TSA EXTENDS DEADLINE FOR GA SECURITY PLAN COMMENTS
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) said on Monday it will extend the time period for public comment on its proposed Large Aircraft Security Program for general aviation by an additional 60 days, a change that was lobbied for by GA advocacy groups. The new deadline for public comment is Feb. 27, 2009. The proposed rules would require criminal history records checks of GA flight crews, watch-list matching of passenger manifests, audits of each aircraft operator, and new airport security requirements. "Granting our request will provide much needed time for analysis, community education and feedback," said Ed Bolen, CEO of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA). EAA had asked for 90-day extension, but said in a news release it is pleased the TSA responded promptly. "This proposal would be an unprecedented restriction on the freedom of movement for private U.S. citizens," said Doug Macnair, EAA vice president of government relations. "It would also, for the first time, require governmental review and authority before a person could operate his/her own personal transportation conveyance." AOPA agreed. "This proposal is an unprecedented move by the TSA into general aviation," said Andy Cebula, AOPA executive vice president of government affairs. AOPA's news release also noted that "serious questions" remain about why GA is being considered for these onerous requirements. For more information about the TSA proposal and how you can submit comments to the government's public docket, visit the NBAA web site. More...

DAYJET LOOKING AT RESTARTING
DayJet founder Ed Iacobucci remains bullish on the per-seat air taxi model his company pioneered and he says he's looking for $5 million to get started again in a limited way. Iacobucci told the South Florida Business Journal he would operate the revived version of DayJet with about 10 aircraft and envisioned a service similar to the one he shut down a month ago, laying off the staff and returning 28 aircraft to Eclipse Aviation. He continues to blame the demise of the first incarnation of DayJet on the lack of available capital. A restart will also depend on independent financing, with Iacobucci noting that after putting $20 million of his own money into the company, "my liquidity is severely taxed." Plan B is bankruptcy and he said a "wind-down team" is in place if it comes to that. More...

NTSB PLANS PUBLIC HEARING ON HELICOPTER EMS
The NTSB will hear from the full spectrum of personnel involved in emergency medical services using helicopters at a three-day public hearing planned for its headquarters in Washington Feb. 3-5, 2009. In 2006, the NTSB issued a special investigation report that found that more than half of all EMS accidents (41 helicopter and 14 airplane) in the previous three years could have been prevented if the recommendations in the report had been followed. There have been nine fatal accidents involving EMS helicopters in the past 11 months and 35 people have died. "This is a drastic increase in accidents since the Special Investigation Report and therefore has prompted the Safety Board to examine this issue in greater detail by holding this hearing," the board said in a statement. More...

ROCKWELL COLLINS SHEDS 400 JOBS
It's not just airframers feeling the pinch from the current economic situation. Avionics giant Rockwell Collins has announced the layoff of 300 employees in operations and the termination of 100 contract employees, most of them in engineering. "Like many other companies, we're dealing with significant challenges in meeting our business objectives," CEO Clay Jones said in news release. The company blamed the recent Boeing strike for a delay in orders, plus the general economic conditions. More...

DASSAULT PICKS RENO FOR SERVICE CENTER
Dassault Falcon will build a nearly 40,000-square-foot West Coast service center at Reno-Tahoe International Airport to handle an uptick in business from North America for its aircraft. "The western United States has experienced a sharp increase in demand for new Falcons over the past five years," CEO John Rosanvallon said in a news release. "This facility in Reno is significant for not only the increased support in that part of the country but also the overall coverage that this adds for the entire United States." More...

CHARTGEEK OFFERS FREE SAMPLES
Lots of pilots enjoy the aerial views possible in Google Earth, and now a company called ChartGeek is offering a way to see aeronautical chart info displayed right inside your Google Earth view. The ChartGeek charts allow pilots to "see" details such as VFR flyways, weather, and airspace classifications, rendered in 3D and accurately placed according to the FAA/NACO geographical coordinates. Users can also choose to fade the chart away to show details of the underlying terrain. "Pilots' ability to 'pre-fly' their routes using ChartGeek Charts in Google Earth greatly improves their ability to recognize key waypoints and landmarks that they have not yet seen," says the company. Each 3D chart is derived from an authorized FAA/NACO digital chart. During November, members of EAA or AOPA can download a free sample of a Sectional or TAC chart from ChartGeek. Anyone who is not a member can try it out for $3.99. More...

GROOM FORMS AVIATION CONSULTING FIRM

Randy Groom

Former Beechcraft President Randy Groom has formed his own aviation consulting company. He's already been engaged by several aviation companies. More...

RANDALL AT UNIVERSAL AVIONICS

Robert Randall

Robert Randall is Universal Avionics' new marketing manager for the central region. He was most recently Executive Director of Sales and Marketing at Shadin Avionics. More...

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 AOPA EXPO 2008 VIDEO ROUND-UP
At the 2008 AOPA Expo, our video team brought you exclusive interviews with outgoing AOPA president Phil Boyer and the incoming president, Craig Fuller — plus a demo flight with Cirrus Design's new EVS system and an in-depth profile of Garmin's hot GPSMap 696. If you missed any of those, you can watch all eight of our show videos right here. (Click through to watch.) More...

AVWEB'S AOPA EXPO 2008 PODCAST ROUND-UP
As our on-site audio teams packs their bags to leave San Jose, California, we bring you a collection of nine audio podcasts recorded at (or, in some cases, just before) the show. Once again, our johnnies-on-the-spot have captured some of the most interesting voices in aviation, from CEOs and service providers to innovative thinkers, technical experts, and salesfolk. In case you missed any of our nine exclusive podcasts from the show, we're re-presenting them here.

AVweb's audio coverage of AOPA Expo has been brought to you by Bose Corporation's Aviation Headset X™; WxWorx XM WX Satellite Weather, the premier weather provider for pilots; and Lightspeed Aviation, makers of the Zulu ANR headset. If you've enjoyed our coverage, please click on the links and check out their products. 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.

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Paul Bertorelli

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Glenn Pew

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Kevin Lane-Cummings

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Scott Simmons

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