FLIGHT OPTIONS' $1 BILLION EMBRAER PHENOM ORDER
Flight Options LLC was purchased on Nov. 30 by private equity firm H.I.G. Capital, and it placed on that day a firm order worth close to $1 billion for 100 Embraer Phenom 300 jets plus options for 50 more. The company currently operates 140 aircraft including the Hawker 400XP, Hawker 850XP, Citation X and Embraer Legacy. The new aircraft would be delivered over the next decade with first delivery currently scheduled for late 2009. Speaking for H.I.G., managing director Doug Berman said Flight Options staff "have engineered a remarkable success story over the past several years and we're committed to providing the resources that will ensure continued growth for the company." Speaking for Embraer, Frederico Fleury-Curado, the company's president and CEO, said "We've developed an ideal jet for the next generation of private jet travel, and we're gratified we have the ideal business partner bringing the first order to market." More...

L.J. AVIATION'S CHARTER CERT. FOR CESSNA CITATION MUSTANG
The first charter certificate for Cessna's Citation Mustang has been issued to L.J. Aviation of Latrobe, Pa.. L.J. offers both domestic and international charter services, currently available through a 28-aircraft fleet of which 11 are Citations. The Mustang will serve to expand L.J.'s offerings, extending charter possibilities to a lower price point in the market. (Take an insider's tour of the Mustang through our video, here.) "The addition of the Citation Mustang and its low operating cost will allow L.J. Aviation to provide the comfort and flexibility of charter flight to customers who have previously been unable to afford it," L.J. Aviation's President and CEO Ed Kilkeary told the Pittsburgh Business Times. Cessna claim its jet as the first among "very light jet" entrants to achieve full certification from both the FAA and EASA. Full certification could prove useful with operators expecting to provide service across broad swaths of geography through the winter months. The roughly $2.4 million Citation Mustang can cruise at up to 340 knots and up to 41,000 feet while offering an NBAA IFR range of 1167 nm with full fuel at max takeoff weight. More...

TAX-TIME AWARENESS RE: ENTERTAINMENT USE
New IRS Tax Regulations for personal use of business aircraft may complicate a company's tax implications, especially when it comes to "entertainment use" of a business-owned aircraft, according to The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel (TMCC). The key for affected companies lies in determining the amount of disallowed deductions for a flight, which may amount to more than an individual flight's costs, says TMCC. In this case, TMCC says that operating costs, as defined by the IRS, refer to all costs, fixed and variable (fuel, crew salaries, landing and hangar fees, maintenance, management fees, insurance and more), and may be determined by one of three methods. TMCC warns that entertainment use disallows deduction of certain aircraft ownership and use costs -- and there can be more pitfalls, including deadhead flights after entertainment flights and detrimental effects on aircraft depreciation recapture. Note: AVwebBiz is not a tax service -- consult with your preferred tax services provider or accountant for guidance. More...

A NEW MORE POWERFUL KING AIR B200GT
Introduced in May, the latest evolution of the Beechcraft King Air 200 series is now certified by the FAA as the Pratt and Whitney PT6A-52-powered, 305-knot cruise, $5.27 million King Air B200GT. The new engine platform mates the turbine section of the 1,050-shp capable PT6A-60A (found on the King Air 350) to a PT6A-42 gearbox and so offers the B200GT 850-shp to a higher altitude, which improves climb and cruise numbers through nearly all parameters of flight when compared to your standard King Air 200 series aircraft. The new engine configuration's performance eliminates the 10,000-foot (altitude) takeoff field limitation imposed on the lesser 200 while its lineage affords it a 3,600-hour TBO. Hawker Beechcraft corporation's president of commercial sales, Brad Hatt, said the B200GT builds on the success of the 200 series by offering a nine-place squared-oval cabin with a heated and pressurized baggage area, plus a private aft lavatory and a new engine package that ensures "the new model will continue to lead" in its market segment "for many years to come." More...

DIAMOND READIES SUPPORT FOR D-JET
Diamond Aircraft is building the foundation for worldwide marketing and sales of its five-place single-engine D-Jet, Diamond's personal light jet, with the appointment of Mark Lee. Lee will serve as director of marketing and sales, to be located at the company's London, Ontario, facility. Lee previously worked in the software and telecom industries and comes to Diamond from Microsoft where he grew business for Windows and other Microsoft brands. Prior to that, Lee worked at Nortel. Lee holds a private pilot certificate and has been an aircraft owner. He will now work with Diamond, its partners and customers to enable more pilots to become jet owners. More...

CONKLIN & DE DECKER'S TAX GUIDE READY IN JANUARY
The new 2008 State Tax Guide for General Aviation will be released by Conklin & de Decker in January of 2008, offering guidance for ownership, sales, leases, fees imposed in all fifty states and more. The guide itself isn't a new product, but the 2008 version will be available for download via the internet and offer users the ability to compare three states side-by-side and so quickly compare rates and exemptions. Registration fees, personal property taxes, jet fuel and avgas taxes are also included, along with tax data and contact information for the Departments of Revenue and Aviation in each state. The program allows you to search through tax information by tax type, exemption or state. Conklin & De Decker is addressing the possibility of changes made to the tax law by providing a "download updates" button in the program that checks with the company for coverage of the latest changes. More...

ONE UPSIDE FOR THE PRESIDENT OF PAKISTAN?
American pilots who brought the Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf's latest VVIP jet, a "10-seat Learjet," are now training their Pakistani brethren to fly the aircraft so that it can be put into service alongside the 13 other aircraft already serving the Pakistani president. Training the pilots for the $60 million jet is expected to last two months. The president's present fleet includes an Airbus 310 (a gift by Qatar), a Gulfstream IV, a Cessna Citation Excel and a Citation V, a Learjet 35 and a 45XR, a Raytheon Hawker 400, a Falcon 20, a Cessna Conquest II, and four helicopters. Sources say two more aircraft, already approved by a former prime minister, may be added after elections. More...

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AVwebBiz is a weekly summary of the latest business aviation news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the internet's aviation magazine and news service.

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