The Classic Lear Jet Foundation is planning a polar circumnavigation mission from April 30 to May 3 to raise funds for the restoration of Learjet 23-003, the first customer-delivered Learjet. Global Jetcare, a Florida-based air ambulance provider, is donating use of a Learjet 36A and a four-person crew to support the foundation’s fundraising efforts.  

Learjet 23-003 was delivered to Chemical & Industrial Corp. of Cincinati, Ohio, in October 1964 and returned to Wichita in 2023 when The Classic Lear Jet Foundation acquired it from where it had languished for years outside at Florida's Bartow Executive Airport. 

The Polar Mission involves a flight departing from Bombardier Building 14 in Wichita on April 30, between 6 and 7 p.m. The Learjet 36A, N31GJ, will attempt a world-record flight over both the North and South Poles before returning to Wichita in the afternoon or early evening of May 3. No Learjet has previously attempted such a flight.  

As part of its mission, the crew will conduct an EPA experiment in Antarctica in collaboration with the National Science Foundation. This research involves placing a scale on the wing at each stop to help determine variations in Earth’s size at the Equator. Crewmembers will wear exposure suits and complete scientific training before the flight. They will also sign agreements ensuring no disruption to the environments visited.  

The Polar Mission is the Foundation’s second circumnavigation fundraiser. The first, known as The Century Mission in April 2024, set an official around-the-world speed record and raised significant funds for the restoration project.  

In 1965, five rated airline captains became the first to complete a polar circumnavigation flight, flying between the North and South Poles, which became known as the Rockwell Polar Flight after its chief financier, Colonel Willard F. Rockwell, Sr., also a passenger on the historic flight. This mission, conducted in a modified Boeing 707-349C, took place from November 14 to 17 and lasted 62 hours and 27 minutes. The flight began and ended in Honolulu, Hawaii; carried 40 scientists, guests, and crew; and remains a significant milestone in polar aviation history.

Other notable aerial polar circumnaviations include the first solo mission by Elgen Long in a Piper Navajo in 1971, and that of Dick Smith in the 1980s, the first to land at both poles in his Twin Otter. 

To kick off the Polar Mission, the Classic Lear Jet Foundation will host a hangar party at Stearman Field in Wichita on April 26 from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Attendees will enjoy food, drinks, and live music by Stimulus Wichita, with merchandise available for purchase. N31GJ also will be on static display. Live flight tracking will be available during the mission on the Polar Mission website.