Patricia Hamilton Memories of 23-003 Delivery
[Pat is the daughter of Herb Hamilton and was present at the delivery of 3-003]
The Chemical and Industrial Corp (C & I) hangar (designed by my father) and tower [in the photo above] are at Lunken Airport in Cincinnati, where N200Y was delivered. The chief pilot for many years was Beaver Radabaugh. Flying was very important to my father and in particular the Learjet, which was a vital piece of his life for over 20 years. He turned 50 two months after N200Y was delivered and flew a beloved Lear well into his 70s.
I was 17 at the time of the delivery, a high school senior, and four of the five Hamilton children drove down to Lunken Airport after school that Tuesday. The one missing was my brother Scott who had football practice. What I remember most was the test pilot Hank Beaird, a memorable guy, giving us a ride in what we thought of as just Dad’s new plane. He’d always had one, a Cessna 310 when we were three little kids in the backseat with my parents up front. There were a couple Lockheed Lodestars, a Howard 500 when the family enlarged. That day the pilot buzzed so low over the football field that, much to our delight up in the air, Scott and his teammates dropped flat to the ground.
Three months after the N200Y delivery, I got my private pilot’s license. My brother Jim went on to get his Instrument as well. We both had a few chances to fly copilot on the Lear, which basically meant radio work. Flying into LaGuardia one time, I was communicating with Air Traffic Control and a commercial airline pilot, waiting to take off, interrupted “Is that a girl flying that thing? I better back up a few feet.”
What an airplane! I’ve often lamented that my son (who did plane spotting for a few years during his teens and dreamt of becoming a pilot) never got the chance to experience that incredible take-off. For a few seconds you’re accelerating down the runway and in no time lift off, and then that thrilling feeling of heading straight up and through the clouds. The Learjet is one of those objects that not only lives up to all the hype, but in person far surpasses anything ad agencies or movie makers can come up with.