NEW MODELS ON TAP FOR CESSNA
Cessna and Bell Helicopters will introduce new models and upgrades of existing aircraft as early as 2012 as parent company Textron boosts investment in the two companies to coincide with an expected industry turnaround next year. In an interview with Bloomberg, Textron CEO Scott Donnelly said work is already under way on the recovery plans. "The programs are there, the teams are working, so we're going full-speed ahead," Donnelly told Bloomberg. "You will see some refreshes, some block changes to some aircraft, and we also have a couple things in there that will be brand-new aircraft." His comments are sure to fuel speculation that the Columbus large-cabin business jet shelved 18 months ago will be among the first to be revived. More...

CONSULTANT SEES BIZJET CONSOLIDATION
Business consulting firm AlixPartners predicts consolidation in the corporate aircraft sector as prolonged slow growth becomes the "new normal" in the aerospace sector in general and the bizjet market in particular. The firm released a study on the industry's outlook on Tuesday and says the future looks especially hard for business aircraft makers. "Business jets face an even tougher environment, while also still trying to shake the 'politically incorrect' stigma of a year ago," spokesman Phil Toy said in a news release. In an interview with Dow Jones Newswire, Eric Bernardini, managing director of the firm, said there are too many bizjet companies fighting over too few orders. More...

ILFC SHOPPING FOR AIRCRAFT
It's been three years since International Lease Finance Corp. ordered a new aircraft and it's now poised to dip its toe in the water again. In fact, the company may make a splash with an order for 10 Airbus A380 aircraft. ILFC's new CEO Henri Courpron told Bloomberg there are no plans to sell off any more of the company's portfolio and wouldn't rule out the possibility that the A380 order will be announced at or before the Farnborough Air Show, which starts July 19. "We still have a $13 billion portfolio," Courpron told Bloomberg. "We have plenty of planes on order coming down the pike and we have engaged some fairly focused exchanges with the original-equipment makers to possibly complement that." ILFC is owned by American International Group, which received a major bailout from the federal government in 2008, but Courpron described ILFC as being robust. "I'm not worried about the outlook for ILFC," he said. More...

NEW OWNERSHIP AT LANCAIR
Lancair International, of Redmond, Ore., on Tuesday announced new ownership, new leadership, and an infusion of new operating capital for the company. Gene Wolstenholme is now majority owner and chairman, and Robert Wolstenholme, who built and flies his own Lancair IVP, was named president and CEO. The company now will focus on the owner-built Evolution turboprop, which Gene Wolstenholme described as "a world-class product." With five of the airplanes flying and 24 orders in hand, "we're off to a great start, and we are going to focus on pushing through this down economy and getting our incredible airplane to market," he said. Joe Bartels, CEO of the company since 2003, resigned his position last month but will remain a minority percentage owner. "Joe did a great job overseeing development of the Evolution aircraft," said Bob Wolstenholme, "and we now need to move ahead and expand the manufacturing infrastructure and training programs to support the Evolution product line." More...

FAA, TSA AMEND DC FLIGHT RULES
Several changes to operations in the Special Flight Rules Area that affects Washington, D.C., airspace will become effective Sept. 1, the FAA said recently. The most significant change will affect pilots flying VFR who lose radio contact with controllers after departing from an airport located within the SFRA (which extends in a circle extending 30 nm from Reagan National Airport). Under the current rules, those pilots must squawk 7600 on their transponders and immediately leave the SFRA by the most direct route. The new rule will allow pilots to return to their departure airport if it is closer than the SFRA boundary. The FAA also set a speed limit of 180 knots for VFR aircraft within the SFRA. The FAA also made minor tweaks to several other operating practices (click here for the complete official announcement). Also, EAA says the TSA has revised its rules for sport pilots using the three general aviation airports located within the inner 15-nm circle of the SFRA, known as the Flight Restricted Zone. More...

PROMOTIONS AT CESSNA

Bill Collier	Peter Wilkinson

Cessna has announced that Bill Collier will head the company's McCauley Propeller Systems operations as general manager and Bill Collier will take over turbine and propeller aircraft parts distribution. Wilkinson has been with Cessna since 1997, and Collier joined the company in 2005.
More...

WHO'S WHERE? YOU TELL US
Get a promotion or a new job? Your colleagues want to know about it, and AVwebBiz can get the word out. Drop us a line about the staff appointment, with a nice recent photo, and we'll do our best to include it in our new section, "Who's Where." The items will be permanently archived on AVweb for future reference, too. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: FUEL FIGHT — IT'S ABOUT TIME
Plowing through the minutes of the Coordinating Research Council on avgas research, Paul Bertorelli suddenly realized little has come of this quest because we just haven't had the loud discussion that's required. Well, we're having it now. And every owner who's sidled up to the Exxon nozzle has a dog in the fight. Click to read why Paul is excited about the fray — and why you should be, too. More...

LYCOMING'S IE2 PROJECT TECH REVIEW
If Lycoming's electronically controlled IE2 engine seemed like it was over the horizon, it is in fact just around the corner. Lycoming and Lancair are in full-swing flight test in the launch aircraft, the Lancair Evolution, and certified versions are expected by the end of this year or a little later. In this video, Lycoming's Jim Morris provides an update on the project. More...

MYSKY MSONE LSA
There are a handful of high-wing LSAs offering tandem seating but only a couple of low-wing designs offering the same feature, giving that fighter-like view from the cockpit for both pilot and passenger. The MySky MSOne is one of those, and in this brief video, AVweb gets a look at the MSOne. More...

15 YEARS AND NOW 15 GRAND GIVEAWAYS ... IT'S YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A ZAON PCAS XRX

Win a Zaon PCAS XRX as we celebrate our 15th Anniversary! All you have to do is click here to enter your name and e-mail address. (You only have to enter once, and you'll be entered in our prize drawings for the entire year — so if you've already entered, you're all set.)

And no, we're not going to rent or sell your name, ever. Tell your friends, and invite them to sign up for AVweb so they can qualify for our 15 Grand Giveaways prize drawings, too. (We won't spam them, either — but we hope they will sign up for our newsletters.)

Deadline for entries is 11:59pm Zulu time Friday, July 16, 2010.

Click here to read the contest rules and enter.

Congratulations to Richard Kemp of Canton, Georgia, who won an AV8OR handheld GPS in our last drawing! (click here to get your own from Bendix/King by Honeywell)

AVWEB'S NEWSTIPS ADDRESS ...
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 200,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? More...

MEET THE AVWEBBIZ TEAM

AVwebBiz is a weekly summary of the latest business aviation news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the internet's aviation magazine and news service.

The AVwebBiz team is:

Publisher
Timothy Cole

Editorial Director, Aviation Publications
Paul Bertorelli

Editor-in-Chief
Russ Niles

Contributing Editors
Mary Grady
Glenn Pew

Features Editor
Kevin Lane-Cummings

Webmaster
Scott Simmons

Contributors
Jeff van West

Click here to send a letter to the editor. (Please let us know if your letter is not intended for publication.)

Comments or questions about the news should be sent here.

Have a product or service to advertise on AVweb? A question on marketing? Send it to AVweb's sales team.

If you're having trouble reading this newsletter in its HTML-rich format (or if you'd prefer a lighter, simpler format for your PDA or handheld device), there's also a text-only version of AVwebBiz. For complete instructions on making the switch, click here.

Aviate. Navigate. Communicate.