August 27, 2008

By The AVweb Editorial Staff

NEW! Zulu with Panel Power! With the new Zulu: P (Panel Power) headset, Lightspeed has raised the bar in performance, comfort and crystal-clear audio quality, with more total noise cancellation than any other headset — and no batteries needed! The Zulu: P uses the same LEMO plug that you may already have installed. The Zulu: P also comes with built-in Bluetooth. No one else offers this much in a total headset package. Click here for more information. Top News: Lean Times May Come to BizJets, Too back to top  Sponsor Announcement BizAv Activity Declining, Says Analyst Bizjet manufacturers will ride a wave of record backlogs for a few years but the party might be winding down. David Strauss, an analyst for UBS, told the Toronto Globe and Mail that his research shows overall business flight activity is down 11 percent in the past year and that while that's mainly an indication of overall business trends, it's only a matter of time before it hits bizjet manufacturers. "Still strong order activity would appear to indicate a business jet market that is holding up well," Strauss told Globe business blogger David Berman. "However, as evidenced by our proprietary business jet survey and building used inventory levels, we believe the market has come off from its peak and is likely to fall further, although deliveries and earnings could continue to grow given unprecedented backlogs." Strauss said use of Dassault and Bombardier aircraft have fallen the most, at 10 percent, Hawker Beechcraft usage is down 7 percent, Cessna off 5 percent and Gulfstream 2 percent. But while Bombardier is feeling the brunt of the current slowdown, its share prices are leading the pack. They're up a whopping 24.7 percent this year over last, despite dropping 16.5 percent from their peak in June. By contrast, shares in Textron, which owns Cessna, have dropped 47 percent in the last year, but don't blame the airplanes. Textron is a more diversified company than most in the aerospace business and has been hit harder by general market conditions. JA Air Center, Your Garmin Source GPSMap 495 and 496 have AOPA Directory and terrain. 496 includes automotive directions and XM weather and music. Have an old GPS? Do not let it lose its value! Call (800) 323-5966 for the current value. JA Air Center [Dupage Airport (KDPA), West Chicago, IL] provides the finest avionics installations, turbine/piston maintenance, avionics/instrument service, mail order, and aircraft sales. Call (800) 323-5966, or click for more information. Tuesday Delays Caused by FAA Computer Glitch back to top  FAA Flight Plan System Causes Mass Delays Computer problems at one of the FAA's two flight plan processing facilities caused flight delays throughout the country on Tuesday. The FAA said flight planning for the eastern area of the U.S., normally handled at a facility in Hampton, Ga., just outside Atlanta, had to be shifted to a Salt Lake City facility that serves the West and that caused delays. The agency said there were no safety issues involved and radio contact and radar service has been maintained. It's not known how long it will take to fix the problem. Problems at the same Georgia facility in June of 2007 caused severe delays throughout the system. The computer problems, reportedly with the National Airspace Data Exchange Network (NADIN), happened about 1:30 p.m. and by late afternoon flights were typically delayed by 90 to 105 minutes. FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen told the Atlanta Constitution-Journal that the system would likely be restored by Wednesday. At one point on Tuesday, the FAA asked that no further flight plans be filed. Fly With Bose® Aviation Headset X™ Enjoy an unmatched combination of full-spectrum noise reduction, clearer audio, and comfortable fit. Voted the #1 headset for the seventh consecutive year in Professional Pilot's 2007 Headset Preference Survey. Also rated "Best ANR Headset: The Aviation Consumer Product of the Year" by Aviation Consumer. Learn more and order. Quotes reprinted with permission: Professional Pilot, 2007 Headset Preference Survey, 12/07; Aviation Consumer, 8/07. Education and Aviation I: More Time in the Lab back to top  Gulfstream Opens New Research Facilities Gulfstream Aerospace says it plans to continue to be on the cutting edge of business aviation technology and opened a massive new research and development center in Savannah last week. Two buildings encompassing almost 200,000 square feet and will accommodate about 700 employees. "The addition of these two buildings to our growing campus will allow us to maintain our competitive edge in research and development," said Gulfstream President Joe Lombardo. "Our engineers, using the many technologically advanced laboratories located here, will continue to change the future trajectory of business aviation." Gulfstream was behind some significant advances in business aviation, including enhanced and synthetic vision systems, the first all-glass cockpit and first in-flight wireless Internet system. It's currently working on the G650, which has a top speed of Mach .925, which will make it the fasted civil aircraft in the air. A Repeat Performance Sure to Evoke a Soaring Ovation No one knows Citations better than Cessna. So, it just makes sense to buy a pre-owned Citation from the company that builds them. You can even select one of Cessna's pre-owned ValuePlus Citations, which have been restored to new-aircraft standards. Get the pre-owned peace of mind that only comes from the most trusted name in aviation. Choose Cessna pre-owned. For complete details, go online. Education and Aviation II: The Doctor(ate) Is In back to top  Embry-Riddle To Offer Aviation Doctorates Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University will offer two new doctoral degree programs in 2009, including the first Ph.D. in Aviation in the U.S., the school said this week. The new program will allow students to "pursue interests in aviation in a diverse, intellectually versatile and multidisciplinary environment and to affect a global impact on the aviation industry," the university said in a news release. The flexible, online program will require one week a year on campus and will take about three years to complete. The university is also offering a new Ph.D. program in Engineering Physics at its Florida campus at Daytona Beach, which covers topics in space physics, upper atmospheric physics, remote sensing, spacecraft instrumentation, spacecraft systems engineering, and control of aerospace systems. "These doctoral programs are designed to give both working professionals and research professionals