The Contemporary Planesman

Today's Young Businessman in the growing fraternity of high-flying executives conducts his commerce and pursues his pleasure in territories far beyond the reach of his earth-bound brethren. The whirling propeller, the whistling turbine can fly him and the companions of his choice straight to the bustling metropolises: in a few fleet hours, they can whisk him on a weekend whim from Wall Street worries to the long-shadowed woods of Canada or the balm of Palm Beach. Big deal or fair damsel--ripe but far distant--is within reach of the daring young executive in his flying machine long before the ground troops even learn where the action is.

These chaps are off and winging in what is called "general aviation." There are more than 90,000 aircraft in this fleet, which includes all the airplanes in America except those run by commercial airlines and the military. And their number is zooming higher every year. By way of comparison, fliers in general aviation logged 15,000,000 hours in the air last year, while commercial-airline pilots put in less than a third of that.

Those involved in general aviation divide it into two categories: corporate or executive flying for business only, and personal flying--sometimes for business and sometimes just for skylarking.

The executive plane is a sky-borne limousine. Here, the owner may take an occasional turn at the controls, but he usually leaves the driving to professional pilots.

Personal flying for business and pleasure involves smaller aircraft and is usually do-it-yourself. The Sunday planesman on a quick hop to a distant fairway or remote fishing stream, the guy who flies with his girl to Acapulco for the weekend, and the executive who races the sun to close the day by closing the deal all share the privileged world of the personal flier.

Today there are some 8800 airports in the United States that handle general-aviation aircraft. Commercial airlines reach only some 550 points. In fact, 45 percent of all airline traffic occurs at just ten major population centers in America. But there's a lot more country to be seen, worked in and played in, and the best way to the byways is via business and private airplanes.

To make it easier for the flying businessman or the chap who simply digs chasing a tail wind down a quarter of the continent, a boom in elegant hotel, pool, restaurant and even golf-course construction is taking place at general-aviation landing-strip sites throughout the nation. But if your business or pleasure isn't within sight of an airport wind sock, you can easily arrange for a rented car or a taxi at almost any facility with a town visible from the landing pattern. Only a diligent search for total isolation can put you out of touch with the American service comforts available at the drop of a credit card.

This flying boom all began in the late Twenties. In those days, flying was still a bit chancy and pilots used cow pastures located near factory sites for airfields. Many of these pioneers persisted in being tricked out in goggles, leather helmet, white silk scarf, puttees and boots, even though most of the cockpits were by then enclosed. It was sort of the thing to do, you know. And when a girl walked by, one looked achingly skyward--a hawk seeking his freedom.

All that--the fun and games, the spit-and-baling-wire maintenance--passed with the hard reality of war. And when it was over, pilots and planes in the thousands suddenly became very available.

Some business firms--those that had had corporate-flying experience and those headed by men who'd flown airplanes during the War and learned of their usefulness--plunged heavily into the buyer's market. They took DC-3s, the tireless work horses of the Air Force, and speedy B-25s and B-26s; they took Lockheed Lodestars and Venturas; and they even took the big bombers, the B-24s and B-17s. After stripping them clean, they called in the designers to pretty up the inside and lay out a reclining chair, a table and a cocktail bar; and corporate flying was on the wing.

Today, this brand of business aviation, now housed in converted commercial airliners of the 1950s, luxuriously persists, a carry-over from the era of the elegant private railroad car. If you want plenty of space in which to stretch out, take a walk, sleep or throw a ball or banquet, shop around for a DC-6 or DC-7, a Viscount or the highly favored Convair Liner. When they are configured for passenger travel, these birds can accommodate from 40 to 80 people at speeds from 200-plus to almost 400 miles per hour.

Because of (continued on page 124)Contemporary Planesman(continued from page 70) low, two-engine operating costs, the Convair 240, 340 and 440 Liners have been extremely popular as executive conversions, particularly for firms seeking not so much speed of flight as comfort of surroundings and convenience of work space for that extra office in the sky. A 240 executive-configuration Convair Liner in good shape will run about $240,000--if you can find one. At last count, some 38 Convair Liner 240s and 41 Convair Liner 340s and 440s were in executive- or business-aircraft service. Their interiors range from computer-minded austerity to the flamboyance of Texas oil. The interior styling options are limited only by the weight and air-frame characteristics of the chosen craft. While most companies tend to minimal, lightweight, functional furnishing, high-styled outfits such as Horton and Horton in Dallas and AiResearch in Los Angeles stand ready to convert a regular airship into anything from a flying filing cabinet, with separate conference-room facilities, to a Louis XIV sitting room. One firm, Butler Aviation, has even hacked a picture window out of the fuselage of its executive Convair Liner.

