Bill Lear will go down as one of the most incredible inventors of the 20th century. The man who created the car radio, miniature tuning coils for radios, who invented auto-pilot, radio guidance for airplanes, and the basic automatic landing system that is still in refined use today he also invented the 8-track tape, and his biggest accomplishment, The Lear Jet.
There is one area where he failed spectacularly at though. Bending the laws of physics. Later in life Lear became obsessed with steam engines and steam power to end pollution. He designed steam engines, and was planning on running the 1969 Indy 500 with a steam powered race car! It was a spectacular failure lead by a dubious English engineer who’s credentials fell far short of Lear’s. He would go on to create a working steam city bus among other things but the Indy 500 effort was really something.
Rich, eccentric, and seemingly unstoppable, the laws of nature ground Bill Lear to a halt and cost him the majority of the fortune he made in his life. This is the story, some of it in Lear’s own words, of how that happened.
1.25: A Race To Oblivion: The 1927 Dole Air Derby
1.24: The Best Worst Ship Ever - The Story Of The SS Great Eastern
1.23: Operation Snowbound: How American Teamwork Saved Millions of People and Livestock During The Worst Winter Ever
1.22: Knievel vs The Canyon: The Insane and Incredible Story Of The Snake River Canyon Jump
1.21: Henry's Big Screwjob: How The Dodge Brothers and Henry Ford Made Millions While Hating Each Other
1.20: Honest Abe Was A Gearhead: How Abraham Lincoln Became The Only President With A Patent and More!
1.19: Wally vs The World: How Wally Parks Shocked America And Gained Control of Drag Racing In 1958
1.18: A Miraculous Disaster - In 1949 The Holland Tunnel Burned At 4,000-Degrees And No One Died
1.17: How To Mow Down A Forest Like Grass: The Brutal Genius Of Operation Highball In 1950
1.16: The Forgotten Disaster - How America's Worst Maritime Nightmare Happened In 1865 And Who It Happened To
1.15: The Killer Plane and The American Hero That Tamed It - Jimmy Doolittle and the 300mph Gee Bee R1
1.14: The 576mph Backyard Hot Rodder - Art Arfons Was America's Fastest Do It All Bad Ass
1.13: Hellfighter The Story Of The Mack Super Pumper A Firetruck Mighty Enough To Extinguish Hell Itself
1.12: The Race To Death: The 1903 Paris to Madrid Contest Was The Worst Race Ever Held
1.11 Don't Judge A Failure By It's Cover: The Insane Story Of The Vulcan Shuttle
1.10: International Incident- How American Indy Cars Destroyed Formula One Cars Heads Up At Monza In 1957 and 1958
1.9: The Wrong Guys With The Wrong Car: How Two Drag Racers Set The Closed Course Speed Record At Daytona In 1961
1.8: They Partied Like Hell - The Story Of Wreckage, Debauchery, and A Burning Bus At The 1974 US Grand Prix
1.7 The Final Dinosaur: The Story Of The Last Front Engine Dragster To Win An NHRA Top Fuel Wally
1.6: The Most Insane Speed Parts Company In History - Turbonique! Thrust, Danger, and Federal Prison Sentences
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