During the early 1960s, American businessman and inventor Bill Lear successfully launched the Learjet 23, one of the first light business jets. Several other manufacturers paid heed to this newly-found niche in the global aircraft market, one of these being the German aircraft manufacturer Hamburger Flugzeugbau. At this time, the company was reportedly keen to reassert its authority as a design agency and looking for a suitable commercially viable project in light of limited funding available from the West German government. Having identified the development of its own business jet as a suitable venture, Hamburger Flugzeugbau tasked its design team with producing an innovative small jet aircraft of its own.