Another relatively large aircraft designed as an airliner and now seeing extensive business-aircraft adaptation is the twin-turboprop Fairchild-Hiller F-27. As an "executive suite" it can provide riding, resting, recreational and working room for up to 20 passengers. But most F-27 interiors are designed for 10 to 16 persons and provide such creature comforts as two lavatories, an oversized galley, internal baggage areas, private suites, top-quality hi-fi equipment, motion-picture screens, compact bars and virtually all other luxurious amenities. It's possible for the executive imagination, in concert with the designer, to run up $1,250,000 worth of such goodies.

Such well-known and levelheaded outfits as IBM, Reynolds Metal, General Tire, Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing and Champion Spark Plug Company have F-27s in their flight stables.

The one large corporate twin-engined airplane not reworked from either a military or a commercial airline configuration is Grumman's turboprop Gulf-stream, which was designed specifically as a spacious walk-around, airline-type craft for the business market. Almost 200 of these $1,250,000 aircraft have been sold during the past five and a half years. Taking short hops and transatlantic flights equally well, the Gulfstream is fitted out to carry 10 to 14 executives about their high-speed business in an atmosphere of quiet luxury.

The methods by which piston and turboprop airliners have been converted into business aircraft will be used in the modification of the new short-haul airline jets now making runs of less than 300 miles. Douglas Aircraft's DC-9, British Aviation Corporation's BAC-111 and Boeing's 737, twin-jet airliners all, will soon be sold as the latest, largest and fastest executive airplanes money can buy.

So if your personal purse or company treasury can stand an approximately $3,500,000 nick, you will be able to buy all the jet room you'll ever need for business and/or pleasure. When decked out in business dress, these birds won't be just for the short haul. Without the burden of crowds of airline passengers and piles of luggage, a much larger percentage of useful pay load can be used for fuel; and these planes will be able to step out on nonstop cross-country or transoceanic jaunts.

Probably the major factor in the growth of corporate flying is the high cost of an executive's time. If he can compress visits to far-flung company operations into a one-day trip while conducting in-flight conferences with his staff, he is, in effect, creating time for additional business or necessary relaxation. Business aircraft provide the speed, flexibility and the instantaneous "get up and go" needed for today's hard-driving executive on the rise.

We've been talking primarily about executive airplanes that have been converted to corporate use from other configurations. Now let's look at some other new birds on the market that were specifically designed with the executive in mind.

Even before you go out on the runway and start kicking tires, you are in the happy position of having at your disposal what is probably the best and most solicitous sales service offered by any industry in the country. Check with your airplane-company representative or broker and he'll be delighted to become an unofficial company consultant about your transportation requirements. Once a good rep gets a clear picture of your corporate needs, he can go to work framing answers. To help you in making your selections, he will draw up a comparison chart of the various planes that might fit your needs, comparing all of the major factors such as initial price, maintenance, weight, runway capabilities, passenger accommodations, cruising speed and range, etc. From there you can ask for and get all manner of alterations on the basic craft.

As a study in contrasts, let's look at the bottom and top of the market; the basic, single-engine planes and then the sleek business jets. Later, we'll examine the aircraft that fill the gap between these extremes.

The most popular craft among the small single-engine models are Cessna's high-wing 150 and Piper's low-wing Cherokee 140, with average cruising speeds of 120 to 130 mph. These cover an extremely modest price range of $7000 to $8500, depending on the extra instrumentation and the radio communications you have installed.

These versatile aircraft are especially alluring if you're in real estate, insurance, regional sales, or any aspect of the special engineering or service fields that requires travel within a 200-to-500-mile radius of your home base. A delightful fringe benefit is the ease with which you can take off on a weekend with a business associate or your favorite friend to any number of relatively nearby spas--up to 500 miles in a single hop.

