from 1965 into 2001, I was in the James Brown band , In 1965 he bought a brand new Learjet 23 serial number 23-048. Production tail number November 805LJ , later N123JB he custom ordered it and I was with him when we went to Wichita Kansas to pick it up. We already had a corporate pilot named Doug Bell who was a former Air Force pilot with plenty of time in jets. When the Learjet PR folks met us at the Wichita airport they told us that Mr. Bell and Mr. Lear were already up in the plane going through several different checks prior to the formal handoff of the documents and logbook. Doug Bell was in charge of everything to do with the plane and he ordered several options that apparently don’t come with a base Learjet. He had all kind of devices to melt the ice and expand in order to crack the ice off at high speeds because it didn’t take much at all to ice up. He got the very latest instrumentation , and the back seat was a three place bench seat but now it folded down and swung sideways to access a porta 🚽 potty. Also a heavy duty landing gear. Mr. Brown post with Mr. Bill Lear and did some kind of ceremonial handoff of a golden key. After that we loaded up and headed for Augusta Georgia. When that plane took off it was like a bottle rocket 🚀 i’ve never felt so much trust in all my life and the sound was ear piercing. Mr. Brown’s manager was Charles Bobbitt and he was congratulating him on this once in a lifetime achievement! There was a Learjet in the paint booth that belong to Frank Sinatra but James Brown was the very first celebrity of any race to own a Learjet. The problem I had was when the landing gear was lowered and I was not warned or prepared. When that landing gear starts to go down the plane buffeted a little bit but the noise was unbearable! I even noticed Mr. Brown had both of his hands griped onto the seat! We wore that Learjet out! That was strictly for him and his management although occasionally an unfortunate band member would have to ride and have Mr. Brown chew on his ass about something. Altogether through the years we had a Learjet 23 , a Learjet 24 , Learjet 55, (his favorite) King air 90 , Rockwell jet commander, Rockwell saber liner. And the last one was a miserable hawker 125! That was a hanger queen if ever there was! We are just so glad he leased it instead of bought it because it was so problematic and one thing in the concert business that you do not need is Undependable transportation. The average concert for us in the last 10 years was about $88,000 plus a rider. Mitsubishi aviation approached him about using one of their products for two or three days, no obligation no cost , and they will supply their corporate pilots. Being that the average plane cost about $6000 an hour back 15 years ago, that was a bargain. They brought the plane to Bush Field in Augusta Georgia and I was lucky enough to be with him. This was the Rolls-Royce of private jets, as smooth as glass and silent! It had that new car smell and big overstuffed leather seats with gold trimmed everywhere! The first officer came back and pointed out all of the features and where the food was and where the drinks were and where the ice was, even the microwave for the Surf and turf! As we were flying I counted places where 12 passengers could go! That would mean we wouldn’t have to keep a bus on the road and could bring everybody although the band would absolutely hate it because unfortunately Mr. Brown was not a friendly man most of the time he had his demons and no one could break through. When we got to Cincinnati and the limousine on the way to the venue ask him what he thought about the plane and he told me he didn’t have long on this earth to go and he would have to have a good 10 more years of health and energy before he could commit ! He was dead three years later.
that's a really cool story! that must have been the coolest thing ever for you and James, going from a bus to one of the fastest jets in the sky at the time.
![[HD] Greatest Hollywood Car Chase of All Time - Bullitt (1968)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/FJZ-BHBKyos/mqdefault.jpg)
![[HD] Greatest Hollywood Car Chase of All Time - Bullitt (1968)](/img/tr.png)
from 1965 into 2001, I was in the James Brown band , In 1965 he bought a brand new Learjet 23 serial number 23-048. Production tail number November 805LJ , later N123JB he custom ordered it and I was with him when we went to Wichita Kansas to pick it up. We already had a corporate pilot named Doug Bell who was a former Air Force pilot with plenty of time in jets. When the Learjet PR folks met us at the Wichita airport they told us that Mr. Bell and Mr. Lear were already up in the plane going through several different checks prior to the formal handoff of the documents and logbook. Doug Bell was in charge of everything to do with the plane and he ordered several options that apparently don’t come with a base Learjet. He had all kind of devices to melt the ice and expand in order to crack the ice off at high speeds because it didn’t take much at all to ice up. He got the very latest instrumentation , and the back seat was a three place bench seat but now it folded down and swung sideways to access a porta 🚽 potty. Also a heavy duty landing gear. Mr. Brown post with Mr. Bill Lear and did some kind of ceremonial handoff of a golden key. After that we loaded up and headed for Augusta Georgia. When that plane took off it was like a bottle rocket 🚀 i’ve never felt so much trust in all my life and the sound was ear piercing. Mr. Brown’s manager was Charles Bobbitt and he was congratulating him on this once in a lifetime achievement! There was a Learjet in the paint booth that belong to Frank Sinatra but James Brown was the very first celebrity of any race to own a Learjet. The problem I had was when the landing gear was lowered and I was not warned or prepared. When that landing gear starts to go down the plane buffeted a little bit but the noise was unbearable! I even noticed Mr. Brown had both of his hands griped onto the seat! We wore that Learjet out! That was strictly for him and his management although occasionally an unfortunate band member would have to ride and have Mr. Brown chew on his ass about something. Altogether through the years we had a Learjet 23 , a Learjet 24 , Learjet 55, (his favorite) King air 90 , Rockwell jet commander, Rockwell saber liner. And the last one was a miserable hawker 125! That was a hanger queen if ever there was! We are just so glad he leased it instead of bought it because it was so problematic and one thing in the concert business that you do not need is Undependable transportation. The average concert for us in the last 10 years was about $88,000 plus a rider. Mitsubishi aviation approached him about using one of their products for two or three days, no obligation no cost , and they will supply their corporate pilots. Being that the average plane cost about $6000 an hour back 15 years ago, that was a bargain. They brought the plane to Bush Field in Augusta Georgia and I was lucky enough to be with him. This was the Rolls-Royce of private jets, as smooth as glass and silent! It had that new car smell and big overstuffed leather seats with gold trimmed everywhere! The first officer came back and pointed out all of the features and where the food was and where the drinks were and where the ice was, even the microwave for the Surf and turf! As we were flying I counted places where 12 passengers could go! That would mean we wouldn’t have to keep a bus on the road and could bring everybody although the band would absolutely hate it because unfortunately Mr. Brown was not a friendly man most of the time he had his demons and no one could break through. When we got to Cincinnati and the limousine on the way to the venue ask him what he thought about the plane and he told me he didn’t have long on this earth to go and he would have to have a good 10 more years of health and energy before he could commit ! He was dead three years later.
that's a really cool story! that must have been the coolest thing ever for you and James, going from a bus to one of the fastest jets in the sky at the time.
I searched up your name and found a porn actor who died in 1988. Who are you? Not saying that's not your actual name, but now I'm curious
Enjoyed reading through that snapshot of your experiences. Thank you for taking the time to share.
I will add; "informative story" as well.
We all are here because jt was recommended to us a few years later
Sadly, the production run of the Learjet came to a permanent end in 2022 when the last model rolled off the line in Wichita.
is that a f5??
졸라빠르네.
The piano hinges are pretty dirt!
…y
it works
Oooooo
Great video thanks for posting.
The most important In plane was to create good landing gear and make them airfoil right?
What?
What?
What?
What?
What?