Historical Note

Lear, Incorporated was an aircraft radio development and electromechanical equipment manufacturing company operating from 1944 to 1962.

In late 1944 Lear Avia became Lear, Incorporated and was headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Lear, Inc. primarily focused on aircraft radio development and manufacture. However, Lear Inc. also built electromechanical equipment for aircraft, such as screw jacks, motors, actuators, automatic controls. In addition, the company aimed to “break into the home radio business and to create a national appetite for wire voice recorders.” However, post-war shortages caused problems for Lear, Inc. and the home radio was phased out in mid-1948, including the Learecorder. The company continued to produce automatic direction finders and a line of VHF transmitters and receivers, including the VHF Learmatic navigator.

In early 1947, the company developed the C-2 autopilot for the U.S. military. However, the military was beginning to move to jet fighters and the C-2 was designed for a piston engine fighter and not compatible with the control system of jets. So WPL and his team, including engineer Nils Eklund, redesigned the C-2 autopilot into the F-5 autopilot, suitable for jet control systems, in just four months and won a multi-year production contract. The F-5 was not only an autopilot, but also included components which made blind landings safe. WPL was awarded the Collier Trophy in 1949 (though he received it in 1950) for his design of the F-5 autopilot.

In 1948, the company acquired Romec Pump Co. based in Elyria, Ohio. Romec primarily built pumps of all kinds and after the merger Lear, Inc. began making “submerged water injection pumps” for several aircraft manufacturers and airlines, including Boeing, North American, Pan American Airways, and British Overseas Airways. Additionally, a new hangar was completed at the Grand Rapids facility for experimental work as well as installation of aircraft radio and automatic pilots.

Also in 1948, Dick Mock was elected president, replacing WPL, who remained chairman of the board and director of research and development. In 1950, the company moved its research and development offices to Santa Monica, California. It was here that the new Aircraft Engineering Division (AED) of Lear, Inc. began with the conversion of the Lockheed Lodestar to the Learstar.

WPL hired Gordon Israel as chief engineer. Israel had previously worked for Stinson Aircraft, designing the Stinson O-49; and Grumman Aircraft, designing jet fighters. He also hired Ed Swearengen as a designer, Benny Howard as a consultant, and Clyde Pangborn as chief test pilot. The Learstar made its maiden flight on May 10, 1954. Several months later, it became the first reconditioned aircraft to earn certification. The first Learstar was delivered in February 1955 to British American Oil Company Limited. Due to fiscal issues the AED was sold in November 1956 and Learstar production closed down.

In the late 1950s the company manufactured the Lear Integrated Flight Equipment (LIFE) for commercial airlines. LIFE displayed information on two indicators instead of four, making the pilot’s work safer and simpler. Two smaller companies were established circa 1955-1956 as Lear, Inc. subsidiaries: Lear SA, located in Geneva, Switzerland and Lear Electronic GmbH, in Munich, Germany. Lear SA built receivers to assist in blind landings and Lear Electronic GmbH built automatic direction finders, gyros and fuel pumps.

In 1959 Al Handschumacher replaced Dick Mock as president of Lear, Inc. In that same year, WPL began the process of designing a corporate airplane. However, the Board of Directors did not want the Lear, Inc. name associated with the aircraft for fear of upsetting investors, nor would they allow company finances to be used on a WPL’s private endeavor. Thus, in 1960, WPL created a new company, based in Switzerland, solely to build his executive jet aircraft: Swiss American Aviation Corporation (SAAC).

Due to multiple concerns and conflicts in business approaches, WPL was eventually forced out of Lear, Inc. When Siegler Corporation approached the company about a merger, he was persuaded to sell his shares to Siegler by his friend and board member Dick Millar. Millar’s argument was that WPL could use those funds to finance the corporate aircraft he was designing. WPL agreed and in February 1962, Lear, Inc. merged with Siegler Corporation to form Lear Siegler, Inc. and shortly thereafter, WPL was no longer a part of the company.

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