North American Sabreliner

The North American Sabreliner, later sold as the Rockwell Sabreliner, is a mid-sized business jet designed and produced by North American Aviation. It took its name from the similarity of its wing and tail to those of the F-86 Sabre fighter. The civilian prototype, model number NA-265, first flew in September 1958 with two General Electric YJ85 turbojets and received a Federal Aviation Administration type certificate in April 1963. The Air Force bought it from 1959 as the T-39 Sabreliner for its utility trainer program, and military variants flew with the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps as trainers and, in the Vietnam War, carried urgent cargo. Later civil series refined the cabin and speed and, from the Series 75A, used General Electric CF700 turbofans.