Business Jet Traveler » February 2011

Terry Vance
February 1, 2011
Terry Vance said he simply couldn’t take care of business if he had to rely o
"Screw it, let's ride" was the ­position Harley-Davidson took when the economy tanked. So said ex-motorcycle drag racer and ­business jet owner Terry Vance, who thinks the cure for general aviation lethargy could be a page out of the motorcycle company's marketing playbook.
Helio Castroneves
February 1, 2011
"You want to make sure with a race in which you'll be flying home with other drivers that you don't crash into them. It's happened before, and it can make for a little bit of a tense situation." -Racecar driver Helio Castroneves
NASCAR teams owner calls bizav "a major tool of our business"
February 1, 2011
Richard Childress
For Richard Childress Racing (RCR), nearly every weekend from February through November is an "away game." While RCR's nascar teams may be tethered to their North Carolina headquarters, every few days they fly off to diverse points across the U.S.-and not via the airlines.
The new rules of business aircraft financing
February 1, 2011
Supposed stimulants for asset purchases based on tax breaks often have little
The good news about business aircraft financing today is that the money is back. One of the first consequences of the 2008 Wall Street meltdown was that capital disappeared faster than free beer. Many aircraft lenders still proclaimed that they were "ready to do deals," but often they lacked the financial horsepower to deliver on that promise.
Flying mini-mansions
February 1, 2011
An Airbus A380 proposal for a lounge by Edése Doret reflects the Middle Easte
The next generation of widebody business jets is coming, and not a moment too soon. The cabins in the current fleet-once outfitted with the latest technology and considered luxurious-are really starting to show their age.
How flight simulators enhance safety
February 1, 2011
When an emergency happens, crews who have trained with full-motion simulators
Business aviation pilots must be ready for everything from bad weather to air-traffic-control problems to the failure of onboard computers. But training in an airplane to handle such situations can be both expensive and dangerous-hence the need for flight simulators. 
Bombardier's Global Express
February 1, 2011
The Global hit the market as the fastest and most comfortable long-range busi
The uber jet's rarefied air was new territory for Bombardier when it announced the long-range, large-cabin Global Express in 1991. Bombardier's challenge to Gulfstream's dominance of the market for large corporate jets was fraught with perils that would show up on early-production aircraft nearly 10 years later.
Is the fractional business model broken?
February 1, 2011
“Fractional is slightly more than 50 percent of our business,” said Citationa
Not long ago, the idea of selling fractional shares in business jets looked like a winner. Industry pioneer NetJets-which Warren Buffett had acquired for Berkshire Hathaway in 1998-appeared prosperous, and so did the several other companies that had formed to take advantage of the business model.
Hawker Beechcraft's King Air 250
February 1, 2011
While the King Air 250’s performance is impressive, you can enhance it even f
Hawker Beechcraft took the wraps off its latest 200 series King Air last October. Deliveries of the King Air 250 turboprop will begin later this year.
Hunting the bird of the South in old Florida
February 1, 2011
Bam! i pulled the trigger while peering down the barrels at a rocketing blur
The English setter froze, its lithe feathery white tail high in the air. "Move ahead to the right," directed Bill Thacker, who was decked out in fluorescent orange with various whistles and training devices draped from his belt. As I walked briskly with my 20-gauge Beretta over-under shotgun held aloft from my chest, fingering the safety, I could hear faint rustling and chirping.

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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