Mike Newton, who this year is trying for a Le Mans 24 Hours hat-trick, believes he has already added a third winner at the U.K. based AD Aviation. "We have acquired a Citation Eagle II which should be ready for charter in July this year," Newton, the ceo, discloses.

"We intend to market the new aircraft towards both business and private clients. We have seen demand for our services to business increase by 50 per cent since the security alerts and travel disruption to scheduled flights last summer so the addition of the Eagle II will help us respond to this," Newton adds.

Newton has chalked up class victories two years running at the Le Mans 24 Hours and is working for a third success in 2007. The victories have been achieved in the MG Lola EX264 racecar sponsored by AD Aviation's parent company AD Group and run by RML. By then he believes the six seat Eagle II will be already turning in a winning performance from its Liverpool base as it joins two eight-seat CJ2s on charter. "Crucially, the Eagle II's greater performance allows us to offer direct travel 30 per cent further, up to 1,600 n.m., bringing destinations such as Moscow, Athens, Tenerife, Casablanca and Reykjavik within easy reach," says Newton.

Another advantage of the Eagle II is the faster climb rate. "It is capable of reaching its cruising altitude of up to 43,000ft in about 35 minutes in a single climb which means that it can be above the weather and readily avoid congestion and re-routing around local airports, so reducing typical travel times."

Newton was alongside pilot Jason Stone for the 5,000 mile journey to bring the Eagle II back from Sierra, in Uvalde, Texas via Fort Wayne, Indiana; Goose Bay, Canada and Reykjavik, Iceland, finally landing in Liverpool on Sunday night, 22 April.

"The journey started 18 months earlier for us at AD Aviation following changes to aviation rules, which now allow an aircraft with a major engine and chassis modification to be accepted on the U.K. register, " says Newton.

Negotiations took place with Sierra in Texas through 2005 resulting in an order being placed for the modification to increase the Eagle II's range in January 2006.

Newton says: "The Citation IIs are ideal for our fleet: they are good all round reliable executive jets with a fairly comfortable cabin size.

The Eagle II has fantastic range, climb and speed."

The private charter business increases on a daily basis, Newton reports. "Against the backdrop of the ever present threat of terrorism, disruption and delays caused by associated security measures, more and more business executives are turning to private air charter. They benefit from the reassurance of a cost effective, secure environment, combined with the flexibility of an itinerary designed to meet the needs of businesses demanding fast turn around executive travel rather than being at the mercy of commercial airlines and long airport delays."

He adds: "We have also noticed a significant increase in the amount of people wanting to use Liverpool John Lennon as their departure airport. It is an ideal base for us because we are able to offer a 24 hour operation"

AD Aviation is concentrating on ensuring its three aircraft work to the maximum. "However, we are always interested in operating aircraft for other people," says Newton.

The company, formed in 1988 initially operated a Seneca but added its first Citation six

months later. "We have continued to improve our fleet and move on to be purely jet operators," Newton adds.