Often on Saturday mornings I like to pay a visit to the lives of the One Percent of Americans who live very differently than we do. Theirs is a life free of any concern about medical care, paying their bills, helping their children get a decent start in life, facing unemployment, foreclosure on their homes, etc.
But, after all, we really should get to know them because they do share this country with us as neighbors.
Well, not really. We rarely, if ever, meet rich people in the flesh who spend much of their time at their various homes and playgrounds in such secluded places as Aspen, The Hamptons, Nantucket, Davos, Dubai, and Monte Carlo. We don't even meet them in the lines at airport security check points because they get around in their own private planes. One of their biggest concerns is deciding which type of aircraft to buy.
...rich aviation enthusiasts spend millions annually on lesser-known planes, commonly called owner-operated aircraft, or personal aircraft, built for recreational pilots whose passion for flying is matched by the size of their overflowing bank accounts. Their owners tend to be gentleman pilots eager to fulfill a James Bond fantasy. This typically involves finding the perfect seaplane to complement a grand private yacht, but sometimes it just means cruising the skies in de-weaponized military fighter jets.
