Flying private jets just got sexier

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Aviation fans are excited about the new, super-fast and stylish Gulfstream G650
• Oprah, Ralph Lauren, Warren Buffett are said to be interested in the $65 million plane
• Businesses aim to make flying private more affordable
• Beyonce reportedly gave Jay-Z a Challenger 850 as a present

(CNN) -- He's an 82-year-old "redneck hillbilly from west North Carolina" who's been scratching an itch to go fast his whole life. 
 
Finally, after decades of racing high-performance speed boats and winning world-class endurance car competitions, Preston Henn got his hands on the fastest executive jet on the planet: the G650.

CNN caught up with Henn by cell phone between practice laps at Daytona International Speedway. "As long as the cars here don't crank up, we can talk!" he said.

From then on, Henn -- Florida's flea market kingpin -- sounded like a giddy schoolboy as he told his story about how he put down a $1 million deposit in April 2012 to become the first person to buy a Gulfstream G650 -- "the hottest airplane out there" --- with its distinctive, sweeping, curving wings and its roomy, swanky interior.

It made him "feel like a million dollars," he said gleefully.

For a plane that costs $65 million, feeling like $1 million might seem like a disappointment. But you get the picture.

The jet's top speed: 704 mph -- nearly the speed of sound -- makes it arguably the world's fastest civilian aircraft.

"I was just amazed at how quick it took off," says Henn. "And then it just went ZOOM -- straight up. I just sat back and drank a glass of wine and enjoyed it."

Henn knows speed. He's been around the track a time or two -- winning the checkered flag during the '80s at the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours event at Florida's Sebring International Raceway.

He doesn't compete anymore. But he still travels around the world to race his friends. A super-fast G650 that can fly 8,000 statute miles -- farther than just about any other executive class jet -- might save him a lot of time and hassles.

Saving time and avoiding hassles are the main reasons the rich and famous want to fly private.

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