aviation

Flexjet Partners with Abercrombie & Kent

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Wings

Luxury travel enthusiasts will be pleased to hear about a new partnership between adventure travel company Abercrombie & Kent and jet share leader Flexjet. Flexjet customers will now have complimentary access to Abercrombie & Kent's travel experts to plan dream vacations, and Abercrombie & Kent's travelers will receive generous benefits when purchasing Flexjet options. Marco Polo Club members, Abercrombie & Kent's most frequent travelers, will receive benefits on Flexjet fractional purchases or jet cards, while Flexjet fractional customers will be treated to a three-year Marco Polo Club membership and customized itineraries to coincide with the use of their private jet.

"We continue to seek and pioneer new ways of exploring the globe and admire this same ambition in Flexjet," said Geoffrey Kent, Founder and Executive Chairman, Abercrombie & Kent. "We're pleased to be forging this relationship with a top aviation solutions provider that is also known for setting industry standards and look forward to introducing its customers to some of our favorite hidden corners of the world." Born as a safari outfitter in 1962, Abercrombie & Kent's unparalleled travel services now extend around the globe to more than 100 countries on all seven continents, bringing unexpected comforts and amenities to remote destinations.

Gallery: Flexjet x Abercrombie & Kent

Tags: Abercrombie Kent, Abercrombie and Kent, aviation, luxury travel, private jet, private plane, safari

Sikorsky X2 Helicopter Sets World Speed Record

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Gadgets, Wings

Sikorsky has just revolutionized the world of aviation with their amazing X2 prototype (above), officially the world's fastest helicopter after clocking over 250 knots (287.69 mph) on a test run, setting a new world speed record in the process. The X2, which uses a pair of coaxial rotor systems rather than the single rotor found on most choppers, easily beat the current world record of 216.46 knots (249.1 mph) set by the British-built Westland Lynx ZB-500 in 1986. The X2 is roughly twice as fast as Sikorsky's famed Blackhawk, and its tail rotor faces backward like the propeller on a boat in order to provide thrust. Even with its unusual design the X2, which features fly-by-wire controls, can maintain superlative low speed handling, efficient hovering, autorotation safety, and a seamless and simple transition to high speed. It will likely be several more years before the aircraft is ready to go into production at a cost of several million dollars however.

[via JamesList]

Tags: aviation, helicopter, helicopters, Sikorsky, world record

New Bombardiers Will Be World's Most Expensive Business Jets

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings, Wealth

Canadian aviation company Bombardier is aiming to displace Gulfstream as the world's most expensive business jet with the introduction of two new models. The Global 7000 and 8000, which will cost about $65 million apiece, will beat the high-speed range of the $58.5 million Gulfstream G650. Both new private jets will have a high-speed cruise of Mach 0.90; the 7000 will have a range of 7,300 nmi at Mach 0.85, while the 8000's range will top out at 7,900 nmi at Mach 0.85. Both will borrow elements from the existing Global Express XRS and 5000.

New wings, new tech and luxe amenities added to increased fuel efficiency will be the hallmarks of the new craft, aimed to appeal to ultra-wealthy customers in India, Asia and the UAE. The 7000 will have the largest cabin in business aviation while the 8,000 will boast the longest range. The 7000 will be able to fly from London to Singapore, New York to Dubai or Beijing to Washington non-stop with 10 passengers, while the 8000 can do Sydney to Los Angeles, Hong Kong to New York and Mumbai to New York non-stop with eight. Unfortunately the first one won't be ready for delivery until 2016.

Tags: aviation, Bombardier, Gulfstream, jet, most expensive, private jet, worlds most expensive

The Classicist: UK's Elite Meet & Greet at High Net Worth Event

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Wings, Events, Charity, Men's Style, The Classicist, Wealth, Architecture & Design

Some of the UK's wealthiest citizens met up recently at Cotswold Airport in the heart of bucolic Gloucestershire to rub elbows while eyeballing the latest in supercars and private jets. The ultra-exclusive Elite 2010 event was organized by Aeronautics Ltd. and the Fine English Company, dedicated to the best in bespoke British luxury. 200 high net worth VIPs were in attendance at the occasion hosted by British Royal Air Force Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy. The event benefited Fly2Help, a charity dedicated to helping those who have suffered disaster, difficulty or tragedy by allowing them to experience the fun and love of flying. We got an inside look at the proceedings thanks to Fine English Co. founder Benedict Wormald.

