dmq;1695677 said:
Let me say. I go to one Bills game a year. Mostly around this time of year. This was the most ridiculous I have ever seen this crowd. I have gone 5 years in a row and the Bills have won every game. People do not realize how much crowd can effect game, but this game was nuts.
N1DC: Didn't get to see Jerry at the airport, but saw his plane. My father said it was a gulfstream- $40,000,000. Got to meet with his pilots. Real nice guys.
Many Cowboys fans, many nice Bills fans though. Great crowd, but don't push the button.
Small tidbit about Jerry's private jet. Not many people know this.
Jewels. Disco floors. Cowboys art. Private jets push luxury envelope
Plush and inviting, the interior of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' private plane also serves as an art gallery.
Commemorative etchings by renowned sports artist Bart Forbes tell the team's history. One shows running back Emmitt Smith breaking Walter Payton's record to become the all-time leading rusher.
"I've never seen the panels on a plane used as the backdrop for a painting," said Mr. Jones. "I don't know that it exists anywhere else, but we have a unique opportunity to basically tell the story of the Cowboys."
The next time you're stuck in the middle seat on a commercial flight, reaching for your wallet to buy a light snack, consider how the rich and powerful travel – in private jets.
Not just a plain old plane, either. For the superwealthy, master suites and even showers are de rigueur. Exercise bikes designed to handle an airplane's bank angle, satellite phones and plasma televisions are must-haves, as are exotic woods, semi-precious stones and fine fabrics.
And gold never goes out of style.
"I've heard of some Russian tycoons that have sunk $100 million into their jet. There are really some mind-boggling figures going around, but then it happens," said Az Hatefi, editor and president of Transport and VIP Interiors magazine. "Some of the sultans overseas and oil sheiks in the Middle East have traditionally done that sort of thing."
On Mr. Jones' Gulfstream V, five of the eight pieces of art are already installed. Another panel that's not yet in place will picture coach Bill Parcells joining the team.
The team and staff travel to games on an American Airlines charter, but Mr. Jones uses his private jet for Cowboys business and finds it's particularly helpful in wooing valuable players or sponsors.
"You want to be able to sell the tradition and visibility of the team," he said. "This helps us do it."
Michael Stallings, who represents the artist, agrees.
"It's pretty discreet, pretty tastefully done and subtle," he said. "Riding in a private jet is a luxurious, sumptuous experience. On this jet, you're aware it is owned by the owner of the Dallas Cowboys."
High-dollar touch
While most private jets could be described as sumptuous, many are definitely not subtle.
There are stories of disco floors, a navigation system that rotates a chair to constantly face Mecca, handwoven silk carpets costing nearly $5,000 a square yard and onboard medical facilities.
"The Jacuzzi idea, it's been done," said Ken McAlpin, manager of the VIP and head-of-state programs at L-3 Communications Inc. in Waco, which customizes aircraft.
Dallas aviation attorney Ladd Sanger said it's not uncommon for some his clients to spend more than $10 million to outfit an 800-square-foot interior of a private jet.
His clients regularly demand the most exotic, highest-quality materials available, including such things as gold-plated seat belts.
"It's not unusual for the work from design to final Federal Aviation Administration certification of the aircraft and interior to take over a year or more," said Mr. Sanger of Slack & Davis LLP.
L-3 is one of only a handful of companies in the world that does high-end interior work, transforming "green" airplanes into flying staterooms and palaces. Two of the others are also local: Associated Air Center and Gulfstream Aerospace Corp., both of Dallas.
Dallas is "superbly well-located" for such businesses, said Robert Baugniet, spokesman for Gulfstream. "You're smack in the middle of the country."
Although the general public might not be aware of the companies, the rich know where to find them.
"We know the people who want this kind of thing, and they know who does this kind of thing, so we don't really have to advertise," Mr. McAlpin said.
Hush-hush luxe
The work itself is pretty secretive. Mr. Jones, who was happy to show off the artwork of his beloved team for this story, is an exception to the norm.
Most billionaires, foreign heads of state and royals would prefer the public not see what their jets are like.
"We sometimes have projects where we can't discuss the customer's name at all. Workers don't necessarily know. It's such a sensitive issue," Mr. McAlpin said.
There are more than 310,000 general aviation airplanes and helicopters flying throughout the world, but figures aren't available for how many have been spruced up inside.
Just about any jet can be customized. The very richest customers can afford to deck out some of the largest jets available. L-3 has even done custom work on private Boeing 747s and 777s and on Airbus 340s.
The aircraft customization business grew by leaps and bounds in the late 1990s, but then the market was hit by the economic downturn.
The lower end of the market – corporate jet interior work, usually done in practical shades of blue and beige – dragged down the industry as companies spent less on their toys in more austere times.
But that is turning around as business jet shipments increase and customers want to personalize their planes. Shipments were up 14 percent last year, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association.
"As the market improves, the completion business for those aircraft improve as well," said Ray Peterson, director of research at industry tracker Forecast International.
But the higher-end business wasn't affected as much.
"Frankly, a lot of customers are not too sensitive to the economy, if you know what I mean," said Mr. McAlpin. "If they want it, they get it."
Sometimes it takes awhile. Aside from a great deal of craftsmanship, customization also has to consider how to keep the plane's center of gravity and not weigh it down.
"The weight of the interior is critical to how far the airplane can fly," said Mr. Sanger.
When a customer spends as much as $50 million or $70 million on a jet, before customization, they expect to be able to fly across the country nonstop without having to refuel, he said.
Today, they also want security and missile avoidance systems. And customizers say they've been asked about protection from biological agents and more sophisticated onboard hospital facilities.
Regardless of those concerns, opulence is always high on the wish list.
"People like heads of states, princes and high-net-worth individuals tend to bring in a designer and basically live out their fantasies," said Mr. Hatefi, the editor. "Really, it's the best of the best that goes into these airplanes."
