CIRRUS SURPRISE: GARMIN EFIS OPTION
Although EBACE isn't the usual venue for major light aircraft announcements, Cirrus rolled one out here in Geneva nonetheless in the form of a new model called the Cirrus Perspective, which sports some airframe upgrades but—the real stunner—a new, upgraded version of Garmin's popular G1000 EFIS system. We went to Duluth last week for an advance look at the Perspective. (Click through to watch the video.) More...

DIAMOND SAYS THIELERT PARTS PRICES ARE "ABUSIVE"
The news went from bad to worse for owners of Thielert-diesel-powered Diamond aircraft Monday, many of whom are stuck with grounded airplanes following the German engine manfucturer's bankruptcy two weeks ago. In a lengthy bulletin to owners Monday, Diamond reported that a contentious negotiation with a German bankruptcy administrator has yielded no promise of relief for owners stranded with broken airplanes and without warranty support from Thielert. Moreover, said Diamond, the German bankruptcy firm overseeing Thielert seems more concerned with short term cash flow than long-term survival of the company and support of customers. Diamond described prices that the administrator has set for replacement parts as "abusive." A new gearbox-which each engine requires every 300 hours-sells for 10,113 or $15,700. Clutches and high pressure pumps, also scheduled replacement items, are similarly high priced. More...

PIEPER BULLISH ON AIR TAXI FUTURE
The largest investor in Eclipse Aviation says the European market for VLJs is huge and a plant in Russia is likely to fill that void. In his first public appearance on behalf of ETIRC, which poured more than $100 million into Eclipse, Dutch business magnate Roel Pieper told AVweb in a video interview at EBACE 2008 that a perfect storm of crowded airports in Western Europe and primitive transportation in burgeoning Eastern Europe is creating major opportunities for the charter/air taxi business. "We believe the demand for fleet and air taxi operations in Europe is huge," Pieper told AVweb. He said the company could be building aircraft in Russia by the end of 2009 and that it will be busy. "We believe very much that the VLJ market is real and that the Eclipse 500 will set the standard. He noted U.S. and Canadian authorities have granted export permits for the airframe and engine (Pratt and Whitney Canada) However, European certification of the aircraft still eludes the company and CEO Vern Raburn isn't saying when he thinks that might occur. "We are optimistic that we'll get (EASA) European Aviation Safety Agency certification," he said. "I'm just not prepared to say when." also said that he expects the company to "be cash-flow-positive next year." More...

HAWKER UNVEILS PREMIER II
The next generation of Hawker Beechcraft's composite Premier is faster, goes farther and gets to a new maximum altitude of FL450 faster than its already-revolutionary predecessor and it only costs 10 cents per nautical mile more to operate. The rejuvenated Wichita planemaker unveiled a mockup of the aircraft in a pre-show press conference at EBACE 2008 in Geneva on Monday. The new plane adds winglets, Williams FJ44-3AP turbofans that produce 3,000 lbs. of thrust and goes 1,500 nm on the same size tank of gas, compared to 1,150 nm on he earlier model. "This is truly a revolutionary aircraft," said CEO Jim Schuster, who appeared at the news conference with Gerry Schwartz, chairman of Onex Corp., which took over Hawker Beechcraft more than a year ago. (Both are featured in this podcast interview.) More...

EMBRAER EMBRACES GREEN
Embraer has is offering customers a carbon offset program that will help reforest Brazil at a cost of a few dollars an hour in operating costs. The company announced its new program at EBACE 2008 on Monday and says it will take care of mitigating the already-small carbon impact of its aircraft on behalf of customers who sign up to pay the additional three-to-five percent premium on the direct operating costs of their aircraft. Embraer spokesman Graciliano Campoz told AVweb in a podcast interview that none of the carbon offset money will come to Embraer but the company will monitor and audit the recipients to ensure the money truly does offset the carbon footprint of the aircraft operations. More...

AVIDYNE ROLLS OUT IRIDIUM-BASED DATALINK
Datalink weather to the cockpit has revolutionized weather avoidance but, unfortunately, because XM Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio don't serve Europe, the Continent has missed out on the benefits of weatherlink. Avidyne announced a new product this week at EBACE that will fix that. The MLX770 from Avidyne used the Iridium satellite network as its data pipe and in addition to weatherlink, the system also provides two-way messaging. Is an inflight phone service component also in the works? Avidyne wouldn't comment, but we think it's likely, given Iridium's market position as a sat phone system. More...

CESSNA 850 COLUMBUS ORDERS CLIMBING
Cessna VP Roger Whyte says the company has "taken orders" in addition to the 36 it reported for the $27 million Columbus 850 large-cabin business at the end of the first quarter of this year and it's hit the road in Europe with an elaborate display on the aircraft. At a news conference at EBACE 2008 in Geneva on Monday, Whyte also announced that Vought will build the wings on the 70-foot-long aircraft, adding to a long list of outsourced assemblies that Cessna has traditionally (although not exclusively) built itself. Spirit Aerosystems is building the fuselage and tail section. Meanwhile, the company continues to ride the wave of interest in private aviation and is reporting a record $14.5 billion order backlog. More...

HAWKER BEECHCRAFT AND ONEX CORPORATION AT EBACE 2008
As one of the world's proudest and most innovative aircraft companies, Beechcraft suffered an identity crisis as an orphaned sibling of Raytheon's empire of mostly defense-related enterprises. The company was cut loose from the corporate backwater more than a year ago, and Hawker Beechcraft is thriving under new owners Onex Corporation. AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with Hawker Beechcraft CEO Jim Schuster and Onex Chairman Gerry Schwartz about the dramatic renaissance and the bright future of the storied company. More...

EMBRAER ANNOUNCES ENVIRONMENTAL VISION AT EBACE 2008
Although business aviation is, by all standards, a bit player in environmental impact, the high profile of private aviation and public perception demands perhaps more action to mitigate its carbon footprint than in other types of transportation. Embraer has embraced a factory-to-finished-product approach to environmental responsibility, and AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with Embraer's Graciliano Campos about how business aviation can lessen its impact. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: EBACE NOTES, GRIPES AND ACCOLADES
Today on the AVweb Insider, our staff copes with jetlag, European electrical outlets, and the dawning realization that everyone (from big companies to small dealers) have actually made good on their ambitions to go global. 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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