The LearAvia Lear Fan 2100 was a turboprop business aircraft designed in the 1970s, with an unusual configuration. The Lear Fan never entered production.
The LearFan was designed by Bill Lear, but not completed before his death in 1978. It was planned for production to be carried out in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in a new factory built with money from the British Government in an effort to boost employment.[2][3] The aircraft had a pressurized cabin and was designed for a service ceiling of 41,000 ft (12 500 m). It could accommodate two pilots and seven passengers, or one pilot and eight passengers.
It featured a pusher configuration in which two engines powered a single constant-speed three- or four-bladed propeller at the rear of the aircraft. A purpose-built gearbox allowed two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6B turboshaft engines to supply power via two independent driveshafts. The intent of the design was to provide the safety of multi-engine reliability, combined with single-engine handling in case of failure of one of the engines.
Another distinctive feature was the Y-shaped empennage. Two stabilizers pointed upward at an angle, similar to those on a V-tail aircraft, and a short vertical stabilizer pointed downward. However, unlike conventional V-tails, there was no pitch/yaw control mixing on the Lear Fan. The downward-pointing rudder also served to protect the propeller from ground strikes during takeoff and landing.
Operational history
After the cancellation of a planned test flight on December 31, 1980 due to technical issues, the first prototype made its maiden flight on January 1, 1981,[4] a date officially recorded by sympathetic British government officials as "December 32, 1980" in order to secure funding that expired at the end of 1980.[1]
The Lear Fan, however, did not enter production. Structural problems were discovered during the pressurization of the all-composite fuselage.[3] The US Federal Aviation Administration refused to issue the prototype with an airworthiness certificate because of concerns that, despite having two engines, the combining-gearbox that drove the single propeller was not adequately reliable.[3] Development was abandoned in 1985[3] after only three aircraft were built.
Surviving aircraft
Lear Fan 2100 prototype on display at the Museum of Flight
^Aircraft at the Frontiers of Flight Museum – Dallas, Texas 2009-12-08 at the Wayback Machine. Frontiers of Flight Museum. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
^Lear Fan in front of CAMI Google Maps satellite view.
Bibliography
"Lear Fan Collapses". Flight International, 8 June 1985. Sutton, UK:Business Press International. p. 30.
McClellan, J. Mac. "Flashback to 1981:A Look Back at the Lear Fan". Flying, June 2006. Retrieved 21 November 2009.
Taylor, John W.R. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1982–83. London:Jane's Yearbooks, 1982. ISBN0-7106-0748-2.
Whitaker, Richard. "Lear Fan: the plastic aeroplane arrives". Flight International, 26 December 1981, pp. 1896–1901.
External links
"Learavia Lear Fan cutaway". Flight International. 26 December 1981.
The William P. and Moya Olsen Lear Papers at The Museum of Flight (Seattle, Wash.)