Aeronautics Ltd. are the UK Sales Representative for Hawker Beechcraft and specialize in the sales, acquisition, management and charter brokerage of private jets. Other participating organizations at Elite 2010 included Aston Martin Racing, the famed British marque's motorsports division; Coutts, the legendary private bankers to the Queen of England and the British Royal Family as well as famed figures from the Duke of Wellington, Charles Dickens and Lord Nelson to The Beatles; Von Essen Hotels, the private collection of individual country house hotels in the UK and France which includes the famous Cliveden, once home to an Earl, two Dukes, a Prince of Wales and the Viscounts Astor; London's The Nth Degree Club Concierge, whose services include event management, private dining, exclusive chef's tables at top London restaurants and personal shopping; PremiAir Aviation; and Affinity Marketing Group.

Gallery: Elite 2010 UK

Tags: Aston Martin, aviation, Benedict Wormald, bespoke, BMW, British Royal Family, charity, Cliveden, England, events, Ferrari 458 Italia, Fine English Company, Fly2Help, furniture, Gloucestershire, Hawker Beechcraft, helicopter, London, Porsche, private jets, Queen of England, Spitfire, UK, Von Essen Hotels, wealth

Continue reading “The Classicist: UK's Elite Meet & Greet at High Net Worth Event”

Concorde Jet Undergoing $22 Million Recommission

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

Progress is a funny thing. Mankind had been racing past aviation milestones for generations. But it seemed like everything came to a sobering halt when the Concorde crashed in Paris ten years ago, killing 113 people and putting the brakes on supersonic commercial aviation. The trial over the incident is only now wrapping up in Paris, but the Concorde may not be grounded forever.

Mirroring the two national airlines that operated the Concorde for years – British Airways and Air France – a $22 million collaboration between Britain's Save Concorde Group (SCG) and France's Olympus 593 has been hard at work to get the supersonic jetliner back in the air. The joint team of engineers is now preparing for initial tests on the Rolls-Royce engines that could lead to the Concorde being cleared for flight once again. The target is to have the jet fly over the opening ceremonies for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

But before you go rearranging your next vacation around the shorter transatlantic flight times the Concorde once afforded to those who could afford it, bear in mind that the goal is to have it operational in a "heritage capacity", indicating that while it may fly for demonstration purposes, it likely will never return to commercial aviation.

[Source: BBC News via Switched]

Source

Tags: aviation, concorde, jet, london, olympus 593, PlanesTrainsAndAutomobiles, save concorde group

Mercedes-Benz Helicopter Unveiled in Geneva

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Wings

A special edition EC145 Mercedes-Benz Style helicopter designed by Mercedes and Eurocopter was just unveiled at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition 2010 in Geneva. The luxurious EC145 is equipped with comfortable seats made of exclusive materials coupled with sumptuous wood fittings for the floors and ceiling. The project, conceived by the Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Studio in Como, Italy, is the only helicopter in its class that can seat up to eight passengers. For the cabin layout, Mercedes-Benz opted for a modular approach inspired by its new R-Class crossover. All seats are mounted on rails and can be quickly and easily reconfigured or removed to make room for luggage including golf bags and bicycles (also designed by Mercedes, of course). There are also three multi-function boxes with features such as a cooler, cup holder, table, 15-inch monitor and DVD player. Time to trade in that Hermes helicopter, perhaps?

