PIPERJET NOW BIGGER AND BETTER-LOOKING
Piper went back to the drawing board with its single-engine PiperJet and the result is the Altair. The new aircraft differs substantially from the proof-of-concept PiperJet and includes a redesigned fuselage that is substantially larger than the stretched Meridian body that served the original. The tail-mounted engine stays but the longer nacelle and reworked tail give the aircraft a sleeker appearance. Company Executive Vice President Randy Groom said the new aircraft is aimed at both the business and owner-pilot market and suggested larger versions of the aircraft are possible in the future. He declined to say whether future designs will have more engines. More...

HAWKER BEECHCRAFT UNVEILS HAWKER 200
An updated version of the Beech Premier that Hawker Beechcraft says is "worthy of being called a Hawker" was one of several surprise small aircraft announcements at this year's National Business Aviation Association convention in Atlanta. The Hawker 200 will be a little faster, have a little more range and fly a little higher than its predecessor, Hawker Beechcraft VP of sales Shawn Vick told a Monday news conference. The aircraft will also have an updated interior. He said 95 percent of bizjet flights are shorter than 1,000 miles and carry three or fewer passengers and he said the 200 fits that niche while offering greater performance and comfort than competitors. The aircraft will sell for $7.55 million. Certification is scheduled for late 2012 and deliveries will start in 2013. Vick also announced a new short-field King Air model he said will open up 1,100 more airports to the venerable turboprop twin. More...

ELECTRIC 172 MAY FLY EARLY NEXT YEAR
An electric-powered Cessna 172 proof-of-concept aircraft will be ready to fly by April of next year, Bye Energy and Cessna said this week at NBAA's Annual Convention. The two companies are collaborating on the project, which was announced earlier this year at EAA AirVenture. George Bye, CEO of Bye Energy, said the project is making steady progress. "This is an ambitious effort, but we are continuing to uncover additional efficiencies with electric-powered flight," he said. "We are grateful to Cessna for its continued collaboration and support." Cessna CEO Jack Pelton said progress toward first flight of the electric 172 demonstrator is "encouraging news for the future of mainstream general aviation." More...

KESTREL MAKING PROGRESS
Kestrel Aircraft hopes to move into its government-spec factory before the end of the year to begin work on certifying the big turboprop single. Company spokesman Adrian Norris told AVweb in a podcast interview at the National Business Aviation Association convention the private sector funding needed to begin creation of the production version of the aircraft is "falling into place" and will supplement the government incentives being provided by the State of Maine in exchange for job creation. The new factory will be in a state-of-the-art Navy maintenance facility at the decommissioned Brunswick Naval Air Station. Although the company has a proof of concept aircraft, it's safe to say the final article will be substantially different, although no decisions have been made about the final engine or avionics choices. More...

FAA RE-REGISTRATION RULES, CLARIFIED
If you own an aircraft, you will have to re-register it sometime over the next three years, and last week the FAA issued a clarification (PDF) to help some of those owners who are starting the process now. The FAA says it has sent out re-registration notices to owners of aircraft that were registered in March of any year. Those owners can go ahead and re-register now, but the new registration will expire three years from the last day of the month it's issued. So if you register in October, the registration will expire October 31, 2013. If you want the new registration to last until March 31, 2014, you should wait until March 2011 to complete your paperwork. Also, this week, EAA posted a "simple guide" to the new registration form online. More...

ECLIPSE: 50 TO 100 AIRFRAMES A YEAR IS THE SWEET SPOT
As Eclipse Aircraft continues to rebuild itself — and its airplanes — it announced a new integrated flight management system for the EA500 at NBAA in Atlanta this week. In this podcast, CEO Mason Holland tells AVweb that some 100 existing Eclipses have been fully updated with state-of-the-art avionics and more upgrades are on the way. Holland says the company's Albuquerque production facility is ready to resume building new airplanes, but it's unknown when that will happen. He says the sweet spot for Eclipse economics is between 50 and 150 airplanes a year, although it could ramp up to higher numbers.

This podcast is brought to you by WxWorx XM WX Satellite Weather. and Bose Corporation. More...

KESTREL PROJECT MOVING ALONG
The money is almost in place, and there's a big new factory building waiting for Kestrel Aircraft in Brunswick, Maine where the company hopes to move in later this year. AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with Kestrel's Adrian Norris about what's next.

This podcast is brought to you by Lightspeed Aviation and Phillips 66 Aviation. More...

VIDEO: VISIONSAFE EVAS DEMO
Smoke in the cockpit is a serious danger for pilots. With oxygen available, breathing isn't the problem; seeing is. The VisionSafe Emergency Vision Assurance System (EVAS) addresses the threat of zero-zero vis in the cockpit. AVweb filmed a demo at NBAA 2010 in Atlanta.

This video is brought to you by WxWorx XM WX Satellite Weather and Bose Corporation. More...

VIDEO: PIPERJET ALTAIR
At NBAA 2010 in Atlanta, Piper surprised the world with a complete redo of its single-engine jet, included an upgraded interior and larger, circular section cabin. Piper's Geoff Berger gave AVweb a tour of the revised jet, dubbed the Altair.

This video is brought to you by Phillips 66® Aviation and Lightspeed Aviation. More...

AVWEB'S NEWSTIPS ADDRESS ...
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 200,000 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 internet's aviation magazine and news service.

The AVwebBiz team is:

Publisher
Timothy Cole

Editorial Director, Aviation Publications
Paul Bertorelli

Editor-in-Chief
Russ Niles

Contributing Editors
Mary Grady
Glenn Pew

Features Editor
Kevin Lane-Cummings

Webmaster
Scott Simmons

Contributors
Jeff van West

Click here to send a letter to the editor. (Please let us know if your letter is not intended for publication.)

Comments or questions about the news should be sent here.

Have a product or service to advertise on AVweb? A question on marketing? Send it to AVweb's sales team.

If you're having trouble reading this newsletter in its HTML-rich format (or if you'd prefer a lighter, simpler format for your PDA or handheld device), there's also a text-only version of AVwebBiz. For complete instructions on making the switch, click here.

Aviate. Navigate. Communicate.