Very Light Jet Magazine

Very Light Jets, VLJs, Microjets, Personal Jets and now PLJs or Personal Light Jets! What's it all about? More important: What is in this Very Light Jet travel for us? If you made it this far you are a valued part of our growing audience, averaging 30,000 readers a month. Most of us are interested in any way to improve our business and personal travel experience.

I live on the road about 14 days a month, every month, even though my heart is at home. I am presently in Tampa waiting for a flight – which is delayed another three hours – to take me home. It has been seven hours since I left Louisville on this unnamed Texas-based low-cost carrier and I have had three bags of peanuts and some little crackers. I bought myself two bags of chips – the thick ones ($3.50) – and a Quiznos Sub.

My flight to West Palm Beach is delayed for another two hours, so I may get to start my seven days with my family – after ten days on the road – by midnight if I’m lucky. The ticket was $239 one way (including the afore-mentioned peanuts) and is refundable under certain circumstances. I believe death is mentioned as a prerequisite.

Why am I so interested in the Very Light Jet phenomenon? A number of reasons come to mind. It may be a while before I can get my own, but there is the promise of true air-taxis. Don’t we already have that? Not exactly. We often confuse charter with air-taxi. Charter passengers usually pay for the round trip, even though they seldom ride both ways.

Had I called a charter company to take me from Louisville to West Palm Beach, today, it would have cost about $1200 per hour to go in a King Air, or maybe $4500 per hour to go in that GIII I am fond of. How many hours would it take? Let’s just say that my daughter going to med school is a little more of a priority with my financial planner.

A true air-taxi service would have taken me directly from SDF to PBI and charged me for one seat, one way. What would I pay for that? I think I could see paying in the $1000 to $1500 range to gain an entire day at home!

Right now, SATSAir is building an incredible business around this concept, using the Cirrus SR-22 piston airplane. This plane goes around 200mph and has found incredible favor with individuals and companies needing to make several stops a day in a given state or territory. A reported $600 per hour gets the plane, pilot and three seats! SATSAir’s success with the air-taxi model using the SR-22 gives great credibility to the air-taxi concept as it applies to Very Light Jets.

The Cirrus SR-22 is a hugely successful aircraft, with over 2000 flying today, and it has given rise to the Cirrus Jet, which we are now reporting on. In our Executive Interview with Dale Klapmeier, Executive Vice President and Co-Founder of Cirrus Design, Dale discusses the development of the jet as a continuation of the success of the SR-22. Listen to our exclusive podcast of the interview:

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Very Light Jet Magazine is pleased to announce our alliance with Florida Aviation Trades Association. To learn more about this organization, read our interview with FATA President Michael Slingluff.

Of special interest to pilots, Very Light Jets: An Overview For Pilots is the feature article I wrote at the invitation of John Steinbeck of Airline Pilot Central. This publication is owned by airline pilots and frequented by over 10,000 visitors a day! Special thanks to John for giving me an opportunity to address such a large gathering of my peers.

Enjoy our VLJ ONLY News, links to the VLJ manufacturers, articles and interviews! Thanks for your support for the project!

Well, my flight is delayed until 10:50 p.m. and the Quiznos is closed. I’m going to find some more chips and a Coke - you have to take care of your health out here – and then I’ll run some numbers on that Very Light Jet my family has picked out for us.

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