DIAMOND'S DRIES: FLY BY WIRE AS "ELECTRONIC PARACHUTE"
Diamond Aircraft says it's very close to flying a fly-by-wire version of its Austro-diesel-powered DA42 twin and the company's CEO Christian Dries told AVweb that he sees this technology as an "electronic parachute." On a visit to Diamond's headquarters at Wiener Neustadt, south of Vienna, AVweb was shown a test project under way in the company's Multi-Platform division that included a conventional stick but electric servos to operate control surfaces. This technology, says Dries, will be incorporated into the autopilot and he believes it will eventually evolve to include both flight envelope protection and full auto-land capability for the DA42. Dries told us he sees this technology as the trend of the future and that it's inevitable. In a clear dig at the Cirrus BRS system, Dries calls the technology "an electronic parachute" because once refined, it would be continuously available to bail the pilot out of any unusual flight attitude or emergency and would work passively, which the BRS parachute does not. More...

COLLIER TROPHY GOES TO 787
The Boeing 787 was chosen for the 2011 Robert J. Collier Trophy, which honors the "greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America," the National Aeronautic Association announced on Tuesday. The jet was one of four finalists for the award, along with the Lockheed C-5M Super Galaxy, the Gamera human-powered helicopter, and Pipistrel's Taurus G4 electric-powered airplane. "We were very pleased with this year's slate of nominations -- all of them were impressive, inspirational, and innovative, and certainly represent the future of aviation and aerospace," said Walter Boyne, NAA chairman. "We congratulate Boeing on their great accomplishment with the 787." The mid-size, long-range, fuel-efficient 787 Dreamliner was certified last year. More...

HAWKER SLOWS PRODUCTION ON COMPOSITE JETS
Some workers on the Premier 1A and Hawker 4000 assembly lines will be furloughed for four to six weeks due to delays in the composite-material supply line, Hawker Beechcraft said this week. Production of the jets will be slowed down, according to the Wichita Eagle. The company didn't release information about how many workers will be affected. The composite-materials supplier, Cytec Engineered Materials, is working at full capacity and is trying to ramp up production to alleviate the delays, Yeow Ng, an advanced materials expert at Wichita State University, told the Eagle. Spokesmen at Cessna and Bombardier said they are not experiencing any similar delays. More...

WTO NOTES WICHITA INCENTIVES
The common practice of municipal governments in the U.S. providing incentives for aircraft companies has apparently been ruled illegal by the World Trade Organization. On Monday the WTO determined that both Boeing and Airbus received billions in illegal subsidies to develop and produce commercial aircraft. The WTO noted that NASA and the U.S. military had directly subsidized Boeing, something Airbus has been alleging for years. But also included in the list of subsidies were the incentives provided by the city of Wichita. More...

AVIATION FIRMS PROTEST EU CARBON TAX
European aviation officials say the threat of economic reprisals from countries opposed to the European Union's application of a carbon tax to foreign airlines is growing. As we reported last week, Li Jiaxiang, China's director of the Civil Aviation Administration, told Bloomberg the choice of airplanes was up to the airlines, but Airbus claims that's not quite true and that $12 billion in orders has been "suspended." More...

HYDERABAD SHOW THIS WEEK
Against a backdrop of struggling airlines and a controversial regulatory environment, India's major commercial and business aviation show opens in Hyderabad March 14. The theme of this year's India Aviation 2012 is "India: the Emerging Aviation Hub," and while the airline side has certainly seen meteoric growth in the last decade, the battle for passengers among the budget carriers that flooded the market in that time has stretched the patience of the government and the credibility of the industry. However, assuming the finances and regulations get sorted out, the country is still considered a growth area for aerospace companies that are looking outside their traditional markets to keep their production lines busy. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: DIAMOND'S COMMERCIAL/MILITARY TURN
Although the sales of Diamond's innovative twin took a nosedive in 2008, it enjoyed good timing on one thing: As the UAV market bloomed, it discovered that the DA42 could be equipped with sensors and cameras and flown both more cheaply and flexibly than either a UAV or a helo with sensors. On the AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli discusses the details. Read more and join the conversation. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: PIPISTREL'S HYPER-EFFICIENT AIRPLANES
Can you fly fast and not burn very much gas? Pipistrel founder Ivo Boscarol thinks so, and the company has proven it with its Virus SW LSA. On AVweb's tour of Slovenia, Paul Bertorelli flew the airplane and now offers his impressions on the AVweb Insider blog. Read more and join the conversation. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: WHY ROTAX BUILT AN ECO-ENGINE
Stepping into the Rotax factory has a time warp quality to it with regard to thinking about fuel efficiency and carbon emission — which is to say the company is looking forward, not backward. On the AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli explains why BRP/Rotax thinks it doesn't have the pleasure of denial when it comes to carbon emissions. Read more and join the conversation. More...

VIDEO: ROTAX'S NEW 912IS
This week, Rotax rolled out its new 912iS light aircraft engine at its Gunskirchen, Austria factory. AVweb was there, and here's a full video report on the new engine, which features dual electronic fuel injection, dual ignition, and power options. The engine will be ready for volume shipments as early as May of 2012. 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...

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.

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Paul Bertorelli

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