Once you get yourself and your company interested in smallish aircraft, you're on a flight pattern that leads to larger, more costly planes as your business needs expand and you tote up the merits of business aviation. The small model will have convinced you of the contributions flying makes to business and educated you in its operational economics while providing extracurricular enjoyment. From the bottom rung, you can move up the airplane ladder to a bigger single-engine plane with retractable gear, a light twin, a medium twin with pressurization and turbo supercharged engines for over-the-weather flying, on to a turboprop that provides virtual airline comfort, and finally to the big business jets. Business aviation was introduced to these high-flying, 500-mph-plus top-of-the-line jet aircraft a little over four years ago. First two out of the hangar were Lockheed's JetStar and North American Aviation's Sabreliner. The four-engine, 570-mph JetStar is currently the largest business jet in the air, providing full headroom, a full-size lavatory and a galley for 10 to 12 passengers and crew. Many chiefs of state, including President Johnson, other high Government officials and more than 50 of the nation's top corporations are now using the JetStar. Its range, when cruising just under 500 mph, is 2250 miles with a 45-minute fuel reserve. This long-legged capability for transcontinental and transatlantic hops is complemented by its ability to get in and out of small airfields when on short-haul hops to off-line business operations.

To give you some feeling for the business potential of this $1,700,000 JetStar performer, here's a recent one-day flight log for a national company: The first entry was an early-morning 1025-mile flight by the staff pilot to Newark, New Jersey, to pick up the company president and his staff. They then flew 3230 miles, with stops at Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco to review sales programs, and finally on to Las Vegas for dinner and a tour of the town before turning in. The flight-log mileage and times were: Newark--Chicago, 730 miles, 1 hour, 44 minutes; Chicago--Los Angeles, 1745 miles, 3 hours, 35 minutes; Los Angeles--San Francisco, 340 miles, 51 minutes; and San Francisco--Las Vegas, 415 miles, 1 hour, 13 minutes.

The president and his staff were able to discuss each meeting both before and after in the conference-room environment of the racing JetStar. And next day they whistled on to conferences in Dallas, Atlanta and Cincinnati before returning to home base that afternoon.

The other early-bird jet, North American's Sabreliner, has about half the cabin volume of a Jetstar, but it can haul up to seven passengers plus crew while providing the executive-jet conveniences of galley, lavatory, fold-out work tables and other accouterments that can help make a fast-traveling business day successful. It whips along at speeds up to 540 mph and ranges out to 2000 miles, while retaining, as do all the new business jets, a capacity for short-field operations.

Remmert-Werner, Inc., in St. Louis, distributor for the Sabreliner, calculates that the $975,000-plus jet costs less than five cents per passenger-seat mile for fuel and maintenance. When other costs--purchase price, crew's salaries, other operational expenses and insurance--are added in, you get a figure of about 25 cents per passenger-seat mile, cheaper than most taxi rates.

Because of the high speeds and reliability and the relatively low operating and maintenance costs of twin-jet business aircraft, many companies now use them in addition to piston-engine jobs.

A few years ago, the mercurial William P. Lear (see this month's On the Scene) decided to tackle the problems of business jets head on and all by himself. The result--headaches and heartaches, financial and engineering cliff-hanging, tragedy and triumph and, finally, his own sky-borne hot rod, the Lear Jet, which is now coming off the line at the rate of 10 a month. Some 85 were flying at the end of 1965 and another 120 will join the fleet by the end of this year.

The key to Lear's initial success was his determination not to compete directly with the other manufacturers, but to create his own market. Before Lear, all corporate jets weighed well above the 12,500-pound line drawn by the Federal Aviation Agency, which put them in a category that required them to meet airliner specifications for extra safety in systems and components. Lear insisted that there was an executive need for fast, safe, relatively inexpensive, utilitarian and necessarily light jet planes. He battled his own engineers and finally succeeded in keeping the weight of his Model 23 at just under 12,500 pounds, while still providing speeds of 560 mph at 25,000 feet--a rate matching the fastest commercial jet airliners. The Lear will barrel up above the weather to 40,000 feet in 13 minutes, range out to 1600 miles, and then quickly drop down to airport-pattern speeds comparable to piston-engine aircraft, all for a low, low $595,000.

The Lear Jet has a small cabin--only four feet, six incites high and five feet, two inches wide--but Lear suggests that "if you want to walk, go to Central Park." His jets are the work horses of the business-jet world and are constantly in the air, not sitting around runways collecting lint in the cowling. Lear Jet operators presently are averaging about 80 hours of flying time a month.

