UNION DECRIES FAA CHANGE IN CONTROLLER TRAINING
The FAA wants to change the way air traffic controllers are trained, dividing the job into two specialties for working in either a tower or a radar center. Most controllers currently are trained in both functions. John Wallin, president of the controllers' union local in Memphis, told The Associated Press that cross-training is important for effective coordination when both facilities work together. "Controllers who work in the tower will no longer have the experience that radar controllers have and that could lead to a disaster because they're not going to know what each other is doing," Wallin said. But the FAA says it is simply more efficient to train workers for just one job. "It's simply focusing their training to do precisely what they're going to be doing," FAA spokesman Paul Takemoto told the AP. The union also said the changes would mean a cut in controller salaries and would limit staffing flexibility, especially in emergencies. At the nation's largest airports, the two controller functions already are separate, but Wallin said most of those controllers have already worked at smaller facilities where they got experience in both the tower and the radar center. More...

ECLIPSE SELLING OFF DAYJET FLEET
It wasn't that long ago that the waiting time for an Eclipse 500 was measured in years, but chances are you could have one in a few days if you don't mind a blue stripe down the side. Eclipse Aviation is holding a dispersal sale of the 28 aircraft returned by DayJet when the incipient air taxi operator ceased operations in September. Eclipse spokeswoman Alana McCarraher told AVweb the aircraft, which have between 150 and 450 cycles on them, are being sold "as is," which, as it turns out, is quite variable. The aircraft come in a variety of configurations, but none of them has flight into known icing or the latest Avio NG 1.5 avionics package. More...

HAWKER 4000 SEIZED IN CIGARETTE-TAX CASE
The first Hawker 4000 corporate jet that was delivered to a customer has been seized by federal investigators in connection with an alleged tax-evasion scheme, according to reports this week in the Associated Press and the Wichita Eagle. Gary Hall, a Kansas businessman, took delivery of the $21-million Hawker bizjet in a ceremony at the Beechcraft company in Wichita in June. He and seven others have been charged with scheming to avoid paying $25 million in taxes on cigarettes. Hall's lawyer Dan Monnat said the federal charges involve the complex structure of cigarette taxes in the state of Oklahoma. "Gary Hall is a well-respected businessman and philanthropist," Monnat said. "He vigorously asserts his innocence of these accusations and welcomes a jury trial that will make that clear." As for the fate of the Hawker: "If he's acquitted, he'll get his plane back," Jim Cross, a spokesman for the Kansas U.S. Attorney's office, told the Eagle. More...

NEW LIFE FOR OLD HAWKERS
There are a lot of older business jets out there that still stack up fairly well in terms of performance and comfort but their cockpits, especially, are showing their age. Recently, Universal Avionics announced the first installation of a flat-panel display in a Hawker 700A. Mid-Canada Mod Center in Toronto put Universal's large-format PFD/ND EFI-890R displays in the 30-year-old aircraft, dramatically reducing pilot workload and increasing curb appeal. Universal says it also made the old Hawker safer and easier to maintain. More...

P&WC BOOSTS R&D
Pratt and Whitney Canada will spend more than $360 million on research and development in the next three years to make engines that are cleaner and leaner. The Quebec government is chipping in $125 million in the form of a repayable loan that the province will recover from royalties on sales. John Sabaas, PW&C's executive vice president, said R&D is a cornerstone of the engine maker's success. "Our sustained investments in R&D have allowed us to bring more than 65 new engines to market over the past 15 years, a significant accomplishment," Sabaas said. More...

TURBOPROP EXPO NEXT WEEK
Jets seem to get all the attention but turboprops are the backbone of many business aviation sectors and the focus is on them next week at the annual Turboprop Expo. The 2008 edition launches in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Oct. 28 and continues for three days of turboprop-specific seminars and workshops. Keynote speaker Dr. David Strahle will present a session on "Understanding Nexrad Imagery" and the seminars have been expanded to include key topics on airframe operations, maintenance, upgrades and mods. Of course, all work and no play would be a terrific waste in a place like Scottsdale. More...

Columns | Features | What's New | Calendar | Brainteasers

AVIATION CONSUMER MAGAZINE ASKS: 'DID AIG'S FINANCIAL CRASH TAKE GA INSURANCE WITH IT?'
Not really. AIG is the largest writer of aviation insurance, but the parent company's fiscal turmoil has spared the insurance shop. In this podcast, insurance expert Jon Doolittle explains why. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: FRESH BLOOD FOR AVIATION, ONE WAITER AT A TIME
We've all heard how difficult it is to get new people involved in aviation, and at this year's NBAA Convention AVweb Editor-in-Chief saw how easy it can be to spark an interest in aviation — and why it doesn't always work out. Russ shares his tale (and that of Dan-the-possible-pilot-in-waiting) in the latest installment of our AVweb Insider blog. More...

CHEVRESTT LEADS EXECUTIVE BEECHCRAFT

Ed Chevrestt

BBA Aviation has named Ed Chevrestt as Vice President and General Manager for Executive Beechcraft. Chevrestt was formerly general manager of American Airlines' maintenance base at Kansas City International Airport.
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CUNNINGHAM GETS AVIDYNE SALES POST

Jeremy Cunningham

Jeremy Cunningham is the new Northeast Regional Sales Manager for Avidyne. He's a former U.S. Navy aviation electronics technician and was most recently director of business development for AeroSolutions Group, Inc.
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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

Webmaster
Scott Simmons

Contributors
Jeff van West

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