THE FIRST FLIGHT OF the Learjet Lear 45 light business jet has been scheduled for 22 September, only days before the US National Business Aircraft Association (NBAA) convention in Las Vegas, where it is hoped the aircraft will have its public debut.
Production aircraft number 45-001 (pictured here in a preview viewing for production staff at Learjet's Wichita, Kansas, factory earlier this year) was transferred in June from the manufacturer's final-assembly building to the Bombardier flight-test centre, also in Wichita.
The wing mating of the second and third Lear 45 production aircraft has been completed, and they will shortly join the test programme, which will eventually include five aircraft. First deliveries are expected by January 1997.
Meanwhile, the fuselage mock-up of the Lear 45 has undergone a 15-city, seven-country promotional tour of Europe with a four-day appearance at North Weald airfield, north of London, scene of the Flight International-sponsored business and general aviation show, North Weald 95, which runs from 5-8 September.
Source: Flight International
