An interesting article on the genesis of the Lear Jet on wired.com:
The Lear Jet Turns 50 ? But It Almost Didn't Make It Off the Ground | Autopia | Wired.com
And an interesting quote, off subject, from the same article:
"At 82, Clay Lacy still flies regularly. He has more than 53,000 hours flying experience, and many of those are in the older (and newer) Lear Jets. . . .'"
Impressive, that.