Bill Miller on the Current State of the Markets

“But these events represent opportunities. When markets get locked up like this, it's virtually always the case that you'll have opportunities if you have liquidity. Instead of worrying how bad it's going to get, I think people should be thinking about where the opportunities might be.”

-- Bill Miller, Chairman and chief investment officer, Legg Mason Capital Management

Being Successful

“The trick (Key) to being successful is doing the things that unsuccessful people will not do.”

John Paul Dejoria – Founder of Paul Mitchell Systems and Patron Tequila

The Learjet 60 XR Enters Service

The Learjet 60 XR Enters Service

The midsize Learjet 60 XR business jet entered service this week with Cloud Nine Aviation, of Los Angeles, CA. The program milestone was highlighted with an employee delivery ceremony at the Learjet manufacturing facility in Wichita, Kansas.

All the new features available aboard the Learjet 60 XR jet are present in this first aircraft, including a state-of-the-art Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics suite and a redesigned interior focused on maximizing comfort and functionality in the aircraft's stand-up cabin.

Cessna Citation XLS+ Completes First Flight

Cessna Citation XLS+ Completes First Flight

Wichita, Kan., August 7, 2007 – Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, last week reached another milestone in the development program for the latest version of the world’s best-selling business jet model - the Citation XLS+ - when the aircraft completed its first flight.

The flight, which lasted one hour and 30 minutes, was conducted at Rockwell Collins’ facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

“With the flight progressing as planned and the aircraft performing as expected, this first flight was a great success,” said Cessna Citation XLS+ Program Manager Kevin Steinert. “The integration of the new Collins Pro Line 21 and Pratt & Whitney’s FADEC (full authority digital engine control) equipped engines went smoothly and we look forward to continuing this program on schedule.”

The aircraft has returned to Cessna’s primary design and manufacturing facilities in Wichita for further evaluation and testing. Type certification of the XLS+ is expected in the first quarter of 2008 and first deliveries are scheduled in mid 2008.

Priced at USD $11.595 million, the XLS+ will continue the tradition of the Excel and XLS as the most affordable stand-up cabin business jet. The family of Excel/XLS aircraft comprise of 575 planes having accumulated nearly 1.2 million flight hours.

The original Citation Excel was delivered in May 1998 followed by the Citation XLS in July 2004. The 500th Excel/XLS was delivered in June 2006, making the Excel/XLS the best-selling aircraft of all business jet models since its introduction.

The Citation XLS+ is designed to travel at 440 ktas (815 km per hour), have a range of more than 1,800 nm (3,440 km), climb direct to 45,000 ft (13,700 m) in 29 minutes, and land on runways as short as 2,700 ft (823 m) at its typical landing weight.

Ballpark Learjet Figures

I was at a baseball game last night and banker friend of mine (whose suite I was sitting in) asked me what it would cost for him to get into a previously owned Learjet. I replied that, “It depends”. This friend doesn’t know a great deal about Business Jets but just wanted some “ballpark” figures. I did a little digging and this is the information that I sent to him.

Year Model Price
1984 LR 25G 1,175,000
1996 LR 31A 3,295,000
1983 LR 35A 1,595,000
2000 LR 45 6,100,000
1984 LR 55 2,995,000
1996 LR 60 6,300,000

This is just a quick view of what the market looks like at this particular point in time for a nice example of each model type. I did not do any research into what the cost of avionics or interior upgrades would cost because I tried to find aircraft that were relatively new and looked like they are well-maintained.

Have a Great Weekend.

All things Are Created Twice

"All things are created twice. There's a mental or first creation, and a physical or second creation of all things. You have to make sure that the blueprint, the first creation, is really what you want, that you've thought everything through. Then you put it into bricks and mortar. Each day you go to the construction shed and pull out the blueprint to get marching orders for the day. You begin with the end in mind."

Stephen Covey