NEW YORK FLIGHT SCHOOLS FACE TAX FIGHT
A New York state flight school owner says he'll be forced to close at the end of June because of a new sales tax ruling that has already cost schools and individual aircraft owners thousands of dollars. Bob Miller, who owns Bob Miller Flight Training in Buffalo, said in an interview with AVweb he predicts flight schools all over the state will be forced to close. He also said aircraft owners involved in leaseback arrangements with schools will be hit with taxes and penalties that will force them to cancel their deals with the schools because of a new interpretation of the sales tax code on flight school aircraft. Miller said that until this week, aircraft purchased for use for flight training were exempt from the 8.75 percent sales tax as were the lease payments schools paid aircraft owners for using the planes. But the state has changed its mind on the exemption. "This wasn't a change in the law, this is just some bureaucrat's new interpretation," he said. They've also made the ruling retroactive, Miller said. More...

PODCAST: TOXIC TAX IN NEW YORK?
A Buffalo flight school owner says the state is trying to balance its budget on the backs of flight school owners and those who lease their aircraft to flight schools. AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with Bob Miller about New York state's retroactive re-interpretation of the sales tax code. More...

FAA SEEKS NEW GA FUEL PROPOSALS
The FAA on Monday asked the world's fuel producers to submit proposals for new fuels that could replace 100LL in the general aviation fleet by 2018, a move that GA advocacy groups greeted with enthusiasm. The FAA said it will assess each of the candidate fuels, taking into account production and distribution infrastructure, impact on the environment, toxicology, and economic considerations. "General aviation is vital to the U.S. economy," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "We need to work with industry to develop an unleaded fuel that advances aviation safety and improves the environment." The General Aviation Avgas Coalition described the move as a "significant step" in the search for an unleaded aviation gasoline that will perform adequately in all types of general aviation aircraft. More...

FAA PROPOSES TO OK EFVS FOR ZERO VISIBILITY
A new rule proposed by the FAA this week would permit aircraft to land at airports with zero visibility using an Enhanced Flight Vision System. The proposal also would allow commercial operators to dispatch aircraft when the destination airport is forecast to be below minimums, and would establish training and proficiency criteria for pilots. An EFVS uses real-time imagery derived from imaging sensors such as forward-looking infrared, millimeter wave radiometry, millimeter wave radar, or low-level-light intensification, the FAA said. Synthetic vision systems, which create a computer-generated image of the external scene derived from a database of terrain and obstacles, are not included in the new rule. More...

A350 FIRST FLIGHT FRIDAY
It's been a few years since there was a first flight of a clean sheet airliner design but it seems likely there will be two by the end of the month. Airbus announced the first flight of its A350 will be June 14 at 10 a.m. in Toulouse, France. Assuming that goes well, the A350 will become the main attraction at the Paris Air Show, which starts June 17. The company rolled out the prototype of the XWB (extra wide body) aircraft a month ago with a full paint job and the aircraft has been undergoing ground tests. The A350 is a direct challenge to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the highly successful Boeing 777, a new model of which will be on display at Paris. Meanwhile, in Canada, Bombardier is planning to fly its new CSeries single-aisle airliner by the end of the month. More...

EMBRAER RELEASES LEGACY 500 SHORT FILM
Embraer has released a splashy new promotional video featuring its business jet spokesman, actor Jackie Chan. The video, described by Embraer as a "cinematic short film," has the production values of a Hollywood trailer and packs a plot, special effects and generous views of the cabin into a six-minute package aimed at getting across the leading-edge technology of the Legacy 500 business jet. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: FAA TO EAA -- PAY UP
Right on cue, the choir sang this week: "No," we said, "the FAA shouldn't expect EAA to pay for controllers at AirVenture." While the FAA's decision smacks of politics and poor stewardship, it also shows that, long-term, we'll need to make some hard choices on excess services. We haven't made any yet. Read more and join the conversation. More...

SURVEY: 'AVIATION CONSUMER' WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR PIPER WARRIOR
Our sister publication, Aviation Consumer, is doing a Used Aircraft Guide on the Piper Warrior and is looking for input from Warrior owners and pilots. They want to know what it's like to fly and/or own a Warrior. How does it handle? How much does it cost to operate, maintain, and insure? What suggestions would you give to a person considering buying one? If you'd like your airplane to appear in the magazine, send along any photographs you'd care to share -- as high-res as possible. Comments on mods, support organizations, and anything you feel is pertinent to the Warrior are welcomed. Send your email to consumereditor@hotmail.com by June 15. More...

VIDEO: CIRRUS SR22T G5 FLIGHT REVIEW
The 2013 Generation 5 Cirrus SR22T turbo offers more than a new 3,600-lb. gross weight increase and extra seating. Aviation Consumer's Larry Anglisano flew the new model halfway across the country to sample the compilation of recent improvements that could make the G5 SR22 the best Cirrus yet. 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...

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...

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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