The new buzz going around the aviation circle is that Her Majesty, The Queen of England is shopping for a new private jet.

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This came about because Britain has recently decided to abolish the Royal Flight where in the Royal Family travel using larger planes given by the Royal Air Force.

Even if these private jets are considered as luxurious items, the move is still a downgrade from a Queen’s status. They comparably so small from the usual wide-bodied planes she is so used to.

This decision to purchase a private jet came under a harsh criticism from some of the members of the Parliament saying that they thought that they were able to put a stop to Blair Force One when Former Prime Minister thought of getting himself a private aircraft just like US Air Force One. Now, they say that apparently they will be having a Brown Force One.

The current Prime Minister earlier rejected to purchase a larger aircraft saying that it will entail so much money to maintain one just for the Royals and the top officials of the government. They opted to just get a smaller one.

This aircraft will just be used for internal flights and short ranged trips abroad. They will still book seats on scheduled flights for international or long-ranged flights.

 
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The big question now is that what aircraft is just right for a Queen? Any ideas? We got several but although there are several magnificent private jets that could definitely fit her Royal Highness, there is still another question though that still remains to be answered, will the government approve of the price since the payment will come from the public’s purse.

If you want to give your kids another venue to shape their future then bring them to the Young Eagles Summer Day Camp.

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It is one week full of aviation games, training, education and encouragement. It is being offered to young teens ages 13 to 18. Everything and anything about aviation will be tackled in a weeklong event including aviation history, aerospace, activities, design, communications and regulations.

This can serve as an introduction to the world of aviation to the young adults who may want someday to be involved in the industry may it be a pilot, a stewardess, air controller, designer, engineer, manufacturer or an aircraft owner.

 
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The event will be sponsored by the AOPA or the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, Sacramento City College and the Experimental Aircraft Association and will be accommodating 50 campers with a registration fee of USD$199 per person. Professional pilots and some of the best in the aviation industry will guide the campers.

It has been studied that almost 50% of those campers have really an interest in pursuing a career in aviation industry. Your kid may be one of them so, check out this site for further information.

The birth of VLJs or very light jets gave the flying public another option of trying out flying via a private jet.

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These aircrafts like the Cessna Mustang, Cirrus Jet and Eclipse500 are also creating more business opportunities in some sector of the financial community. The manufacturers of these so called very light jets primarily built them to provide flying enthusiasts a more affordable aircrafts. Their prices are approximately around USD$600T to $1.5M.

Not everyone can afford a Global Express XRS like television talk show Queen Oprah Winfrey or a BBJ owned by Rupert Murdoch or a VIP-configured Boeing 767-200 by Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page.

Business executives and leisure travelers who prefer to fly via private jets that cannot dip so much on their pockets will no longer fret with their budget since these VLJs are truly affordable.

  
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There is also a big plus in them. They were also manufactured and designed to have the hippest and sleekest look. You do not only enjoy convenient travels but you also light the runways with style.

Cirrus, the ‘Jet’ are now booked with so many orders. It is considered to be the most affordable private jet. It is due to be released to their owners in 2011.

Eclipse 500 are already cruising the skies. It was recently involved in a safety disagreement with some aviation agency but the Eclipse Aviation CEO dismissed it as just an exaggerated report.

Blink Air Taxi service was just recently launched in Europe and is assuring the flying enthusiasts that getting into a private jet is as easy as flagging down a taxi.

They will not only give a more affordable way to flying by private jets but it will also help boost tourism in different parts on the world since they can easily take off and land to remote and smaller airfields.

Check these sites by clicking the bolded words for details and more information about these so-called VLJs.

Recently, UK’s anti-terror advisor, Lord Carlile of Berriew QC submitted his annual report that some senior officials in the police force has apprehensions on the private jets cruising in and out of British airspace. He said that these private aircraft could be used by terrorists to deploy bombs, which can create massive destruction in public places.

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Lord Carlile even said that these private jets do not undergo formal vetting in approximately 500 landing areas that could very well be a loophole in Britain’s security. He said that it would be better if they do something about it immediately unless they want Britain to undergo a similar 9/11 attack which happened in New York.

This warning by Lord Carlile was met with conflicting reactions from different sectors in government and from the general aviation community.