A famous entrepreneur putting Lear Jets to work is Hollywood's chairman of the board, Frank Sinatra, with his CalJet Airways, Inc. A typical trip for his main customers, the movie and television studios, might be a multi-stop, cross-country junket--allowing starlets to make two and three motion-picture promotion appearances a day--or CalJet may be tapped for rush-order service and supply hops between Hollywood and movies on location throughout the West. Humming along to the tune of his slogan song, Come Fly with Me, Frank's business is so good (and he's one of his own best customers) he has an order in for another Model 23.

Lear is now readying for certification by the first of next year his Model 24, which, although almost identical in configuration to Model 23, will come up to the same airline-specification requirements met by the other business jets. In the 24, the weight will go to 13,000 pounds gross and the price will climb to $695,000.

For those who want even more posh in their plane, Lear is readying his Model 40--a fast-stepping job that will cruise at 508 mph while carrying as many as 28 passengers 3200 miles. This $1,500,000 special will be ready for the runway by 1968.

The performance of the Lear Jet has led to the formation of a unique aircraft-chartering organization the corporate planesman would do well to look into, called Executive Jet Aviation, Inc., headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, but operating nationwide as well as in Europe. The basic plan of EJA is to contract with individual companies for specific monthly amounts of flight time rather than for the rental of an individual airplane.

One American-made and three foreign models complete the business-jet picture. By name and approximate dollar sign, they are the American Jet Commander at $750,000, the British DH 125 at $840,000, the German Hansa 320 at $855,000 and the French Fan Jet Falcon at $1,200,000. All these aircraft, designed with business in mind, have trim, tidy lines in contrast to the large, converted piston and turboprop liners that provide ballroom space. These business jets, built to meet the FAA's stringent jet-airliner-specification requirements, boast more generous proportions than the basic Lear Jet Model 23.

Choosing an aircraft always involves a series of compromises about power, pay load, size, speed and range. There are no hard-and-fast arguments for any particular plane. Specific operating needs provide the only good yardstick. Differences in the business jets range from slight to dramatically different; all are selling better than their manufacturers thought they would.

The Jet Commander is the "top of the line" produced by Aero Commander division of Rockwell-Standard Corporation. A 16,800-pound gross, mid-wing, twin jet, it can haul you and your staff or friends--up to a total of seven--plus two pilots in air-conditioned, pressurized comfort at altitudes up to 40,000 feet and speeds above 500 mph. With a typical business-flight load of four executives and baggage--roughly a pay load of 800 pounds--it will fly nonstop 1500 miles with a 45-minute reserve.

A feature unique to the Jet Commander is its straight wing. Most jet wings are swept back, and one, the Hansa 320, sweeps forward. Their merits are best left to aeronautical engineers, who obviously have differences of opinion.

The DH 125 is an eight-passenger, two-man crew, T-tailed, twin-jet craft designed specifically for corporate use. When in full executive dress, its spacious 6 x 20 cabin generally accommodates six in a mixture of chair and divan seating. There can be a galley for hot meals and drinks and bar service, and a high-fidelity system. You can have an auxiliary air-conditioning unit installed that will provide cabin cooling or heating when on the ground as well as aloft. This extra allows you to use the aircraft as a comfortable conference room at the less-sophisticated airfields not equipped to provide full ground services.

Hawker Siddeley's world-wide sales of the DH 125 hit over 110 at the end of '65, with about half of these sales made in Canada and the U. S. Late this year they will begin delivering DH 125s with a higher-powered engine that will increase performance in short-field operations and rate of climb, and be able to hold a cruising speed of 500 mph at 30,000 feet for more than 1000 miles.

The German executive jet with unique swept-forward wings, the HFB 320 Hansa, will begin to turn up on general-aviation ramps at airfields throughout the nation this spring. This first production turbojet developed in Germany since the War is designed to carry seven to nine passengers in executive style. Cabin space is comparable to a Sabreliner. Typical seating in its seven-passenger executive configuration is a three-place couch seat and two pairs of facing seats. Hinged tables, fitted into the cabin side walls, pull out between these facing seats when required for food, drink or business. There is a separate lavatory and a bar/galley unit.

Top cruise speed for the 320 Hansa is 518 mph. Packing a light load at this speed, it can cover a range of more than 1000 miles. When operating at long-range cruise speed, it can step out more than 1500 miles.

The French entry, the twin-jet Mystère 20, is better known in America as the Fan Jet Falcon. Its credentials are attested to by Pan American World Airways, which established a Business Jets division just to market this high-flying French filly.