the opportunity to pursue their intellectual interests through rigorous programs and meet their professional goals to prepare them to serve as our aviation, science, and engineering technology leaders of tomorrow," said Dr. John P. Johnson, Embry-Riddle president. The university is accepting applications for both programs now. Accreditation by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is pending. "A Celebration" Celebrating their 45th anniversary this September, the National Championship Air Races are the last head-to-head air racing event left on Earth and are the favorite among aviation enthusiasts, worldwide. The event features six high-speed racing classes and a static aircraft show, and this year the USAF Thunderbirds and F-22 Demonstration Team will highlight a fleet of world-class aviation demonstrations. For more information on the National Championship Air Races or to purchase tickets, call (775) 972-6633, or visit AirRace.org. New AD for P&WC Engines back to top  Fix For JT15D Flameouts The FAA is following Transport Canada's guidance and has proposed an airworthiness directive to prevent flameouts on Pratt and Whitney Canada (P&WC) JT15D turbofans. The engines are installed on about 1,500 aircraft, including Mitsubishi, Beech and Cessna 500-series business jets. After a few dual flameouts of the engines, it was discovered that a fuel control hydro mechanical unit P3 servo can freeze up at high altitudes under certain weather conditions. The fix involves rerouting compressor delivery air to improve moisture separation and it's going to cost between $2,000 and $4,200 per airplane, depending on engine model, based on the FAA's labor rate estimate of $80 an hour. P&WC issued a service bulletin on the fix in June. The AD takes effect Sept. 22 and the work must be completed within 200 flight hours. Attention, Corporate Flight Departments! No More Passenger Motion Sickness! The ReliefBand Explorer is the most effective and predictable relief available for nausea and vomiting associated with motion sickness. Because this wristwatch-like device produces no side effects, the ReliefBand is FDA-cleared. Call Aeromedix at (888) 362-7123, or go online to purchase. Hurricane Season and Insurance Rates back to top  Insurer Doubles Move-Your-Airplane Compensation When hurricanes threaten airplanes, all the choices for owners can look daunting. Forecasts are not exact, and moving the airplane out of harm's way takes time and money. But letting it sit and counting on insurance to cover the damage is also risky, and AVweb's Paul Bertorelli argues in a recent InsiderBlog post it's a bad choice for many reasons. Now, to make the choice to move the airplane a little easier, insurer AIG Aviation said this week it will double the amount of its hurricane relocation coverage on most light-aircraft policies from $500 to $1,000. "We understand that our policyholders' costs of protecting their aircraft have gone up; therefore, increasing this protective coverage was simply the right thing to do," said Will Lovett, president of AIG Aviation, North America. Avemco's Mike Adams told AVweb editor Russ Niles in a recent podcast that his company is in favor of relocating the airplane if that's an option, but added that Avemco bases its rates on the belief that in many cases that won't be possible or even safe. This coverage allows the policyholder to focus on protecting his or her own life, family, home, and business, Adams said, and the airplane is often far down the list of concerns. "To try to fly out in the midst of a huge storm isn't always the best idea," he said. Hurricane season for the Atlantic Ocean extends from June 1 to Nov. 30, with maximum activity in early to mid September. AVweb Insider Blog: Airplanes and Hurricanes Why don't more owners move their airplanes out of a hurricane's path? One reason is that insurance companies don't expect them to. In the lastest installment of our AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli argues that this is short-sighted because it encourages victimhood and costs us all money. Read more. Join NAA and Help Shape the Next Century of Flight It's a great time to join the National Aeronautic Association (NAA), the nation's oldest aviation organization. At $39 a year, NAA membership is a terrific value for any aviation enthusiast! Members receive the Smithsonian's Air & Space magazine, plus access to aviation records and much more. To become an NAA member, sign up online or call (703) 416-4888 and press 4. AVweb Media: Look, Listen, Laugh and Learn back to top  AVweb's AirVenture 2008 Video Round-Up Original, Exclusive Videos from AVweb | Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos This year at EAA AirVenture we brought you fourteen video reports over the course of seven days. We realize the news was flying fast and furious during the show, so just in case you missed any of our reports, you can catch them all here. (The main frame contains all of our videos, or you can click over to a particular video if one interests you more than the others.) Editors' Preview ICON Tour Rocket Racers Contest Winner Terrafugia Bobby Sturgell ChallengeAir Auction Don't see a video screen? Try disabling ad blockers and refreshing this page. If that doesn't work, click here to download the video directly. Sean Tucker WhiteKnightTwo Martin Jet Pack Electraflyer EcoFlyer ATC Tower Wrap-Up Envision® Integrated Flight Deck Available for Retrofit Installation in Select Cessna 300-Series Aircraft! Avidyne has added the popular Cessna 320/335/340 piston-engine twins to the growing list of Envision® Integrated Flight Deck–approved aircraft. The big-glass Envision system is the industry's easiest-to-use integrated flight deck, providing state-of-the-art situational awareness and safety, with a highly-reliable all-solid-state ADAHRS, a full-featured moving map, electronic approach charts, color lightning, traffic avoidance, and satellite datalink weather. Click here for more information. The Top Reporter on Our Crack Staff ... Is You! back to top  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. You're a part of our team ... often, the best part. 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. Safety Equipment — Add Aviation Safety to Your MEL A Minimum Equipment List is not complete without a subscription to Aviation Safety. Discover this informative, instructive monthly publication that sharpens your air readiness. Order your subscription online for savings from the regular rate. Names Behind the News back to top  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 Mariano Rosales 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.