JUDGE UPHOLDS HAWKER PROTEST
With a $350 million contract at stake, a court has ruled that it's OK for the U.S. Air Force to restart its bidding process for 20 new training aircraft, the Wichita Eagle has reported. The contract was awarded about a year ago to Sierra Nevada Corp.'s version of Embraer's Super Tocano, but after a protest from Hawker Beechcraft, both parties were asked to resubmit their bids. Sierra Nevada protested that decision, but now the way is clear for both companies to remake their case. The court also said there was adequate evidence that the original decision was "likely tainted by bias." More...

EPIC EXPANSION PROCEEDS
Epic Aircraft has completed the deal to buy a former Cessna manufacturing plant at Bend, Ore. In an email to AVweb, Epic CEO Doug King said the deal, which we reported last week, went through earlier this week and will give the company the room it needs to meet demand both for its kit-built LT turboprop singles and the forthcoming certified E1000. "Our backlog is building both for kit planes and new certified aircraft," King said. More...

SUPERJET PILOTS BLAMED FOR INDONESIA CRASH
Indonesian investigators say the pilots aboard a Sukhoi Superjet 100 airliner that crashed into a mountain last May, killing all 45 on board, were to blame for the crash. They said the crew ignored repeated warnings from the aircraft's systems of the impending terrain conflicts because they thought the alerts were the result of a database problem. In fact, it appears the crew never knew what they hit since they turned off the terrain avoidance functions just before the aircraft, on a demo flight with potential customers, hit Mt. Salak. According to The Associated Press, cockpit voice recordings show the captain of the aircraft was chatting with a potential customer as the aircraft hit the mountain. More...

BOEING, EMBRAER TEAM UP ON RUNWAY SAFETY
Boeing and Embraer said this week they have worked together to develop a set of new pilot procedures that will help to prevent accidents on runways. "Runway excursion is one of the three major contributors to aviation accidents," said Paulo Cesar Silva, CEO of Embraer Commercial Aviation. "We firmly believe that a robust set of pilot procedures, training and new technology will substantially reduce these events." The training is featured in free videos. According to The Wall Street Journal, the training stresses that flight crews should discuss the details of approaches while there is still time to go around, and they also should employ extended use of thrust reversers. More...

CHINA INVESTMENT OBSTACLES PERSIST
Companies thinking about investing in Chinese aviation projects may face insurmountable competition from China itself. The South China Morning Post says one privately financed FBO has been put out of business and another is on hold because local airport authorities have opened or are building competing enterprises. "There is an invisible threshold for FBO or MRO on the mainland -- they have to join hands with local airport authorities," said Kelvin Wu, the vice-president for North Asia sales and market development at Cessna. "The prospect of such infrastructure is so lucrative that the airport doesn't want to pass them to other investors." More...

DATE SET FOR 3D 'TOP GUN' RELEASE
Paramount Pictures has said it will release a 3D version of Top Gun for a six-day run in select Imax theaters starting Feb. 8, and then will debut the film on Blu-ray on Feb. 19. The popular aviation film, starring Tom Cruise, has been remastered from high-resolution original negative scans and was painstakingly converted to 3D under the supervision of the film's director, the late Tony Scott, the studio said. "Rendered in 3D, the film's complex, long shots reveal extraordinary depth and clarity, allowing viewers to explore every detail of the action," according to the studio. "From the spectacular aerial dogfights to the intense close-ups in the cockpits, each frame enables the audience to feel a part of the story." More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: FLY-BY-WIRE FANTASIES
When Boeing built the last B-52H in 1962, they couldn't have imagined the design would still be in service nearly 100 years after it first appeared. On the AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli wonders if experiencing the same lack of imagination when playing it forward to technologies like fly-by-wire controls that might open up entirely new designs for general aviation. Or maybe it's just easier not to think about it and be happy with what we've got. Read more and join the conversation. More...

SURVEY: ARE YOU FLYING WITH A GARMIN GTN NAVIGATOR?
If so, the staff of Aviation Consumer would like to know what you think of it. Almost two years ago, Garmin introduced the GTN-series navigators to update its mega-popular GNS products. If you've been flying behind one, tell us what you think of it by taking this survey. It'll only take five minutes. 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...

VIDEO: FK'S COMET BIPLANE
FK Lightplanes has significant presence in Europe but almost none in the U.S. They'd like to change that with a sporty little aerobatic biplane called the FK-12 Comet. Right now, it's got a Rotax 912, but it will soon have a fully aerobatic Lycoming AEIO-233, making it one of only a couple of light sports approved for aerobatics and the only biplane. AVweb recently took a spin in the Comet with Hansen Air Group's Mitch Hansen. Here's a video report. More...

VIDEO: IPAD MINI -- AVWEB'S FLIGHT TRIAL
The iPad, and tablets in general, have gained wide acceptance among pilots. But if you find the iPad a tad too large for the cockpit, the new iPad Mini may address that complaint. It's 2/3 the size of the full iPad but otherwise has the same features and performance as an iPad 2. In this video, AVweb and Aviation Consumer wrung out the Mini for both cockpit and pre-flight use. Other than screen glare, we found it had few warts worth mentioning, and it just might become the perfect cockpit accessory. 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.

The AVwebBiz team is:

Publisher
Tom Bliss

Editorial Director, Aviation Publications
Paul Bertorelli

Editor-in-Chief
Russ Niles

Webmaster
Scott Simmons

Contributing Editors
Mary Grady
Glenn Pew

Contributors
Kevin Lane-Cummings

Ad Coordinator
Karen Lund

Avionics Editor
Larry Anglisano

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