airplane

Piaggio Aero P180 Avanti II

Filed under: Wings

I've bandied about the term "Ferrari for the skies" before but this is the real deal. Italian company, Piaggio Aero is owned by the Ferrari family and the the Maranello racing team has been flying the Avanti since 2000. The Avanti is also the preferred choice of President Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, general manager Jean Todt and world champion Formula One driver Michael Shumacher.

The P180 Avanti II is the world's fastest turboprop business aircraft. It has a midsize cabin that can hold nine people and is over 6 feet wide and 5 feet 9 inches tall. The plane also uses fuel efficiencies that are nearly 40% less than most business jets and 25% less than the most efficient twin turboprops. The plane sells for around $6.195 million. Check out the interior after the jump.

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Tags: airplane, airport, avanti ii, business plane, ferrari, piaggio, plane, turboprop, wings

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Fighter Jet Sold on eBay

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Wings, Auctions

A Chinese businessman, Zhang Cheng, bought a Soviet-made MiG-21f fighter jet fighter jet on eBay. He paid $25,000 to the seller, located in the US, though it is not yet clear if he will even be able to import the plane into Beijing, let alone what it will cost. The plane is in excellent condition and, according to the seller, was last flown in 1995. Cheng plans to use it to decorate his office, stating that "I have the buying power and my company has an empty space where I can display the plane."

Clearly, Cheng has a very large office, but I still want to know how he intends to get it inside.

[Image Cavanaugh Flight Museum]

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Tags: airplane, auction, businessman, china, decoration, ebay, fighter jet, flight, jet, plane, soviet, war

747 Home in Malibu

by Trey Evans (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Wings

I like planes just as much as the next guy, but I'd never want to live in one. Not even my father, a pilot, would want to spend that much time in a plane. Granted, the parts are being integrated into a house, it's not like this homeowner will actually live in the plane, but hey, whatever. What appears to be an update on a story we covered back in November, AFP is reporting that a Malibu land owner purchased a 747 from an airplane graveyard and is moving it to his 55 acre plot in Cali. The cockpit will be a meditation room, the main house will utilize the wings for what looks like an awning, and the plane's first-class upstairs lounge will be a loft. The picture doesn't provide much detail, but it seems interesting none-the-less.

Tags: 747, airplane, home

Design Q Airbus A319 Interior

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

I never tire of checking out what a whole lot of money does to a private jet. This latest one is from Design Q, an English design consultancy who has created a VIP interior for an Airbus A319 for a couple identified as family-conscious power couple in their thirties who travel as a family (PSFK thinks this sounds like the Beckhams and I have to agree). In designing for the individual client, Design Q creates a ‘Personality Map’ of the client's activities, styles and preferences. The result was an interior that integrates three basic needs: work, reset and play. There is an open-plan living area, lounger-style seating with a large projection screen, a bar and a central island which holds drinks and glasses. The upper cabin wall have ambient lighting. A small room in the back allows sleeping space and there is a meeting space for business. In the rear section there are seats for the entourage. This jet interior like the BMW one we covered last week will be on display at the Aircraft Interiors EXPO in Hamburg.

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Tags: airbus, airplane, airport, lufthansa, private jet, private plane

Jet Set Fractions

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

A new fractional jet ownership company is coming to Canada. JetSet Inc. will launch their program of Very Light Jet (VLJ) ownership, JetSet Fractions, at the Canadian International AutoShow. The program will use the MS760x, a four-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft which will be on display at the AutoShow. A total of 20 aircraft have been ordered for Canada and the U.S. and initial deliveries are scheduled for next month. Fractional shares are selling for US$60,000.

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Tags: airplane, fractional, very light jet, VeryLightJet, vlj

Global Flyer's Next Flight Confirmed

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

The GlobalFlyer is set to go again on the new mission to set a record for the longest non-stop flight of an airplane. The plane should take off from Kennedy Space Center tomorrow morning. The GlobalFlyer team has been given a code green status meaning weather conditions are expected to be good to go. The flight should launch tomorrow morning at 6:42 am. I wonder if Branson is lending Steve Fossett his Breitling for this flight too.

[via Aero-News Network]

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Tags: airplane, longest flight, LongestFlight, plane, richard branson, steve fossett, virgin, world record, world's record

FK 9 Mark IV Lightplanes

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

This latest LSA (light sport aircraft) is the FK 9 Mark IV from the German company FK Lightplanes. They are now selling the planes in the US through a Florida company. The current FK 9 is the fourth generation and has a more spacious cockpit and new flaps. The plane recently won approval as a Special LSA and there are plans to introduce the German company's other planes the folding bi-wing FK12 Comet and the low-wing FK14 Polaris. The FK9 is a two-seater that has a base price of $75,000.

[via General Aviation News]

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Tags: airplane, flight, lightplane, lsa, plane

Could A Blimp Be The Future Of Flight?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

This strange object is the Dynalifter. Aero-News Network reports on the airship that is part blimp, part ultralight plane. The 120-foot Dynalifter prototype has a nylon cover over a patented interior structure and carries 16,500 cubic feet of helium and is powered by two small ultralight engines.The entrepreneurs working on the aircraft plan to develop a 990-foot freighter which could be used for freight hauling and could have defense and emergency applications. The company says that smaller Dynalifters could also work for personal flight because the craft is easy to operate and affordable. The craft still has many tests to go and is in the experimental stage.

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Tags: airplane, blimp, dynalifter, flight

Luxist Crystal Ball: Wings 2006

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

It's been an exciting year for aviation and 2006 looks to be a break-out year. The aviation market seems to be moving in two opposite directions. First of all there are the megaplanes, led by the behemoth doubledecker Airbus A380 and the Boeing 777. These larger planes lead to the need for increased runway size. In fact several airports have had to lengthen runways in order to accommodate the A380. And while they are making the runways larger they are also making the airports more luxurious as well, adding additional features like better restaurants, spas, luxury shopping and lounges worthy of wiling away a few hours.

On the flip side are the little planes: the Eclipse, the Mustang, the Adam A700, and the Javelin are just some of the planes we have been tracking and which should end up taking to the skies in large numbers in 2006. Because many of these planes are geared for short distances we could see a rise in air taxi services and private ownership. There has already been an increase in private plane clubs. Fractional ownership, which we noticed was big last year, has increased even more and we have also seen the rise of fractional clubs for those who are interested in being pilots instead of passengers (a trend born out by celebrities likeAngelina Jolie taking to the skies). All this small jet activity has also led to the rise of more and more private airports, posh private hangars with amenities that resemble boutique hotels and even homes which are designed so that you can park your plane in the driveway.

What's in the future? As we've seen by the latest moves from Richard Branson and Virgin Galatic space flight is definitely on tap for the next few years. "Space tourism" is currently still pricey but it is expected that the prices will fall eventually. And with the creation of the Rocket Racing League, we may well have NASCAR in the skies. But what I am really excited about for next year is the VTOL, that is the Vertical Take Off and Landing vehicles. The most-talked about is the Moller Skycar which made the pages of the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book this season but there are other vehicles such as the Bell/Augusta "impossicopter" and the Carter Copter that offer the advantages of a plane and a helicopter. And NASA is still offering that $250,000 prize for a flying car. Could this be the year of the flying car? Let me know your predictions for 2006 in the skies.

Tags: airplane, airport, eclipse, fractional ownership, nasa, private planes, sky car, space, trends, vtol, wings

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