Another interesting article from AVWeb (free registration required), this one is about making jet fuel out of garbage. Solena Group, based in Washington, D.C., is building a factory that will process garbage, manure, and tree bark into jet fuel.

“…Solena Group hopes to build the plant in Gilroy, Calif., and will use raw material from municipal, agricultural and forestry waste supplied by Norcal Waste Systems, one of California’s largest municipal waste and biomass collectors. The announcement comes on the heels of the successful certification of jet fuel made by a South African company that uses a different raw material but the same basic process as that planned in California.”

The South African company Sasol produces the fuel from coal using the Fischer-Tropsch method. The same method can coax petroleum out of just about any carbon-based compound but jet fuel has to withstand major temperature extremes and still keep the hot section hot. Colorado-based Rentech is working with Solena to create the jet fuel from the raw product. Financing is being worked on and the group hopes to be producing Jet-A by 2011.

According to AVWeb (free registration required), Maine will continue to levy a use tax (up to 6 percent of the aircraft’s value) on airplanes that fly into Maine and stay at least 20 days (the tax only applies during the first year of ownership and if the owner hasn’t paid a 6 percent tax elsewhere.

“Those 20 days can sneak up on you…Let’s say your aircraft gets weathered in during your weekend trip, but because of work obligations, you have to leave your airplane and drive or catch a train home. The clock is ticking the whole time the aircraft is stuck in the state…”

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has decided not to go ahead with plans for dedicated private jets, a larger one for official travel abroad and a smaller executive jet, according to Andrew Sparrow of The Guardian (UK). The aircraft was nicknamed ‘Blair Force One’ after former Prime Minister Tony Blair approved it just before leaving office. A small aircraft will be chartered as needed, but ministerial code introduced by Brown clearly favors scheduled flights.

Blogger Walkertb maintains a blog about the private jet lifestyle, and one of his recent posts also contains a list of the priciest jets (see my earlier entry).

Some highlights:

Boeing 767 - $118 million-$165 million *
Boeing Business Jet 3 - $68 million *
Most Expensive Long Range Business Jet – Bombardier Global Express XRS – 47.7 million

Michael, a blogger, has posted a list of large business jets, and a few pointers to keep in mind, including these bits:

“Your jet operator can look after all aspects of the management of the aircraft including certification for around $120k - $250k. They can also charter out the plane when not in use - so you will recoup some of the investment. For year end accounting purposes, depreciation will be a factor - Boeing estimate depreciation of $5-6m for their BBJ. With the price of oil heading higher, fuel charges will be considerable - expect to pay from $1,500 upwards per flying hour on fuel. So expect the total operational costs to be at least $2-3m for the year.”

This just in from FlyCorporate:

Airbus’ Corporate Jet Centre (ACJC) in Toulouse has completed its first cabin outfitting, a VIP interior for the Airbus A320 of a private customer.
The VIP A320 features a luxurious interior with a VIP lounge, business-class seating and an area for support staff.
In addition to outfitting the cabin, ACJC also completed extensive maintenance work on the aircraft, highlighting its ability to provide a variety of technical services to customers.

Tom Mitchell and Raphael Minder of the Financial Times are reporting that Airbus’ private aviation division has been approached by potential Asian buyers about turning an A380 into a flying casino.

Francois Chazelle, who heads the division, said a fully fitted casino A380 could be delivered between 2012 and 2017, if an order is placed soon.

Recently U.S. gaming operator Sands has been generating some buzz with talk of a private jet air link between its Venetian casinos in Las Vegas and Macao.

According to Dominic O’Connell of the Sunday Times (London), one of the world’s largest corporate jet dealers will soon open an office in Monaco. Aero Toy Store can often shorten the wait time for aircraft, especially the larger and longer-range ones.

Chairman Steve McMillan:

“Five years ago our business was 100% in the US. Now it is 75% outside the US…our sales are much more closely related to the number of billionaires in the world…”

As I previously noted, Aero Toy Store is also a “Factory Authorized Representative” for the supersonic business jet from Aerion.

In the Wall Street Journal article Demand Soars for Firms That Fit Out Private Jets, reporters Susan Carey and J. Lynn Lunsford describe how in recent years the interest in turning big private jets into flying “palaces” has surged.

We were excited to see prominent references to the sponsor of this blog, Greenpoint Technologies and quotes from GTI’s fearless leader Jon Buccola:

“We have more work than we can handle,” says Jon Buccola, chief executive officer of outfitter Greenpoint Technologies Inc. of Kirkland, Wash. Greenpoint, which specializes in interiors on new Boeing 737 business jets, has won $100 million in new business since the start of the year and is talking to a potential client who won’t even get his or her new aircraft until 2014, he says.

Although the economic downturn is expected to have a sharp impact on luxury items like watches and jewelry, a document from the Luxury Institute indicates that private jet travel is one luxury area that looks poised to stay untouched:

According to Gollan of Elite Traveler, there was a 50 percent increase in private jet travel to last week’s Super Bowl — round trips that cost $50,000 to $100,000 if departures were from the Northeast.

A parallel is drawn to the yachting business, where there is a drop in boat sales for the rich but not-quite-that rich category of $1-3 million, and there is a corresponding boom in sales of the rich and-definitely-quite-that-rich category of boats $15 million and over.