Liberal Democrats said that they already given a letter to the Home Secretary that airports may it be small or big undergo the same tough security measures.

There are several questions that surfaced like, what specific action can they all take to pinpoint the weakest link, is it the embarkation point or the last stop. Will it be enough that the government is relying on “neighborhood watch” system which pilots and airfield operators take the burden of monitoring and reporting unusual and suspicious undertakings.

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association on the other hand is also asking the authorities to give the general aviation industry a formal code of conduct.

Photo Credit: Photo Credit: Joel Franusic  hyku

The Home Office said that the concerns that the annual report brought about may be true but it also important that everyone is aware that there is no intelligence that has been reported suggesting that those possible attacks may come around. They also assured everyone concerned that they took note of the possibility of the senior police official’s theory but it should also be clear that there is no intelligence report about it,

Security Agencies are working hand in hand to assure the public that they are doing their best to avoid terrorism attacks in British soil but also want to tell everyone that they continue to review all possible solutions to threats although aviation security measures must be proportionate to whatever threat they are receiving.

Right now, there is really no type of formal vetting for the arrival and departure by private jets although once a plane is airborne it is immediately on the Civil Aviation Authority radar.

Due to an increase of private air travel, which approximately is around 3,000 each year between the United States and Bermuda, concerned government agencies from both sides agreed that private jet users would enjoy a pre-clearance status from the US Customs.

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US Homeland Security Secretary welcomes this new development heartily since it would lessen potential threat to US soil as both the crew and the passengers will be checked before departing from Bermuda.

The agreement was forged in Washington between United States Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Premier Ewart Brown arranged by US Consul General Gregory Slayton.

Commercial airlines have been enjoying the pre-clearance thing since 1974 but it was only now that they feel that non-commercial flyers be included in that standard procedure as well.

This development will also help boost tourism in Bermuda and will encourage the elite tourists to go and visit the place especially now that it there are a lot of new hotels that were built to attract new tourists.

Both parties feel that the agreement is an indicator that there is a joint effort in making sure that travelers who prefer to commute by private jets be given the same convenience that those commercial flights have been enjoying since the 1974 agreement. This amendment showed the kind of relationship Bermuda, the United and U.K has over the years.

Under the Chicago Convention, the privilege of flying through or into a foreign country was categorized into five so-called “freedoms of the air.” The first freedom is referred to as transit rights which carries the privilege of flying across a country nonstop and flying across with a stop for technical purposes only. 

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The other freedoms of the air are known as traffic rights, referring to passengers, mail, or cargo carried on a commercial aircraft. The third is the privilege of bringing in and discharging traffic from the home state of the aircraft or airline; the fourth is that of picking up traffic for the home state of the aircraft or airline and the fifth is that of picking up traffic for or discharging traffic from third states in the territory of the state granting the privilege.

As early as the 1920s, it became clear in most countries, either through judicial decisions or express legislation, that aircrafts would be allowed to fly over the private properties of others in normal flight in accordance with aeronautical regulations.

While aircraft may fly over private lands in normal flight, most national laws protect the landowner against excessively low flights and other undue interference with his possession and use of land, such as the performance of aerobatics and buzzing.

Go to the Federal Aviation Administration site to get more information on the airspace regulations on civil and commercial aviation.

Owning an aircraft offers one the freedom to go anywhere in the world, but this does not mean one can do this without having to abide by certain rules.

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Cujus est solum ejus est usque ad coelum et ad inferos (”he who owns the land owns what is above and below it”).  This maxim best reflects the principle of airspace sovereignty in international law.

Air Law is the body of law directly or indirectly concerned with civil aviation which applies to both heavier-than-air and lighter-than-air aircraft.  The earliest legislation in air law was a 1784 decree of the Paris police forbidding balloon flights without a special permit.  A basic principle of international air law is that every state has complete and exclusive control over the airspace above its territory, including its territorial sea.

In 1919, at the Paris Convention on the Regulation of Aerial Navigation, the principle of airspace sovereignty was reaffirmed and subsequently by various other multilateral treaties. In 1944, this principle is restated in the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation. Airspace is now generally accepted as an appurtenance of the subjacent territory and shares the latter’s legal status.  In 1958, under the Geneva Convention on the High Seas as well as under international customary law, the freedom of the high seas applies to aerial navigation as well as to maritime navigation. Vertically, airspace ends where outer space begins. 

