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Lear
Radio Apparatus
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Though his name
is most often associated with corporate jet airplanes, William Lear
earlier made his mark in car radios and by inventing the eight-track
tape player.
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RCA purchased a radio amplifier design of
Lear's, a universal unit usable in their entire line.
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Lear designed the eight-track player in the
1960s.
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At age 16 he joined the Navy,
where he learned radio electronics. Following World War I he took
up flying.
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An early Lear design, a practical car radio, launched
the Motorola Company.
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Lear began designing navigational aids for
aircraft In the 1930s and under the names Lear Corp. and LearAvia Corporation filled more than $100 million in defense orders
during World War II. After the war, he developed a lightweight auto-pilot.
His aircraft designs included the Canadair Challenger and the Lear
Fan, an airplane built entirely from composites.
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His Radio Apparatus is Patent No. 1,944,139.
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