AUTOMAKER BAILOUT PACKAGE TARGETS FLIGHT DEPARTMENTS; NBAA REACTS
When Congress on Tuesday proposed that automakers would have to sell off their private jets as part of a bailout deal, the National Business Aviation Association was quick to respond. In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent late on Tuesday, NBAA President Ed Bolen expressed concern about the draft legislation, which "appears to prohibit the use of business aviation in ALL situations," Bolen wrote, "including when it is the sole mode of transportation available to a business, or it is the most prudent and cost-effective solution to a given transportation challenge." The $15 billion bailout deal is still undergoing intense negotiations between Congress and the White House, but pressure is high to resolve the issue quickly. Bolen argues, in essence, that the aviation sector shouldn't be made to suffer for the errors of a few auto executives. "Business aviation is the most prudent and cost-effective transportation solution in a wide number of situations," he wrote. "While we understand the intent of Congress to address a specific situation dealing with the auto industry, we believe that the broad wording of the provision could be misinterpreted as suggesting that Congress does not recognize the critical importance of this mode of transportation to the success of U.S. businesses facing unprecedented international competition, the economic development of small towns and rural communities, and the jobs of hundreds of thousands of U.S. workers." More...

PHENOM 100 CERTIFIED IN BRAZIL
Embraer's entry-level Phenom 100 jet has been certified in Brazil, and U.S. certification is expected shortly, according to a company news release. The $3.6 million aircraft emerged from certification testing with a top speed of 390 knots, 10 knots faster than expected, and an overall fuel consumption 3.6 percent less than predicted. Its range and takeoff numbers have also improved. "I am thrilled to announce that the Phenom 100 has not only met all original specification targets, but has also surpassed several performance goals," said Carlos Affonso, executive vice president of Executive Jets for Embraer. The certification came a few days after another milestone in the company's methodical plan to become a force in business aviation. More...

TWO PILOTS RESCUED FROM ARCTIC ICE FLOE
It was a night flight, across a cold stretch of the Arctic so empty and dark that the two ferry pilots didn't know for sure if there was land or water or ice beneath them. But when both engines on their Cessna 337 Skymaster failed on Sunday night, just south of Baffin Island in the north Atlantic, they had little choice but to radio for help, aim for the surface and hope for the best. The airplane came to rest in the water, with one wing resting on an ice floe, and the two scrambled out of the windows onto the ice just before the airplane filled with water and sank -- taking with it their life raft and emergency gear. They were wearing their survival suits, a precaution that likely saved their lives. Soon they heard search planes overhead, but with no flare guns or flashlights to signal them, the aircraft flew right by. "We were on this ice sheet not having a clue if it would support our weight, hoping to death that it would," Oliver Edwards-Neil, 25, an Australian living in Sweden, told the Sydney Morning Herald. With no food or water, no shelter, and nowhere to sit, Edwards-Neil and his flying partner, Troels Hansen, 45, a Dane who also lives in Sweden, spent the long Arctic night standing on the ice and shivering as temperatures fell to about 4 degrees below Zero. After more than 12 hours, when the sun crept above the horizon, the pair spotted land in the distance and began to head for it, hopping from ice floe to ice floe and hoping to escape the notice of polar bears, when the crew of a shrimp boat, which had been fishing 180 miles away, turned up to rescue them. "They were happy to see the boat," ship captain Bo Mortensen told the local media. "They were a little bit frostbitten on the feet, but they were in good shape." Click here for a picture of the two lost pilots taken from the deck of the rescue ship. More...

SLOT AUCTION PLAN MAY BE DELAYED TO DEATH
A controversial plan by the FAA to forcibly redistribute access to New York airports by selling landing slots to the highest bidder may have been dealt a terminal blow by a Washington, D.C., Appeals Court. In a ruling Monday, the court delayed an auction planned for Jan. 12 until it can hear arguments on whether the auction is legal. The action was launched by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the Air Transport Association. The auction was to occur eight days before the swearing in of the new administration, which is now expected to allow the controversial proposal to quietly die. Democratic politicians in New York have been generally opposed to the plan, which they claim will do nothing to ease congestion and will drive up fares. More...

