Answer: A Sense Of History
When you think of Hannibal (MO), you think of Tom
Sawyer, Huck Finn and the writer who created them, Mark Twain. But
if you know much about aviation, another name comes to mind:
aviation pioneer William P. Lear.
The city's Airport Commission recommended this week that
Hannibal Municipal Airport be renamed for the man who invented the
Learjet, the first low-cost, mass-produced business jet aircraft in
the world. The Hannibal City Council will take up the
recommendation on Tuesday.
"As we've been looking at the reconstruction and redevelopment
of the airport, it seemed to be an appropriate time to recognize
... a person with a direct connection to Hannibal, that had such a
tremendous influence in aviation," said John Grossmeier, an airport
commission member. "Everybody knows William Lear, from the Lear jet
fame, but few people know that he has this Hannibal
connection."
Honoring An Aviation Pioneer
Lear, born in Hannibal on June 26, 1902, dropped out of school
after the eighth grade while living in Chicago. While he is best
known for developing the jet plane that bears his name, he was an
accomplished inventor who obtained more than 150 patents before his
death in 1978.
Lear joined the Navy at 16 and after World War I he became a
pilot. He started his first company, Quincy Radio Laboratory, in
1922, and is credited with developing the first practical car
radio, which he sold to what was to become Motorola Corp. In the
1930s he designed a radio amplifier that he sold to RCA, and
expanded into aircraft navigation equipment. His inventions also
included an aeronautical radio compass and an automatic pilot
system.
Turn The Prop And Crank Up Three Dog Night
Later, Lear became involved in the development of commercial jet
aircraft, as well as the eight-track tape player system, which he
invented for use in his aircraft.
New Sign Of The Times
Dedication of the airfield will be on Sunday, May 18, as part of
an open house at the airport. The Airport Commission plans a new
sign at the airport, "to make sure that other pilots, when they
come in, know that they are landing at a little piece of history
here in the Hannibal area," chairman Gary Holland said.
Folks in Hannibal are also talking about establishing a museum
to call attention to the various accomplishments of Lear. "We'd
like to actually pursue this, and we've got the area for it,"
Holland said.