July 24, 2006
Well enough alone
Here it is another day and almost one o the clock. As for writing things today, Having fallen behind in the estimate of time to carry out to done, all my other work, I am now ready to plunge.
I plunge into the ocean of words fishing a few out for the consumption of the masses. Fried in adjectival butter, spiced with interjections and phrasal turns, hopefully not that predictable I speak merely of a fish fry of unexpected connections within the limits of the language. Corporate Jets. What of em these days? Personal business jets, the new generation of ultra fuel efficient very light jet aircraft. What of ‘em, then?
The revolution is in the Gas turbine engine and in the airframe weight reductions made possible by construction techniques like friction welding, and complete carbon fibre structures to yield a power to weight and power to fuel consumption ratio that has never been so good.
The boys and girls selling us this VLJ category are telling us that the VLJ’s they have in their stables are game changers, category smashers, and technology leapers all withstanding the urge to become at the same time budget exploders. Is it true? Shall we see a capped at one million dollar VLJ now, that by one pilot – even a private rated pilot – can fly up to 2500 kms at near sonic speed in comfort and with ease?
Doing so with very “sippy” economics? What if it is the case that purchase price easily rivals the venerable Beach King Air / Cessna Golden Eagle prices? Surely, turbine driving folks will show interest in making the move from propeller-driven, even if only from a wieldy corporate communications point of view, at the VL jet.
Unquestionabally the attractiveness is there for the corporate people for the 7 figure disposable income folks too. For the price of a Farrari Enzo you could be jetting around, Dubai - Heathrow, for example, actually drinking less jet A / per pound than your Enzo’d be drinking 98 octane per kilometer. Not that such comparisons do the average reader here any good. Most of us, writer included have little reason outside of yearning at slick machine sexiness, machismo, and boy with biggest toy, dreams to ever seriously sit down and crunch the budget numbers in any sort of a serious consideration towards a shared lessorship, let alone sole ownership of a little VLJ smooth and subtle beastie with winglets and a hand finish that speaks to the underlying game changing quality driven, weight conscious design and manufacturing process that conforms to the smooth lines of any of the pick one, game changers, category.
Much as I’d like the phrase: “I want one” to produce a miraculous bang and smoke clearing – on my front lawn, suddenly appearing within the wisp, a pearldrop of VLJ perfection, all for me - I know that “I want one” will remain an aviation fanatics dream yet to come true. And that’s just the thing about this crazy sector isn’t it? The more you confess your deep crazy love for for a lovely machine like the Gamechanging VLJ’s the less you seem to be able to afford the insurance on even the brass screws that hold in your redundant flight instruments let alone the dream of wanting one.