(To Be Continued) 

If you are thinking of taking a grand holiday this summer, why not travel via a private jet so your choices of destinations will be unlimited. No chance of disappointments when you see that those travel routes you’ve chosen were not on the commercial airline schedule of flights anymore. Due to the ever rising fuel price, they were some flight routes that were removed.

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Anyway, if you are thinking of owning a plane, you can try and inspect the following pre-owned aircrafts who are on sale this summer.

There is a 13 seater 1987 Gulfstream IV with serial number GIV-1002. 10 individual executive seats and 3 divans all upholstered in beige leather seats with matching leather sidewalls and headliners. It is also equipped with kitchen furniture and a lavatory. It has total hours of 7002 for the left engine and 6948 hours for the right engine. View the entire aircraft specifications here.

 
Photo Credit: Cubbie_n_Vegas

If you are attracted to a Learjet, there is one 2004 Bombardier Learjet 60 with serial number 60-272. It is an 8-seater aircraft with executive interiors, two-seater divans with foldout tables and powered by Pratt & Whitney 305A engines. It entered into service in May of 2004. View the entire aircraft specifications here.

If you prefer a King Air with blue carpet, then this 1994 King Air 350 is just right for you. It has a serial number FL-123 and the seats are with foldable tables. Cabinets inside the cabin were painted with high gloss maple wood veneer. This 8-seater also has lavatory and is also powered by Pratt & Whitney engines. View the entire aircraft specifications here.

After you checked on the above 3 aircrafts and still can’t find the right one for you then, check out this 2001 Gulfstream V with serial number V-636. This 13-seater aircraft has a wider cabin that also includes a crew rest area, a lavatory, a conference area for 4, a seat with a foldable work table, a divan that can seat 4 passengers all in tan leather with matching beige carpet with a hint of green flecks. View the entire aircraft specifications here.

Last June 24, 2008 both the Federal Aviation and Los Angeles International Airport were quite happy to celebrate the completion on the safety renovation upgrade on their airfield.

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A completed new center taxiway removed the chances of aircrafts hitting each other while maneuvering on the runways, which were too close for comfort. The new taxiway would lessen the chances of the incoming aircraft brushing its massive frame to a departing aircraft.

Before the renovation, there were several unfortunate incidents that could have been avoided if they have constructed the center taxiway earlier.

The Federal Aviation Administration or FAA contributed much on the renovation process. The Los Angeles International Airport or LAX is one of the busiest airports in America so the completion of this project will benefit many people not only the pilots, commercial airliners and private aircraft owners but the passengers as well, not to mention the air traffic controllers that were having a hard time guiding the pilots in maneuvering their aircrafts.

LAX is at present still continuing on other safety upgrades like installation of runway lights and highly advanced equipment to provide air traffic controllers enough data to make the airport secured and safer for aircrafts and travelers alike.

The emergency landing of an Eclipse 500 in Chicago recently that prompted an urgent recommendation from the National Transportation Safety Board for a quick inspection of all Eclipse 500 to the Federal Aviation Administration was criticized by the Eclipse 500 manufacturer.

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They said that it was an exaggerated report on the mechanical problem. They even pointed out that the NTSB went on to have publicity on the issue by an issuance of urgent press release and a safety warning that had already been done by Eclipse.

Eclipse Aviation President and CEO Vern Raburn were certainly miffed at NTSB for calling their aircraft unsafe and claimed that it was not only a massive exaggeration but also a false allegation.

NTSB on the other hand said that the agency just acted right on the matter since Eclipse 500 is fairly a new aircraft and that their inquiry on the matter revealed a safety issue that needs to be addressed immediately.

Raburn said that the NTSB is also so slow in finishing its inquiries. He claimed that the issue can be easily be fixed by a software program but they cannot since the particular part of the aircraft needed is still with NTSB for further evaluation.

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He also reported that the inspection on all Eclipse 500 ordered by FAA was done in less than 10 minutes and the very aircraft who had an emergency landing in Chicago was already back in the air. Raburn also said that no customers who pre-ordered the plane gave any request for canceling. They have an outstanding order for 2,600 Eclipse 500.