TELEDYNE-CONTINENTAL BOUGHT BY CHINESE INTERESTS
Teledyne Continental Motors has been sold to Technify Motors, a subsidiary of AVIC International, a Chinese government-owned holding company with diverse business interests in the aerospace sector. The sale price, according to AVIC and Teledyne Technologies, was $186 million, and terms of the sale included a commitment to remain in Mobile, where Continental has been on the former Brookley Air Force base since the 1960s. More...

DASSAULT TARGETS DEAL WITH CHINA'S AVIC
Reuters says Dassault Falcon is eyeing a major manufacturing presence in China as a way of tying up 40 percent of the said-to-be burgeoning market for business jets in the country. Reuters says the New Jersey company is negotiating with the Chinese government-owned AVIC to either set up shop in China or work on the development of an indigenous Chinese business jet. "There should be a decision in 2011/12. We will then know, yes or no, whether we will collaborate more seriously with them," Reuters says Dassault Falcon Chief Executive Jean Rosanvallon told La Tribune in an article to be published on Wednesday. Reuters says Dassault believes that in the long term China will be home to 3,000 business aircraft and he hopes to sell $500 million worth there in 2011. More...

RUNWAYFINDER SHUTS DOWN OVER PATENT
RunwayFinder, a popular online flight planning Web site announced Tuesday that it was shutting down in the face of a lawsuit from FlightPrep, an Oregon company that successfully patented online flight planning almost a year ago. RunwayFinder developer Dave Parsons said he had hoped to reach a licensing deal with FlightPrep which included the dropping of the lawsuit, which claims damages of $3.2 million per month from RunwayFinder. FlightPrep did offer RunwayFinder a temporary free license while it negotiated terms of a permanent one but Parsons said the lawsuit was a deal breaker. He said FlightPrep arrived at the $3.2 million figure by multiplying the number of unique visits his site receives each month (22,500) by the $149 annual subscription cost for FlightPrep's service. FlightPrep calls the resulting $3.2 million "lost revenue." Parsons said FlightPrep wouldn't drop the suit so he's closing the site, which is used by other sites as a source for information for their own products. In a podcast interview with AVweb, FlightPrep Vice President and General Manager Ross Neher said it's not his company's goal to shut down sites or otherwise disrupt aviation services but RunwayFinder ignored written notification of the patent enforcement. He said taking Parsons to court was a last resort and the only option open to his company under the circumstances. More...

Related Content:

• Podcast interview with FlightPrep's Ross Neher

ADVOCATES SAY TAX PLAN GOOD FOR GA
The tax bill now working its way through Congress will help to boost manufacturing and restore lost jobs in the general aviation industry, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association said this week. The plan will also provide tax benefits to companies that invest in business aircraft, according to the National Business Aviation Association. Businesses will be allowed to expense 100 percent of their investments in new capital assets through Dec. 31, 2011, retroactive from Sept. 8, 2010, plus claim a "bonus" depreciation allowance of 50 percent during 2012, said NBAA. In addition, the bill extends the research and development tax credit for two more years, says GAMA. "These proposals are extremely well-targeted to create jobs, stimulate innovation, and get production lines moving again at manufacturing plants," according to GAMA CEO Pete Bunce. More...

P&WC ANNOUNCES $1 BILLION RESEARCH PROGRAM
Pratt & Whitney Canada says it will spend up to $1 billion to create a new generation of fuel-efficient and lighter-weight engines. It confirmed the program in a news conference Monday. Although no actual engine projects were announced, the research cuts a swath across P&WC's traditional market. "P&WC is developing the most advanced propulsion technologies for improved environmental performance, including reduced fuel consumption, lower emissions and less noise," the company said in a news release. "These technologies will be leveraged across P&WC's product lines for new turbofan, turboprop and turboshaft engines for business, regional and helicopter applications." The company is already engaged in some cutting-edge stuff at the higher end of its market, including the geared turbofan that will power the Bombardier Cseries and the PW800 that will go in big bizjets. P&WC got a big boost from the Canadian federal government in putting together the five-year research program. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: AOPA — WE'RE JUST ASKING
AVweb recently undertook a review of AOPA salaries and expenses. We're curious how the numbers parse out, but as Paul Bertorelli explains in the latest installment of our AVweb Insider blog, that doesn't mean we're at odds with the associatoin. In fact, we think critical reviews make for a stronger association, and that's something we can all benefit from in the current climate. Read more and join the conversation. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: ECLIPSE RISING
If ever the stars were aligned for success, Eclipse Aerospace is an example. The investors bought the bankrupt wreckage of the previous company for four cents (or less) on the dollar, they're well on their way to sorting out the EA500's shortcomings, and aerospace giant Sikorsky has bought into the action. On the AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli concedes he may be a kook for thinking this ought to work. Read more and join the conversation. More...

INTERNET FLIGHT PLANNING PATENT FALLOUT BEGINS
When we first heard of FlightPrep's successful patent of online flight planning a year ago, we figured it would eventually be big news. It's now gathering some interest, and on Tuesday RunwayFinder announced it was shutting down its site because of a patent infringement lawsuit filed by FlightPrep. AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with FlightPrep general manager Ross Neher on Monday, before RunwayFinder pulled the pin, about how his company hopes to work with the GA community to make this uncharted (sorry) territory navigable. More...

VIDEO: AVWEB FLIES THE KITFOX LSA
Everyone complains that light sport aircraft are too expensive, but Kitfox is doing something about it. AVweb recently went to Homedale, Idaho to try out Kitfox's new moderately priced LSA. Here's a full video report. More...

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...

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...

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

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