Greenpoint Technologies unveiled their “SkyHome 2010″ concept design at the NBAA show in Atlanta. The design is intended to represent “the latest concept in ultra-luxury real estate, a live-aboard yacht in the sky.”

We hope to have some images to post very soon. Greenpoint’s Creative Director, Greg Vander Houwen made this statement:

“After listening to our clients we found that they were spending much more time on their private aircraft. They requested features that mirrored the functionality they expected in their home. In essence, the SkyHome 2010 concept was an exercise in design for an aero-centric lifestyle. Many of our clients have many homes around the world and they live in their planes as well. We included features like a walk-in wine cellar or humidor, a garage for the ‘toys’ and huge closet/storage space as uses of the Dreamliner’s lower deck. With just under 4,000 square feet of usable space, the SkyHome 2010 design is comparable to a Central Park penthouse except this penthouse can travel at Mach .85 and the views at 43,000 feet are just fantastic. ”

In the article My Jet Is Bigger Than Yours, American Magazine reporter Jillian Cohan covers the practical side of big business jets. Cohen writes:

“…private planes now have exceptionally practical attractions, thanks to the globalization of business, the erosion of commercial air service after 9/11, and—in an age when the time and safety of CEO s are worth big money to the businesses they run—the acceptance of the notion that convenience, speed, and security are worth the expense, which can easily reach six figures for an international round-trip on a high-end jet by Gulfstream or Bombardier.”

A great example of a very frugal organization that eschews extravagance, yet leverages corporate jets heavily is Wal-Mart:

“Wal-Mart has the largest private jet fleet of any company in America, and they hold nickels like they’re manhole covers,” says a Midwest hotel chief who has used a private plane since the 1960s. “If you have a senior executive on the road and he can get done in one day what it will take him three days to do flying commercial, he can go home more often. And a happy executive is a productive executive.”

“Wal-Mart has the largest private jet fleet of any company in America, and they hold nickels like they’re manhole covers.”

Read the entire article here.

The San Francisco Mercury News is reporting that Google Inc. co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have secured an agreement with NASA to use the Moffett Federal Airfield located near Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, CA. The deal is worth $1.3 million.

Page and Brin have a Boeing 767-200.

NASA’s Ames Research Center just announced the agreement, even though it was effective Aug. 1, because people were reporting a large jet near the airfield, which normally prohibits use by private aircraft. As part of the deal, the Boeing 767 will be used to carry scientists and their equipment.

Kent S. Jackson has just posted a PDF that details how the FAA is scrutinizing operations that offer seats on empty leg flights. At the heart of it is the risk of being categorized as a “scheduled” operation versus an “on-demand” operation. Scheduled flights are to be categorized under FAR Part 121.

Aviation Research Group/US Inc (ARG/US) and Wyvern Consulting Ltd. both offer safety research and auditing services. The companies offer a variety of services, including:

Members of Timbers Resorts can now use Sentient jets to travel to and from any Timber Resort property. Sentient and Timbers Resorts reached an agreement recently to allow the access, and to also extend preferred membership offers to Timbers owners.

“‘Time is worth so much to our owners,’ remarked Timbers Resorts Founder and CEO David Burden. ‘This new alliance will help them reach their destination with friends and family more quickly and comfortably, avoiding the hassles that commercial air travel now provides.’”

Timbers Resorts can be found in Snowmass, Colorado; Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Scottsdale, Arizona; Tuscany, Italy; St. Thomas, USVI; and Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

I blogged previously about the XJet club, but now there are a few additional details available from James Paton of Rocky Mountain News.

The first stage of the $25 million project is complete, and a dozen members have joined already. XJet occupies 18 acres on the south side of Centennial Airport in Denver.

“The exclusive club…will include an upscale restaurant run by master chef Bruno Bruesch, an art gallery, a library, a lounge and hangars. XJet employees will offer massage and travel planning and remember everything from the names of members’ spouses to their favorite wine. When customers tough down, their cards will be detailed and full of gas, with music they like in the CD player.”

XJet is a fixed-base operator (FBO), providing fuel, hangar space and other services, but it has turned the traditional model upside down. FBOs usually make money off of fuel sales, but XJet will sell fuel without a markup (current price is about $3/gallon)

Membership fees run up to $90,000 a year, and do not include the hangar charge. XJet will be able to accommodate 22 planes and 12 extra nonowners. Members will also have access to a fleet of jets.

Conklin & de Decker has posted some helpful tips for navigating the NBAA convention.

One golden nugget they provide is that the last day (Thursday the 27th) is the slowest day on the convention floor. They recommend that day as an optinal time to make appointments with exhibitors.

One exhibitor you won’t want to miss is Greenpoint Technologies who will be exhibiting at booth #248. GTI will be featuring their latest B787 concepts.

Zhejiang’s first shop for private jets and helicopters has opened in the capital, Hangzhou, according to Xinhua (courtesy of the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in Vancouver, B.C.):

“‘The market for private aircraft is always developed first in economically booming areas. Zhejiang has the most energetic private economy in China, therefore we selected it as our first target,’ said Jin Qiansheng, director of the National Aviation Hi-Tech Industrial Base in Xian.”

Entrepreneurs in Zhejiang began purchasing private aircraft several years ago, and many joined China’s first private flight club which opened in 2005.

However, there are reports of some chaos in the private jet market in Zhejiang. There are no formal airports offering services to private jets, and only trial flights are currently being operated. In addition, China has no rules or regulations on private aircraft flights.

Embraer has been busy constructing a series of service centers in the U.S., including locations in Mesa, AZ; Windsor Locks, CN; and Fort Lauderdale, FL. The centers are dedicated to full-service after-sales care for Embraer’s business aircraft, including routine inspection; scheduled and unscheduled maintenance; airframe, powerplant, avionics, and other systems repair; 24/7 assistance; Aircraft On Ground (AOG) services; and a parts inventory.