FCC TO SUSPEND LIGHTSQUARED PLANS
The FCC will indefinitely suspend LightSquared's authority to carry terrestrial broadband signals on frequencies close to GPS frequencies after receiving a report that concludes the two systems cannot currently coexist. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) wrote the FCC on Tuesday (PDF) saying there was no immediate solution to interference problems found in testing GPS units in the presence of the types of signals that LightSquared is proposing. The FCC conditionally allowed LightSquared to use frequency bands it owned adjacent to the GPS bands provided it could prove the broadband wouldn't step on GPS. A year of testing demonstrated serious and widespread interference according to NTIA. LightSquared says it "profoundly disagrees" with those findings and was fighting to have the FCC rule in its favor right up until the decision was announced. The battle isn't officially over yet. More...

WITH PRESIDENT'S SIGNATURE, FAA REAUTHORIZATION OFFICIAL
After five years of trying to get a long-term FAA funding bill passed, President Obama's signature on Tuesday was the last step required to create a new four-year authorization bill. The $63.6 billion bill, which runs until 2015, aims to provide consistent funding and support to help upgrade to NextGen. "This is a great day for our National Airspace System," said Paul Rinaldi, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. "This four-year bill will provide the funding stability we need to develop and train our next generation of controllers along with the next generation of equipment and procedures." More...

OBAMA BUDGET WOULD CUT AIRLINE, AIRPORT FUNDING
The new Obama administration budget proposal, released on Monday, had general aviation advocates worried about user fees, but other aviation sectors have also found cause for concern. The Air Line Pilots Association was unhappy about proposed cuts of $36 million from the Federal Air Marshal Service and $13 million from the federal flight deck officer program, which trains volunteer pilots to carry firearms on board. Lee Moak, president of ALPA, said funding for the FFDO program is already "minimal," and any further reduction "could very well lead to its ultimate demise." Airlines would face increased security fees, as well as a $100 departure fee to help cover the cost of the air traffic control system. Funding for improvements at medium and large airports would be cut by 27 percent. More...

SINGAPORE AIR SHOW ON
The biggest aviation event in Asia opened Tuesday and as the world industry looks to that part of the world for much of its future growth, the Singapore Air Show has loomed in importance for manufacturers and suppliers. Boeing grabbed the spotlight with the signing ceremony for a 230-plane deal with Lion Air worth almost $23 billion. That easily eclipsed the $10 billion previous record for this show. Of course all the majors and most of the business jet OEMs are in Singapore but Reuters is reporting that the big winners at the show may be military contractors. More...

OEMs LAUD ASIA'S AEROSPACE FUTURE
Cessna says China will be in the top ten of business jet markets by 2025 and other Asian countries will combine to take a significant share of production. In a presentation at the Singapore Air Show, Trevor Esling, Cessna's VP of sales for the region said the performance of of the Asian market through the global recession has positioned it for major growth in medium to long term. "The region's economic resilience during the global financial crisis, rising national prosperity and Chinese liberalization make it likely that the business aviation market will mature at quite a rapid pace," Esling said. "Cessna, therefore, expects demand for light and mid-size aircraft to rise accordingly." If the bizjet OEMs are optimistic, the airline side is downright bullish. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: DRONE TECH GETS CREEPY
Drones are much in the news lately, and it seems that each new story we publish describes remarkable progress, some of it a little on the creepy side. On the AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli examines two developments that could just as easily tip toward the dark side. Read more and join the conversation. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: WHAT'S EAA UP TO?
Building out its base, that's what. And the only way to go is toward a broader, more general interest aviation audience that's not interested only in homebuilding. But on the AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli asks if that doesn't make it look just like AOPA? And do we need to belong to both? Read more and join the conversation. More...

AVWEB'S NEWSTIPS ADDRESS ...
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 255,000 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...

VIDEO: WHERE'S MY FLYING CAR?
A practical flying car with everyman usability has so far eluded the public, but we may have already been introduced to a design that could lead to a breakthrough. Some of the major challenges of producing a point-to-point simple and safe to operate vehicle are technological in nature. Autonomous navigation (enter the destination, press a button, and allow the vehicle to navigate, communicate with, and autonomously avoid other aircraft) may be one key to safely organizing masses of flying vehicles in the same airspace. And as society progresses, the gap between the dream and reality may be shrinking. More...

VIDEO: CTLE LIGHT SPORT POLICE AIRCRAFT
There's a new eye in the sky over Tulsa these days, and it's keeping an eye on things for the local sheriff's office for about 10 percent of the cost of a helicopter. AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with Roger Crow of Echo Flight Resources about the Flight Design CTLE law-enforcement platform based on a light sport aircraft. 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 world's premier independent aviation news resource.

The AVwebBiz team is:

Publisher
Tom Bliss

Editorial Director, Aviation Publications
Paul Bertorelli

Editor-in-Chief
Russ Niles

Contributing Editors
Mary Grady
Glenn Pew

Webmaster
Scott Simmons

Contributors
Kevin Lane-Cummings
Jeff Van West

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