Business Jet Traveler

Dan Schwinn
June 27, 2012
Dan Schwinn
After launching a successful high-tech startup–communication equipment manufacturer Shiva Corporation–Dan Schwinn turned his talents to fixing a glaring problem with the utility of small general aviation airplanes. The instrumentation available in the early 1990s on the typical single-engine aircraft was needlessly complicated, Schwinn felt. What aviation needed was a much simpler interface between the airplane and the pilot–something that presents information in a clear, easy-to-interpret manner and that promotes safety, rather than detracting from it.
Stepping Up to Full Ownership
June 26, 2012
Preowned aircraft prices and financing costs remain at historically low levels, and business jet manufacturers continue to offer incentives to boost sales. That’s changing the access equation for private fliers, leading some to forgo charter, jet cards or fractional shares in favor of buying an aircraft outright. 
Where the ‘Unsinkable’ Titanic Sank
May 3, 2012
Where the ‘Unsinkable’ Titanic Sank
Looking for something unusual to do this summer? How about exploring the remains of the Titanic from an Mir submersible vehicle at 12,500 feet below sea level? Fifteen-day excursions will begin July 12, July 27 and August 6 and will include lectures and a ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking.
Large-cabin jets at turboprop prices
April 30, 2012
Large-cabin jets at turboprop prices
In the upper Midwest, where I live, regional airlines are pulling out of small-airport markets just as fast as the Department of Transportation will allow. In the era of $100-a-barrel oil, not even government subsidies can make some of these routes profitable. Flying regional jets (RJs) on these short hauls, often at low, fuel-guzzling altitudes, just makes the bad economics worse.
The Golf Club at Briar's Creek
April 26, 2012
The Golf Club at Briar's Creek
A languid, expansive quality pervades South Carolina Lowcountry marsh and it’s on display at the Golf Club at Briar’s Creek. The 900-acre property sits in the middle of classic Intracoastal wetlands, 18 miles southwest of downtown Charleston.
Flying on borrowed time
April 23, 2012
Flying on borrowed time
Perhaps you have access to a private jet through an owner you know. It seems like a great deal: the aircraft is available almost any time, you fly with the same crew the owner uses and you pay considerably less than standard charter rates.
Up Front: April 2012
April 20, 2012
It would not be a stretch to call this our innovation and imagination issue, but the more I think it over, the more I feel it is our tenacity issue.
Why ‘NextGen’ matters
April 20, 2012
Why ‘NextGen’ matters
The congressional logjam blocking long-term FAA funding in the U.S. appears to be broken. Perhaps the FAA can finally move ahead with the much-heralded “next generation” air-traffic-control program known as NextGen.
The perfect airplane
April 20, 2012
The perfect airplane
Like other lawsuits, most of the ones involving business jets are settled out of court. Every once in a while, though, a corporate jet case will not only reach a judge but produce a decision that shines a spotlight into some dark corner of business aviation. One such case is JDI Holdings, LLC v. Jet Management, Inc., et al., 732 F. Supp.
Bombardier's Learjet 85
April 19, 2012
Bombardier's Learjet 85
This year, Bombardier will launch one of the most ambitious flight-test programs in business aviation history. The Learjet 85 is scheduled to enter service next year and as many as five conforming aircraft could make their first flights in the coming months.

Pages

 

Quote/Unquote

“When you get into the larger aircraft it becomes like a hotel, with dozens of staff supporting the plane based in a galley area down below. You have very comprehensive cooking facilities, and on larger aircraft we have looked at theatres, with spiral staircases and a Steinway grand piano. The limitations for what you can put inside a plane are pretty much the limits of physics, and even money cannot always overcome that. Even so, people are still always trying to push [the limits]. ”

-Howard Guy of Design Q, a UK-based consultancy