William P. Lear founded the Swiss American Aviation Corporation in 1960 to build a twin-jet executive aircraft,
originally designated SAAC-23 and later named
Learjet. Tooling was completed in Europe but moved to
Wichita, Kansas, in 1962, when the company became
known as Lear Jet Corporation. In 1967 Bill Lear sold his
60 percent interest in the company to Gates Rubber Corporation, and in 1970 the name was changed to Gates
Learjet Corporation. Became Learjet Inc. in 1987.
