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It's actually cheaper and faster to fly 1st, cut through all lines and be able to board at the last minute than to fly at Mach 1.



Well Elon Musk has a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aero_L-39

But sadly, its not Mach1, but a hell of a lot more fun than an airliner. My goal is the much more reasonable SR-22 turbo, just need to get my instrument raiting first.


Of course, as long as we're fantasizing about the toys for the rich, Larry Ellison owns a Mig-29, which is capable of Mach 2.25.


The SR22 is an excellent choice, however pardon me if I'll try to favour our European industry instead. :)


Nice - why is the safety record so bad on the SR-22? I thought it had a chute!


The chute might be why: false sense of security. As a safety measure, it's like an air bag in a car. It can turn some bad situations into ones that are somewhat less bad. But I get the impression that a lot of Cirrus pilots treat it as a get-out-of-jail-free card instead of the last-ditch safety measure that it is.

There's also the danger that comes with any expensive, high-powered, prestigious airplane, namely that people with more money than time will see it as a great place to start flying and will end up exceeding their abilities and experience. For an earlier example of this, see the Bonanza and its reputation as a "doctor killer". Flying is tough, flying high-performance aircraft is tougher, and people with lots of money may try to take shortcuts they really shouldn't.




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