Enough of the sainted Barack Obama starring in “The Fall of the House of Clinton.” Enough of the end of the Romney campaign. Or is it the mean-spirited John McCain and his Straight Snark Express.
Let’s talk about guy stuff, like a new $80 million business jet that’s designed to carry 12 important executives at Mach 1.6 non-stop for up to 4,600 miles.
Of course, it is nothing to do with prestige and getting there before the ordinary hoi polloi in their airborne Greyhound buses. As Ben Webster reports, it has nothing to do with that. At least that is what the chaps at Aerion say.
“There is a saying that you can tell the men from the boys by the price of their toys,” said Brian Barents, Aerion’s vice-chairman and a former supersonic fighter pilot for the US Air Force. “But while prestige is a factor, this is primarily a timesaving tool to make executives more productive.”
Yes. Of course, no ego stuff here, merely hard-working executives trying to be more productive!
To get a flavor of the design, you should go to Aerion’s website. But think about this. First of all, this 12-seat plane will have Pratt and Whitney JT8D engines. That’s the turbofan that powers the twin-jet100-seat MD-80! Got enough power, chaps?
| Length | 148 ft |
| Width | 62 ft |
| Max Speed | Mach 1.6 |
| Max Takeoff Weight | 90,000 lbs |
| Max Fuel Weight | 45,400 lbs |
Imagine that! The plane is half the length of a football field. Half of the takeoff weight will be fuel. Well, when you strap on a couple of 20,000 lb thrust engines, what do you expect?
How soon will it be when everyone who is someone will have to have one of these?
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