The fond patron of the Fan Jet is Marcel Dassault, the richest man in France and sole owner of the company named Généale Aéronautique Marcel Dassault that designed and builds the Falcon. A brilliant aeronautical engineer--though he has flown only once in his life--he designed the world's first variable-pitch propeller for use on French fighters back in World War One, and still takes a very active part in the design of aircraft built by his firm. These include the Mirage IV supersonic bomber for the French Force de Frappe. When the company decided to enter the very competitive corporate-jet market, Dassault made the first basic design decision for the Falcon: It had to have a cabin large enough for the executive to walk around in easily during the flight. Anything less, he thought, would not satisfy a high-level executive customer.

With cabin space almost the size of the Jetstar, the Fan Jet Falcon provides seating for up to eight executives and supplies extra headroom by having its center aisle below the floor level of the seats. As with all corporate jets, the engines are mounted, as pioneered by the French, on the rear fuselage sides.

The Fan Jet Falcon has a top cruising speed of 546 mph. At long-range cruise speed, it will buzz off on a transcontinental hop with just one fuel stop. And like all business jets, it's designed to compete in the short-haul business-trip market, too.

If for some reason--size, performance, range, pay load--none of these jets come up to your grand ideas, wait till next year. Come 1967, the Gulfstream II by Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation will be rolling off the line. This is to be a turbojet version of the turboprop Gulfstream, but it will have far greater speed, plus transcontinental range. Yet it still will match the propeller-powered Gulfstream in performance at small off-line airfields.

As presently figured, the walk-around interior of the Gulfstream II will have a flat floor throughout the 34-foot length of a cabin that will hold a party of 19 passengers in airliner-style first-class comfort. It may also be done up in executive fashion with nine oversized swivel seats and a three-seater divan. There will be fold-away tables at each seat; also on board: a beverage cabinet and a high-fidelity system including an AM-FM tuner and tape deck. Cruising at 500 mph at 40,000 feet with ten passengers, a three-man crew and 490 pounds of baggage, the Gulfstream II will have a range of 2640 nautical miles. This means you can fly from New York to Los Angeles in under six hours. If you're flying from San Francisco to Hawaii, you can make it in under five. New York to Shannon will take you around 6 hours and 30 minutes.

If the jet giants are a bit beyond your reach, the piston-powered singles and twins are ready and waiting in such a wide range of price, power, pay load, performance and paint that you'll have to be a hardy shopper to look them all over. The field, as expected, is dominated by the big three of the small-plane manufacturers--Cessna, Piper and Beech.

Low-cost airplanes offered by Cessna run between $7000 and $12,000. You can take your pick of the 100-hp, two-seater Model 150; the 145-hp, four-seater Model 172, which will cruise along at 130 mph; or the deluxe version of the 172 called the Skyhawk. Piper's low-wing offerings run from $8500 for the two-seater Cherokee 140 to $12,900 for the 180-hp Cherokee C. Also available are 150- and 160-hp Cherokee C models priced at $10,990 and $11,500. There are three models of the Beech Musketeer that roughly match this competition, though their cost range runs a bit higher. You can get the two-seater, 150-hp Sport III for $11,500; the four-seater, higher-powered Custom III runs $14,950; and the Super III is a 154-mph, four-seater speedster with a $16,350 price tag.

When you're ready to move to higher power and greater pay load, Cessna offers a group of single-engine, high-wing aircraft running from 230 to 285 hp and carrying four and six people. The Model 182 and its deluxe version, the Skylane, priced at $16,225 and $17,875, are four-seater, 230-hp aircraft that can take an extra "family seat" for two children. But if you are not toting kiddies, you can pack up to 120 pounds of baggage and golfing gear in the third-seat area and wing off with three friends on a winter weekend for a stay in the South. (One of your destinations might be Hilton Head island off the South Carolina coast. At this beach resort, the delight of private pilots, you'll find a 3000-foot turf landing strip on the north end of the island, motel accommodations on the beach front, and the first-class Sea Pines Plantation golf course.)

The Super Skylane has a 285-hp engine, a $22,525 price tag, a 163-mph cruise speed and a range of 825 miles. With standard six-place seating, there is rather limited baggage room in the cabin. But Cessna skirts the problem with an interesting innovation: a detachable fiberglass cargo pack that accommodates loads up to 300 pounds and fastens to the plane's undercarriage. For a party of six swinging skiers, there couldn't be more ideal transportation.

Cessna's top 285-hp single-engine aircraft is the $25,750 Two Ten Centurion--a six-seater, high-wing, retractable-landing-gear model that will cruise along at almost 200 mph.

The new Piper Cherokee 235 is a four-seater, low-wing beauty that can hit a top speed of 166 mph, range out 1100 miles nonstop and carry a useful load greater than its empty weight. With a basic price of $15,900, it should attract more than its fair share of attention from the flying executive. But if you need more room, look at the Cherokee Six with its full-sized seating for six people. You can buy this 260-hp aircraft for $18,500 and put it to work as an air taxi, freight hauler, aerial ranch worker, or as a big, comfortable air cruiser for business or personal travel. Piper's high-performance, single-engine, retractable-landing-gear craft is the new Comanche B, which, with its 260-hp engine, can hit a top speed of 194 mph. This thoroughbred six-seater sells for $23,990.

Beech weighs in here in the heavy single-engine class with a couple of somewhat more expensive aircraft. The Debonair, a four-seater, low-wing model, comes in two grades of horsepower, 225 ($26,425) and 285 ($29,875). The extremely popular V-tail Bonanza, a four-to-six-seater that moves at 212 mph, is yours for a modest $31,425.

It is to the twin-piston-engine, light and medium planes that executive aviation has given its major attention. The twins are not just double-powered single-engine aircraft. Their reliability, power and added safety allow the firm that owns one to go into all-weather, long-distance, instrument operations not permitted owners of single-engine craft. Twins also demand a large increase in pilot skill. And while flying execs can--and often do--upgrade their abilities to handle this type of plane, it generally makes more sense to hire a professional pilot. Then the aircraft can serve many of the company's travel needs without requiring that the flying executive take the wheel.

Beech offers five twins in a line that starts with the $51,500 Travel Air, a 200-mph-plus job capable of hauling four or five travelers on medium-length trips. The nine-passenger Queen Air Model B80, with supercharged engines rated at 380 hp that will haul it at 224 mph for more than 1500 miles, is tagged at $140,000.

In a class by itself is Beech's Super H18, the famous "Twin Beech," which practically founded the light-twin dynasty. The prototype was flown in 1937 and it has been in production ever since. During World War Two, it undertook every job the brass could think of for a noncombat, light flying machine. When the battle was over, it shifted into an executive-transport configuration and became the first post-War plane certificated for commercial use. The current Twin Beech is powered by two 450-hp engines and will carry you about the county or country at a tidy 220 mph. You can have all this history and aeronautical competence for $135,000.

The flagship airplane at Beech is the King Air Model 90, a six-to-eight-passenger, pressurized turboprop with a cruising speed in the 270-mph range and a geography-gobbling 1500-mile nonstop capability. Beech has scheduled production of 100 King Airs a year, so you won't have to wait in line too long for this $320,000 gallant. If you want to know some of the company you'll be keeping, Disney Productions recently acquired a King Air and obtained the identification number N234MM, which means it will be identifying itself appropriately enough with, "This is 234 Mickey Mouse, over."

The very popular Piper Twin Comanche registers in at $34,900, and the turbo-charged version rings up $45,680. The extras of the turbo-twin are 25 mph of additional cruise speed over the 194 mph of the piston twin, a higher operating ceiling and more than 100 miles added to its 1350-mile range. Moving up in money and muscle: the Apache 235 runs $44,880; the Aztec C, which can hit 200-plus mph, costs $54,990; and now Piper is offering its best yet, the six-to-eight-seat, turbocharged, 260-mph Navajo, for just under $100,000.

Cessna's twins run from the unique tandem-engine Skymaster, whose center-line thrust--a form of the old push-pull models--provides single-engine handling characteristics with either or both engines operating, to the new six-to-eight-seat Model 411 with turbocharged engines and a top speed of more than 265 mph. The model 336 Skymaster is priced at $39,950, and the 411 checks in under $120,000. You can have a number of optional appointments built into the cabin of Cessna's biggest twins. These include a writing desk, fold-out table, lavatory and a small bar. In between the top and bottom of Cessna's twin offerings are the Model 310J and the Model 320 Skyknight. The very popular four-to-six-passenger 310J cruises at 221 mph and ranges more than 1000 miles. Price is $62,950. The Skyknight runs $76,950 and has turbocharged engines that take its cruising speed to 224 mph.

