page_title: Learjet 45
section_title: Development and production
hierarchical_section_title: Learjet 45 / History / Development and production
caption_attribution_description: I dont think you could beat a shot like this of a lear, unless its in the AIR! But thats just me!
context_page_description: The Learjet 45 aircraft is a mid-size business jet aircraft produced by the Learjet Division of Bombardier Aerospace.
  The Model 45 was the first all-new design since the original Learjet, and significantly altered the Learjet line. Through its four primary variants – the original Model 45, the Model 45XR, Model 40 and Model 40XR – it was the Learjet Division's principal product from the 1990s until the introduction of the Model 75 variant in 2012.
context_section_description: The Model 45 was developed in the 1990s as a competitor in the "super-light" business jet category, a rival to the popular Cessna Citation Excel / XLS – but sacrificing the Cessna's stand-up room for the Learjet family's traditional high-speed performance.
  The Model 45 was Learjet's first completely new ("clean sheet") design since the company's first aircraft (all other models having been evolved from the original 1963 Learjet design, the Model 23). The Model 45 was developed to make Learjets fundamentally more competitive against newer designs from competing manufacturers. But, as a clean-sheet design (starting from scratch), being built to more rigorous (FAR Part 25) rules, than previous Learjets, the aircraft's development took substantially greater time than the development of previous Learjet models.
  The development of the LJ45 began in 1989, but was not announced by Bombardier until September, 1992. First flight of the prototype aircraft took place on October 7, 1995 – the 32nd anniversary of the first flight of the original Learjet 23.  FAA certification was delayed, and finally granted in September 1997, with the first customer aircraft subsequently delivered in mid-1998. The aviation magazine Flying reported that the Lear 45 was first certified under FAR Part 25 (transport category rules) in 1998.
  Initially, delays in production resulted in frustrated customers and lost or delayed revenues. Some customers' orders were delayed more than two years.
caption: on ground
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