Gallery: Mercedes-Benz Helicopter

Tags: aviation, Eurocopter, Geneva, helicopter, Mercedes, Mercedes-Benz, private aviation

Rise In Chinese Travel Lifts Aviation Market

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Wings

For years North America has dominated the world aviation market but recent figures show that Asia Pacific is now the world's largest passenger market in aviation. New figures from the International Air Transport Association show that while North America flew 638 million passengers in North America, the Asia Pacific market flew 647 million. As you might suspect much of that growth has come from China which is now the region's largest domestic market flying 1,400 aircraft. It is expected that this trend will continue as more people in the region take to the skies.

In a related story, a recent AFP report showed that more and more Chinese people are using online travel services to book holidays. Revenue from online flight, hotel and package tour bookings are up 27 percent from last year and climbing as China's expanding middle class becomes more interested in travel and are becoming more accustomed to online purchases and using credit cards.

Tags: asia, aviation, china, travel

Obama's Vacation Bad News For Small Planes In Hawaii

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

President Obama's first vacation in Hawaii as President may be good news for Hawaii's struggling tourism industry but according to Aero-News Network it's a big headache for those operating small planes in the area. A Presidential Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) in place for most of Oahu will restrict most of the general aviation in the area during the Christmas holidays. The TFR does not affect regularly scheduled commercial passenger and all-cargo carriers operating under TSA-approved standard security programs and procedures. Flights that can't take place include training flights, practice instrument approaches, aerobatic flight, glider operations, parachute operations, ultralight, hang gliding, balloon operations, agriculture/crop dusting, animal population control flight operations, banner towing operations, sightseeing operations, model aircraft operations, model rocketry, and unmanned aircraft systems.

Pilots and aircraft operators in the area are said to be outraged by the restrictions. The restrictions are based on the ones used to protect President Bush while at his Crawford, Texas ranch but the area being covered is much different. Many pilots feel that their having their wings clipped because of a Presidential vacation is unfair. In the article a seaplane tour operator said that he was forced to but his business on hold for two weeks because of the TFR. For small businesses taking off these two busy weeks surrounding Christmas can be devastating.

Source

Tags: aviation, hawaii, oahu, obama, travel

Flexjet Nabs Honors in Robb Report

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Fractional jet firm Flexjet picked up props from the Robb Report in its 21st "Best of the Best" issue last month. A great way to keep the prolies away when you travel, this Bombardier-backed company offers "debit cards" for private jet access, so you can buy what you need rather than take on the hefty burden of maintaining your own bird. Both the Flexjet 25 Jet Card and Bombardier Skyjet program got nods from the magazine beloved by the world's wealthy.

Fred Reid, President of Flexjet and Skyjet, was obviously psyched about the results, saying, "By offering a full range of award-winning aviation solutions – from whole aircraft management through our Flexjet One program to fractional jet ownership, jet cards and charter – we are uniquely positioned to help companies and individuals best meet their changing needs."

A few new programs have been announced to give jetsetters more options. The revamped ""Walk Away Lease" program comes with a lot of the perks of fractional ownership ... but you can ditch it with only 90 days notice. And, roundtrip travel comes with a 15 percent discount.

The Flexjet 25 Jet Card is available in 25-, 30- and 35-hour increments and allows card-owners to choose how many days they want access: 275, 325, 355 or 365.

Tags: aviation, fractional jet seat ownership, fractional ownership, FractionalJetSeatOwnership, FractionalOwnership, private jet, PrivateJet

The New $8 Million Emivest SJ30 Jet

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

Emivest Aerospace is now taking orders for the SJ30 (above), billed the world's fastest, longest range and highest flying light jet. The $8 million SJ30 recently set a new world speed record from London to Dubai, doing the trip in just 7hr 7 min including a fuel stop in Istanbul. Emivest was founded late last year when the Emirates Investment and Development Company acquired an 80% interest in US-based Sino Swearingen Aircraft Corporation, named for aviation pioneer Ed Swearingen. The luxurious single-pilot certified six-seater can retain sea level cabin pressure at 41,000 ft., reducing jet lag, and can fly more than 2,800 miles nonstop at speeds of up to 630 mph.

