The Jet That Changed Everything

In the autumn of 1963, on a clear Kansas morning, a jet lifted off the runway at Wichita Municipal Airport.

It was short, sleek and unapologetically fast. There were no speeches, no photographers, no marketing rollout.

Just an aircraft that few outside aviation circles had heard of, now cutting through the sky with silent conviction.

The Learjet 23 had taken flight, and nothing in private travel would ever be quite the same.