SENATORS LINE UP TO AMEND FAA BILL
After a breakthrough on the major logjam that was stalling passage of the FAA reauthorization bill in the Senate last week, it seems like members on both sides of the aisle are now anxious to chip in their changes. While it doesn’t seem likely that any type of user fee amendment is waiting in the wings, the long list of proposed changes—ranging from a suggestion to ban peanuts on commercial airliners (allergy concerns) to equipage of helicopters with terrain and traffic awareness systems—seems destined to delay a vote on the bill until at least Thursday. As AVweb reported Monday, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), chairman of the aviation subcommittee and Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) chairman of the finance committee agreed last Friday to scrap a proposal to impose a $25 per leg user fee on turbine-powered noncommercial aircraft. More...

MASSACHUSETTS MAY END AIRCRAFT TAX EXEMPTION
The Massachusetts House has voted to end a sales tax exemption for aircraft and parts but the State Senate is not similarly inclined. The House voted 87 to 67 against a budget amendment that would have preserved the exemption from the five percent tax that applies to almost everything else in Massachusetts. Cutting the exemption would add about $7 million a year to state coffers, assuming the same level of business activity was maintained, something opponents said won’t happen. Senate President Therese Murray, a Democrat from Plymouth, favors maintaining the exemption, saying eliminating it would push aircraft business to the neighboring states of New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York and Connecticut that all exempt aircraft and parts from tax. More...

FIRST PHENOM 300 FLIES
Embraer announced Tuesday that the prototype of its Phenom 300 light business jet flew for the first time from the company’s Gaviao Peixoto plant. Three more test articles are under construction and will be used in the 1,400-hour certification test regime. The first production models are scheduled to enter service in the second quarter of 2009. “This first flight of the Phenom 300 executive jet is a very special and historic moment for all of us at Embraer…,” said CEO Frederico Fleury Curado “We unveiled the Phenom jets nearly three years ago, making a clear statement to the business aviation community of our commitment to becoming a long-term player in the executive aviation market. More...

GULFSTREAM SYNTHETIC VISION RETROFIT APPROVED IN EUROPE
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has approved the retrofit of any of Gulfstream’s in-production large-cabin aircraft with its new Synthetic Vision-Primary Flight Display (SV-PFD). The approval applies to G550, G500, G450 and G350 aircraft operated from European Union countries. The system is a available as a factory option on new aircraft and will come standard on Gulfstream’s new flagship, the 650. More...

U.S. CORPORATE INFLUENCE ON BIZJET MARKET FADING
The chairman of Aero Toy Store, one of the largest business aircraft dealers in the world, says the U.S. no longer calls the tune in the bizjet market. “Five years ago our business was 100 percent in the U.S,” Steve McMillan told the Financial Times Now it is 75 percent outside the U.S. We used to track our business directly against American corporate profitability. Now that is only one factor, our sales are much more closely related to the number of billionaires in the world. It is an almost exact match.” McMillan was interviewed about news his company is planning an expansion to Monaco to be closer to its customers. More...

JET FUEL FROM GARBAGE
A Washington, D.C.-based company is in the preliminary stages of developing a $250 million plant in California to make jet fuel out of garbage, manure and tree bark. According to Biomass Magazine Solena Group hopes to build the plant in Gilroy, Calif., and will use raw material from municipal, agricultural and forestry waste supplied by Norcal Waste Systems, one of California’s largest municipal waste and biomass collectors. The announcement comes on the heels of the successful certification of jet fuel made by a South African company that uses a different raw material but the same basic process as that planned in California. More...

MIDCOAST'S KURT SUTTERER VICE CHAIR OF NATA
Midcoast Aviation President Kurt Sutterer has been named vice chairman of the National Air Transportation Association. He's the fourth Midcoast executive to serve on the NATA board and will become Chairman of the organization in 2009.
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DAVID HERBST BACK AT MERCURY AIR GROUP
David Herbst has rejoined Mercury Air Group as Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategies. In the 1990s he was Director of Corporate Relations when the company was public and was most recently Senior Vice President and General Manager of MWW Group, a PR firm in Los Angeles.
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MAINE AVIATION MARKETING FIRM ESTABLISHED

Jeff Russell

JeffAirLLC and BFT International have recently merged to form Maine's only dedicated aviation marketing company, BFT Aviation Marketing. It will be headed up by JeffAir owner Jeff Russell.
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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 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

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