Tags: aviation, Emivest, Emivest Aerospace, EmivestAerospace, jet, private jet, PrivateJet, UAE

Dubai's Latest Project Underway: $82 Billion Aerospace Center

by Tracy Chait (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Wings, Real Estate Developments

It's hard, these days, to read or hear a sentence about Dubai that doesn't end with a staggering financial figure, usually in the many billions or at least the hundreds of millions. Sheikh Al Mahtoum's vision of Dubai's world-class aerospace center is no different, and investors the world over are trying to get in on the action since its announcement this summer that the project was now well underway.

25 miles outside of Dubai, the land on which contractors from the UAE and Europe have begun construction was slated for development 30 years ago (the equivalent of a century or two in any other developed country). The project adds up to $82 billion in cutting edge technology, aircraft, surrounding residential areas and training options.

At the heart of the plan is the $10 billion Al Maktoum International Airport, which would be twice as big as London's Heathrow and Chicago's sprawling O'Hare airports combined, or roughly double the size of Hong Kong.

Source

Tags: air travel, AirTravel, al maktoum international airport, AlMaktoumInternationalAirport, aviation, dubai, jetsetters, sheikh al maktoum, SheikhAlMaktoum

Eclipse Jets Go To Russia

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

More proof of Russia's economic power: the Eclipse 500 Very Light Jet will soon be made in Russia. The Eclipse is the first foreign jet aircraft to be made in Russia. Production will start next year in Ulyanovsk, the hometown of Lenin. Dutch investment company Etirc Aviation, Eclipse Aviation and the Russian Aviastar aircraft complex have laid the foundations for the new assembly plant. Russia's growing crop of millionaires will be able to pick up the plane for $1.5 million. Etirc Aviation has announced that they plan to produce up to 500 jets a year.

Source

Tags: aviation, eclise, jet, very light jet, vlj

Buy Your Eclipse 500 Jet On eBay

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings, Auctions

If you've been itching to get your hands on your own Eclipse 500 private jet, today is your lucky day. That's right, Eclipse is listing on of their first Eclipse 500 private jets up for auction on eBay starting today. The list price is $1,719.942.60 and the reserve will be $1,633.945.47. Your money gets you serial # 000038 of the new very light jet. And the company just started making deliveries of the six-passenger jet last December so you will likely be the first on your block to have one. To claim your prize you have to pick up the plane at the Eclipse plant in Albuquerque, New Mexico and the winning bidder also receives participation in Eclipse's Type Rating Training program for one person. The auction ends on August 10.

[via Technobabble]

Source

Tags: auction, aviation, ebay, eclipse, plane, private jet

Eclipse Concept Jet

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

The latest plane from Eclipse Aviation is the Eclipse Concept Jet, a a single-engine four-place aircraft. The concept plane represents Eclipse's vision of what a single engine VLJ should be. It's not for sale and is being used for market research.

Aero News Network was there for the first flight of the plane, a 70 minute trip on July 2, and has photos and videos of the experience. The plane was built in just over 200 days. The goal is to have the the plane hit goals of 345 knots, 41,000 feet and a range in excess of 1250 nautical miles. No word yet on when or if the concept will go into production.

Source

Tags: aviation, eclispse, plane, single engine plane, very light jet

Chandelle Winery Celebrates Lindbergh

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine, Wings

Giving a new meaning to the words wine flight, the Chandelle Winery specializes in wines with aviation art. The Sonoma winery takes its name from an aviation term used to describe a 180-degree change in direction and an increase in altitude. To celebrate the 80th anniversary of Charles Lindbergh's New York-to-Paris flight, the winery is offering a special limited edition labeled wine called The 19th Hour, The Spirit of St Louis. The 2004 Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon and 2005 Chardonnay Sonoma County wines have a label created by aviation artist Keith Ferris as well as a special 80th anniversary medallion. A portion of the sales will go to the Lindbergh Foundation, which supports technological solutions to improve the environment for a sustainable future. A three bottle box of two 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon and one 2005 Chardonnay Spirit of St Louis 80th Anniversary Edition sells for $70.

[via General Aviation News]

Tags: aviation, california wine, chandelle, lindberg, sonoma, wine, winery

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