big job. We also spend a lot of time evaluating the necessary repairs and restoration of the aircraft structure and systems. We have made many field trips in search of aircraft structural and system components. Most of which are long obsolete, some of which we have found, some remain elusive, some we will have to fabricate. Another area of activity is seeking out donors for services, such as fabrication of replacement parts, (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) and necessary aircraft verification services. Behind the scenes, these hours are worked by a team of 7 individuals who donate their time every Tuesday and Thursday. As of this writing our volunteers have donated approximately 1900 aircraft labor hours with 1400 being logged since January 1.