Bill and Moya Lear--An Unforgettable Flight

Air Classics, Mar 2001

Moya Olsen Lear BILL AND MOYA LEAR - AN UNFORGETTABLE FLIGHT River House Press, POB Box 60788, Reno, NV 89506 $25

William Powell Lear would accrue over 150 patents during his working life while also designing several recordbreaking aircraft along with attempting revolutionary projects such as adapting steam power to buses and automobiles. Moya Olsen was born to Lillian and John Olsen of the very famous Olsen and Johnson vaudeville team. From an early age, she became accustomed to meeting famous and often eccentric people because of her father's popularity. While Olsen and Johnson's Hellzapoppin was setting record runs on Broadway, Moya became her father's assistant and secretary which gave her a solid business background while also learning how to work and deal with the rich and famous.

Her background and training did not, however, fully prepare her for the day Bill Lear roared into her life. The pair were married in 1942 and would go on to raise four children while living in diverse locations around the globe as Bill went from one invention to another. This book is a very personal look at their life together.

For the aviation enthusiast, the author gives previously unknown insights on how Bill Lear developed concepts that changed the aviation industry - everything from radios to autopilots to what many would consider his most important creation the Learjet. This is not a book about just the positive side of the couple's life - it also has lots of down moments especially with the collapse of several business ventures. There is good detail on the creation of the Learstar -- the modified Lockheed Lodestar-- which greatly angered Kelly Johnson when Bill radically raised the plane's performance with his various modifications. Also, the creation of the Learjet provides a fresh look at one of aviation's most important aircraft. Even the story of the Lear Fan, a revolutionary aircraft that failed because of the lack of an adequate gear box and needed financing, is described in detail by the author. The Lear Fan utilized composite construction well before it became popular with other manufacturers and certainly appeared to be headed toward success before the collapse of the company. All in all, this is an important book that gives an inside look at one of aviation's most colorful characters. Moya Lear is to be congratulated on producing such a personal volume on her life and times.