Learjet 23

The Learjet 23 was the first aircraft built by Learjet, an American twinjet business aircraft seating two crew and four to six passengers. It grew out of the Swiss FFA P-16 fighter design, which William Powell Lear Sr. set out to turn into a passenger aircraft through the Swiss American Aviation Corporation before the company moved to Wichita, Kansas and became the Lear Jet Corporation. The prototype first flew on 7 October 1963, the Federal Aviation Agency awarded the type certificate on 31 July 1964, and the first production aircraft was delivered on 13 October 1964. The type opened a new market for fast, efficient small business aircraft, reaching a maximum speed near Mach 0.82 on two General Electric CJ610 turbojets. Production ended in 1966 after 101 aircraft had been delivered, and as of 2025 only a single Learjet 23 remained flyable, while others are preserved in museums such as the Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum.