Baggage Floor Removal Vexing for Lear Jet Restoration

Classic Lear Jet Foundation, the group working to restore the first production Learjet back to airworthy status, continues to make progress on the project, although not without encountering hurdles.

As the group continues to dismantle the fuselage to conduct structural inspections on the 62-year-old Learjet 23, the team reached a roadblock when it attempted to remove the baggage area floor. It had removed all of the fasteners and a large volume of aged sealant to free the panel, yet was still unable to solve the puzzle of removing it from S/N 23-003’s fuselage.

After a call for help to the Wichita aerospace community, a former Learjet employee from the early days of production arrived to assess the situation and told the team it would first have to remove some additional assemblies to rotate and remove the baggage panel. Once that is accomplished, the group will be able to access and remove the fiberglass ducts beneath it to reach the foam insulation on the fuselage skin. A volunteer company will then use dry-ice blasting to remove that insulation, exposing the bare metal for the first time in more than six decades.

The work follows the removal of the aft cabin floor in July, which proved challenging due to large amounts of sealant in the surrounding structure. Other ongoing tasks include the cataloging, tagging, and storage of every part removed from the vintage twinjet, ahead of its condition assessment. Those found to be unserviceable will be replaced with modern or reconditioned components.

The disassembly is taking place in the former Learjet delivery center in Wichita, in space provided by Bombardier, which ended production of the brand in 2021. Following renovations on the facility, the restoration group can once again welcome tours for those who want to see the aircraft and the process up close.