INTERIORS EXPO EXAMINES EFFICIENCIES
In adversity there's opportunity and the folks who supply the materials and fixtures that go into the often-sumptuous interiors on business aircraft are responding to current market conditions. The Aircraft Interiors Expo 2009 takes place in Hamburg from March 31 to April 2 and organizers are outlining the important roles the interiors folks will play in the way the rest of the industry copes with the downturn. "For example, the consolidation of airlines, which has been taking place for some time now, will almost certainly be accelerated by the current economic downturn, " said show spokesman Vern Alg. "This will create a need for fresh liveries and designs as the reinvented entities seek to stamp their new corporate identities." More...

USED BIZJET INVENTORY DOUBLES, SAYS FRAX OPERATOR
JetRepublic, an ambitious new fractional and membership company based in Lisbon, says its business plan is coming to fruition as the wealthy sell off their private aircraft and opt for less-expensive private travel arrangements, like, for instance, Jet Republic's. The company issued a statement earlier this week saying the inventory of used private jets has doubled from $1.6 billion to $3.3 billion in the past year. "The ultra high net worth market has been affected by the current global financial crisis but many of those people with private jets are looking to sell them and switch to a fractional ownership model or jet card scheme," Jet Republic founder Jonathan Breeze said in the statement. More...

PIPER REDUCES WORK SCHEDULES
Piper Aircraft, in Vero Beach, Fla., is not immune to the market pressures that have been bearing down on the GA industry, and this week the company said it has instituted a reduced work schedule for some departments. "Our efforts are designed to maintain as many jobs (and associated benefits) as possible," Piper spokesman Mark Miller wrote to AVweb via e-mail on Tuesday. "We remain concerned about the turmoil and volatility in the world's financial markets," Miller added. "In accordance with normal seasonality and softening market demand, Piper continually assesses and adjusts its workforce and schedule." The company normally shuts down briefly around the holidays, he said, and this year will close most departments for three weeks. According to the Palm Beach Post, in recent years the holiday shutdown has been only one or two weeks long. Although the company has not announced any layoffs or staff cuts, one worker told the local TCPalm news site that her job was eliminated, along with about 20 others. Meanwhile, a recent report from PMI Media in the United Kingdom predicts that the current economic turmoil will have a dramatic impact on the VLJ market. "Prospects for the very light jet (VLJ) market for the next 10 years (2008 to 2017) have declined sharply over the last few weeks," PMI said last week. "Given the current difficult market circumstances it is difficult to see how more than one or two new aircraft entrants -- outside established aircraft manufacturers such as Embraer, Diamond, PiperJet, Cessna -- will be able to survive a prolonged period of market uncertainty," said PMI-Media's editorial director Philip Butterworth-Hayes. More...

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AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: NUMBSKULLS IN DETROIT, PART DEUX
What a surprise: Congress says it will give the Big Three bailout money, but the corporate jets have to go. Paul Bertorelli reacts in the latest installment of the AVweb Insider blog. More...

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: F/A-18 CRASH NEAR SAN DIEGO
An F/A-18 Hornet crashed about 9,000 feet shy of Runway 06L at MCAS Miramar, in a residential neighborhood near San Diego, California, Monday December 8, 2008 at approximately 11:59 a.m. local time. This initial report was published by Glenn Pew the day of the crash with the information available at that time. (Click through to watch.) More...

SLENTZ TO UNIVERSAL AVIONICS

Sam Slentz

Sam Slentz is Universal Avionics' new Chief Technology director. Slentz has 35 years in the industry and most recently worked for the Air Force. More...

SPAHR NEW COO AT GLOBALJET
Tim Spahr has been named the new Chief Operating Officer of GlobalJet in Scottsdale, Ariz. