A jet for flybys

Forget the Navy bar. This is what I call a "target rich environment"...for puns.

(Credit: Maverick Jets)

The Trend Hunter blog has dubbed Maverick Jets' new SoloJet the Top Gun of executive aircraft. (What an original pop culture reference.) Considering the glaring irony that Tom "Maverick" Cruise has traded in his F-14 Tomcat to become TomKat, one can't blame the Top Gun references from jumping into the blogosphere.

The single engine jet holds a 3,190-pound Pratt & Whitney JT-15-5 engine, enabling the jet to climb 8,000 feet per minute. It flies at 472 knots--that is about 543 mph, or 874 kilometers per hour for our friends across the pond, and Mach .72 at 31,000 feet if your name happens to be Iceman. The cabin is about 9 feet long and seats five.

So, if you "feel the need for speed" and have an extra $1.25 million lying around, the SoloJet is just the thing for that special pilot in your life.

Personally, I am partial to the slower 252 knots max speed SeaJet from Maverick Jets that can land on and take off from the water. (There is also my dream of owning a Grumman Albatross, but that's definitely not a jet.) No matter which jet you choose, be careful up there.

As a wiseman once warned me, it's all fun and games 'til Goose bumps his head.