December 27, 2022
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The LearAvia Lear Fan 2100 was a turboprop business aircraft designed in the 1970s with an unusual configuration The Lear Fan never entered production Lear Fan 2100Two Lear Fans during a 1982 display flightRole Business aircraftNational origin United States of AmericaManufacturer LearAviaDesigner Bill LearFirst flight January 1 1981 1 Number built 3 Contents 1 Design and development 2 Operational history 3 Surviving aircraft 4 Specifications 5 See also 6 References 6 1 Citations 6 2 Bibliography 7 External linksDesign and development Edit A Lear Fan prototype landing The LearFan was designed by Bill Lear but not completed before his death in 1978 It was planned for production to be carried out in Belfast Northern Ireland in a new factory built with money from the British Government in an effort to boost employment 2 3 The aircraft had a pressurized cabin and was designed for a service ceiling of 41 000 ft 12 500 m It could accommodate two pilots and seven passengers or one pilot and eight passengers It featured a pusher configuration in which two engines powered a single constant speed three or four bladed propeller at the rear of the aircraft A purpose built gearbox allowed two Pratt amp Whitney Canada PT6B turboshaft engines to supply power via two independent driveshafts The intent of the design was to provide the safety of multi engine reliability combined with single engine handling in case of failure of one of the engines The aircraft was made of lightweight composite materials instead of the more common aluminum alloy Another distinctive feature was the Y shaped empennage Two stabilizers pointed upward at an angle similar to those on a V tail aircraft and a short vertical stabilizer pointed downward However unlike conventional V tails there was no pitch yaw control mixing on the Lear Fan The downward pointing rudder also served to protect the propeller from ground strikes during takeoff and landing Operational history EditAfter the cancellation of a planned test flight on December 31 1980 due to technical issues the first prototype made its maiden flight on January 1 1981 4 a date officially recorded by sympathetic British government officials as December 32 1980 in order to secure funding that expired at the end of 1980 1 The Lear Fan however did not enter production Structural problems were discovered during the pressurization of the all composite fuselage 3 The US Federal Aviation Administration refused to issue the prototype with an airworthiness certificate because of concerns that despite having two engines the combining gearbox that drove the single propeller was not adequately reliable 3 Development was abandoned in 1985 3 after only three aircraft were built Surviving aircraft Edit Lear Fan 2100 prototype on display at the Museum of Flight A Lear Fan 2100 on display at the Frontiers of Flight Museum All three Lear Fan aircraft have been preserved They are on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle Washington 1 the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas Texas 5 and on static display in front of the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute in Oklahoma City Oklahoma 6 Specifications EditData from Jane s All The World s Aircraft 1982 83 4 General characteristicsCrew Two pilot and copilot Capacity Six passengers Length 40 ft 7 in 12 37 m Wingspan 39 ft 4 in 11 99 m Height 12 ft 2 in 3 71 m Wing area 162 9 sq ft 15 13 m2 Aspect ratio 9 5 Empty weight 4 100 lb 1 860 kg Max takeoff weight 7 350 lb 3 334 kg Powerplant 2 Pratt amp Whitney Canada PT6B 35F turboprops 650 shp 480 kW eachPerformance Maximum speed 450 mph 720 km h 390 kn at 25 000 feet 7 600 m Cruise speed 322 mph 518 km h 280 kn at 40 000 feet 12 000 m economy cruise Stall speed 88 mph 142 km h 76 kn with flaps down and power off Range 1 783 mi 2 869 km 1 549 nmi Service ceiling 41 000 ft 12 000 m Rate of climb 3 450 ft min 17 5 m s See also Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to LearAvia Lear Fan Aircraft of comparable role configuration and era Beechcraft Starship Cirrus VK 30 OMAC Laser 300 Piaggio P 180 AvantiReferences EditCitations Edit a b c Lear Fan 2100 Futura Archived 2009 07 12 at the Wayback Machine The Museum of Flight 2009 Retrieved 27 November 2009 McCellan 2006 a b c d Lear Fan Collapses Archived 2012 10 26 at the Wayback Machine Flight International 8 June 1985 p 30 a b Taylor 1982 pp 399 400 Aircraft at the Frontiers of Flight Museum Dallas Texas Archived 2009 12 08 at the Wayback Machine Frontiers of Flight Museum Retrieved 27 November 2009 Lear Fan in front of CAMI Google Maps satellite view Bibliography Edit Lear Fan Collapses Flight International 8 June 1985 Sutton UK Business Press International p 30 McClellan J Mac Flashback to 1981 A Look Back at the Lear Fan Flying June 2006 Retrieved 21 November 2009 Taylor John W R Jane s All The World s Aircraft 1982 83 London Jane s Yearbooks 1982 ISBN 0 7106 0748 2 Whitaker Richard Lear Fan the plastic aeroplane arrives Flight International 26 December 1981 pp 1896 1901 External links Edit Learavia Lear Fan cutaway Flight International 26 December 1981 The William P and Moya Olsen Lear Papers at The Museum of Flight Seattle Wash Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title LearAvia Lear Fan amp oldid 1117981139, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
