Business Jet Traveler » August 2008

Learjet 60
August 4, 2008
When it comes to pure climbing power, the Learjet 60 is hard to beat. This airplane doesn't just take off-it blasts off.
Gordon "Butch" Stewart
August 1, 2008
-Sandals Resorts owner Gordon "Butch" Stewart, in his Center Stage interview.
Hawker Beechcraft Delivers First Hawker 4000
August 1, 2008
In June, Hawker Beechcraft officially delivered its first Hawker 4000, the super-midsize flagship of its business aircraft fleet, to private owners. A ceremonial delivery to another customer occurred in 2006 but the airplane, then still not fully certified, was a leaseback demonstrator and the buyer never took possession.
Bailing Out
August 1, 2008
It dawned on me this morning that though I'm a used-aircraft broker, I have $90 million worth of offers on my desk for new jets-two aircraft that haven't even been built yet. So why are these transactions my business? Because when holders of new-aircraft positions look to resell them, they turn to used-aircraft brokers, not the jets' manufacturers, to orchestrate the deals.
FAA Emergency Directive Targets Eclipse 500
August 1, 2008
During an encounter with wind shear at Chicago Midway Airport on June 5, the pilot of an Eclipse 500 pushed the thrust levers (throttles) forward with enough force to cause a software error that locked both engines at full power. Unable to slow the airplane for landing, the pilot elected to shut down one engine for the subsequent landing attempt.
ExcelAire's Long Island Terminal Gets TSA Approval
August 1, 2008
ExcelAire's new private jet terminal at Long Island [N.Y.] MacArthur Airport has received TSA approval as a gateway for travel to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Facilities at 20 other airports also have such approval. The authorization for ExcelAire came after it passed TSA security checks and implemented special security procedures.
Porsche 911 Turbo
August 1, 2008
In the car’s tail sits a 480-hp liquid-cooled 3.6-liter flat six embodying mo
Aircraft and car builders over the years have mined the alphabet and assayed certain letters as precious metal-GT, R, S, X and Z come to mind-but one five-letter word still stands alone as the medal for power in a pint-size package. Turbo.
The 500's Smaller Sibling
August 1, 2008
Last summer, Eclipse shocked aviation watchers by displaying a single-engine variant of its Model 500 twinjet VLJ. The Eclipse "concept jet," or ECJ, featured seating for four (including the pilot) and borrowed key elements from the 500, including the nose, wing, avionics and engine.
Jet Aviation and Elite Jets Expand in Middle East
August 1, 2008
Swiss-based Jet Aviation and Dubai-based charter operator Elite Jets have formed a partnership to provide aircraft management and charter services in the Middle East. Elite Jets will provide regional charter services to Jet Aviation customers in the Middle East, while Jet Aviation will offer line and unscheduled maintenance services to Elite's fleet of business aircraft.
Salt Lake City
August 1, 2008
Salt Lake City, well known for its founding by Mormon pioneers in 1847 and as the home of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, gained the nickname "Crossroads of the West" after the "Golden Spike" symbolically completed the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, just north of the Great Salt Lake.

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Quote/Unquote

“[New billionaires in fast-growing countries] have to buy longer-range airplanes. If you’re flying from Mongolia to Nigeria, it’s either a three-day journey flying commercial or a nine-hour flight on your jet.”

-Steve Varsano, owner of London’s The Jet Business