FIRST G650 DELIVERED
Gulfstream ended the year with a brace of accomplishments for its G650 program that set the stage for a busy 2013 in terms of deliveries. The company delivered its first G650 to a U.S. customer last week. "The first delivery of an aircraft is always an auspicious occasion and this one is especially so. This delivery represents the beginning of a new era in aircraft design and manufacturing in terms of quality, capabilities, reliability, parts availability and maintenance activities," said Gulfstream President Larry Flynn. "We're thrilled to see the first G650 leave our hangar for a customer's. Soon the G650 will be a common sight at airports around the world." The company also closed out the year with a couple of important certifications. More...

UNCOMMANDED YAW PRECEDED CRASH: NTSB
A phenomenon known as loss of tailrotor effectiveness may have had something to do with the crash of a Bell 206 in the East River off Manhattan 14 months ago. The NTSB factual report into the crash (PDF) says an uncommanded right yaw while the pilot was trying to land the aircraft preceded the crash, which killed two of five people on board. Pilot Paul Dudley told the NTSB the he thought he'd had an engine failure on takeoff and tried to return to the helipad when the uncommanded right yaw occurred. Dudley said he thought the sudden yaw was the result of tailrotor failure or loss of tailrotor effectiveness and tried to minimize the impact of the helicopter by manipulating the collective. No pre-crash mechanical faults were found with the aircraft. Although the factual report does not determine cause, the investigators included a detailed description of loss of tailrotor effectiveness. More...

AIRBUS PILOTS WARNED OF ICING PROBLEMS
Airbus pilots all over the world have been warned how to react if they suddenly lose data from the angle-of-attack sensors on the aircraft and confuse its fly-by-wire system. EASA and the FAA both issued emergency ADs last week ordering flight manuals for single-aisle Airbuses to be updated. It came two weeks after a similar order for wide-body Airbuses. The root cause of the issue appears to be a cone-shaped mount that Airbus thought would offer better ice protection for the angle-of-attack sensor -- but the opposite turned out to be true. More...

CESSNA BUYS MAINTENANCE BASES
Cessna says the purchase of two major maintenance facilities in Zurich and Dusseldorf is part of its plan to boost its global reach. The company announced last week it's buying Jet Aviation's maintenance repair and overhaul facilities in the European cities. About 200 employees will be absorbed by Cessna in the takeover. "Germany and Switzerland are strategically located where a majority of Citations in the region are based and we are enthusiastic about bringing more service options to our customers in Europe," said Scott Ernest, president and CEO at Cessna. He said Jet Aviation has been the main Cessna service center in both cities for decades and the acquisition made sense. Jet Aviation will continue to operate the FBOs at both locations. More...

EXPERIENCING THE ECLIPSE -- FLYING, MAINTENANCE, TRAINING

Certification functionality and bankruptcy issues, plus a fair does of malaise, plagued many early adopters of Eclipse jets, but there are 263 jets in the wild now reaching a combined 200,000 total flight hours -- and the new Eclipse ownership experience has changed. The early Eclipse experience was a master class in "the pioneers get the arrows." Many production slot holders took those arrows in the form of shifting performance targets and missed development goals. Others lost their substantial deposits, altogether. In the end, the jet proved underpriced when introduced and the original company suffered, accordingly. The Eclipse jet concept may have been born from significant positive aspiration for general aviation. It was executed, some might argue, with significant hubris. But that was before.

Now the aircraft is under the guidance of Eclipse jet owner Mason Holland who is determined to secure the aircraft's future and support the owners. And as we've found, some of those owners are finally living the dream of safe simple fast efficient flight that they were sold when they put their money down.

At the helm of Eclipse Aerospace, today, Mason Holland is a hands on owner. "I know at least 80 percent of our jet owners on a first name basis," he says, "even those flying internationally." Holland has pulled the company up by its boot straps and now supports seven dealers representing 30 different countries. The jet is actually certified in about 10 more than that. Holland has recently entered the Latin American market following certification in Brazil. "Middle East sales have been great," says Holland, "and it's a great plane for Europe." According to Holland, the cost in fuel per nautical mile to fly an Eclipse in Europe is less than what it costs to fly the same trips in a Cirrus SR22. "Jet-A is so much cheaper than avgas over there," he says. When (if?) the piston fleet turns to Jet-A, that equation will change. But even in the U.S. customers who purchased largely based on promised efficiencies in flight time, fuel burn, and simplicity of operation are reporting back positively. For this story, we spoke with two happy owners. Their stories follow.

Click here to read the full article.

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: LSAS FOR IFR? WHY NOT?
On the AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli contends that spending $170,000 to equip an LSA with dual-redundant glass and an autopilot just to tool across the county for a burger raises an obvious question: Why not fly these things IFR? This turns out to be a gray area, rules wise, but it can be done if certain sensible limitations are observed. Read more and join the conversation. 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...

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: L-3'S TRILOGY BACKUP GYRO
Glass panels have become standard in new aircraft, and now that more legacy airplanes are retrofitted with these systems, there's a growing market for backup gyros. That market has clearly stated a preference: Backup glass units are making inroads. In this AVweb video, Larry Anglisano of Aviation Consumer and Kirk Fryar of Sarasota Avionics give us a tour of the L-3 Trilogy. 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...

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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Tom Bliss

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Paul Bertorelli

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Russ Niles

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Glenn Pew

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Kevin Lane-Cummings

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Karen Lund

Avionics Editor
Larry Anglisano

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