In addition to the big three, a number of highly esteemed manufacturers are turning out some exciting models that deserve a close look and a long test flight.

A leading contender in the single-engine field is Mooney Aircraft of Texas. At the bottom of its line is the Mooney Master, a trim, four-passenger, low-wing, 140-mph airplane with a price tag of $13,995. The top of the line, the new Mooney Mustang Mark 22, which will carry five at speeds up to 250 mph to an altitude of 24,000 feet, is the first single-engine aircraft with a pressurized cabin. This unique airplane runs approximately $30,000 before adding the necessary avionics, meaning the electronically operated radio, communications and navigation devices, which, as with used cars, are often classed as extras.

An added starter at Mooney is a recently introduced Japanese-made twin-turboprop labeled the MU-2, which was developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., to meet the somewhat conflicting requirements of high-speed and short-field capability. This seven-passenger, pressurized aircraft will fly at speeds up to 325 mph and at an altitude of 35,000 feet. The price for this high-winged bird of passage is $260,000.

Aero Commander, the only company offering a line of aircraft all the way from a light single to a twin jet, built its fame in the business-plane field with the Aero Commander, selling for $94,500 plus avionics. This highly reliable, popular, six-seat piston twin will cruise for more than 1000 miles at 218 mph to just about any of the nation's airports for whatever your business or pleasure needs and desires dictate.

The commodious Grand Commander seats 11 and cruises at 244 mph. A standard version sells for $146,900 and the pressurized job goes for $199,950 plus avionics. The Turbo Commander cruises along at 285 mph--nearly 5 miles a minute--at altitudes up to 30,000. Delivered at the field, this six-to-eight-passenger craft costs $299,950.

Should you want to fly the world's fastest light twin, try a ride in the Riley Turbo-Rocket. This sleek-looking speedster will hum along at more than 300 mph for a range of 1700 miles. But, as with any of the unpressurized twins, when you're putting it through its lofty altitude paces, you'll be flying high and handsome in an oxygen mask.

Should flying become your private as well as business pleasure, you can have sport in just about any of the business/personal aircraft we've looked at. But there are a handful of aircraft, generally the products of small manufacturers, that have been designed and built with fast fun for the busy executive in mind.

Foremost in this category are the small amphibians. When you fly off in one of these hybrids, you immediately add myriad ponds, lakes, rivers and waterways to your list of possible destinations.

The one American-made entry in this field is the single-engine, four-seat, 2400-pound Lake LA-4. This roomy, boat-hulled bird is off from your hometown airport in 600 feet, or from your backyard pond in 1200. If need be, you can take off from a small lake by flying out in a 600-foot circle. With planes such as the Lake, you gain a new degree of freedom to fish a thousand hidden lakes, search the broken shore line of a hundred rivers, or anchor off a secluded beach along the coastal waterway, where your guests can swim and play or stretch out on the broad wing to sun-bathe. The main idea, of course, is to deliver relaxation from executive pressures; but, if your Puritan conscience demands that you make your plane pay for itself, you can always try searching the glinting seas circling the Bahamas for likely spots to scuba-dive for treasure locked in sunken Spanish galleons.

The 180-hp engine is mounted pusher-style on a strong strut that rises up above the high wing and behind the cabin. The configuration provides excellent visibility--a happy advantage when you're making your own landing fields on unknown lakes--and the noise level is low enough for easy conversation. The Lake will cruise along at 130 mph and has a range of approximately 500 miles. If your destination should happen to lie in the snow-and-ice country, don't hesitate. Adding a pair of retractable skis will give you a plane for all seasons at a price tag under $30,000.

There is a four-seater Italian entry in the amphibian market called the Riviera, which is produced by Siai-Marchetti of Milan. Distributed here by North Star Airparks, Inc., this water-winged signorina has her engine and three-bladed propeller mounted pusher-fashion behind the hull and between twin tail booms. When turning over at 70 percent of power, she'll drive you along at 165 mph with 1000 pounds of passengers and sporting gear.

There they are: the cost and the profit of flying for fortune and fun. When you climb aboard your corporate plane, be it a sprightly four-seater or a commodious jet-powered conference room in the sky, you join a very special group. If you're a young executive on the go, flying can be a way to get above the competition. With the runway ahead pointing toward far horizons the sky isn't the limit, it's the beginning.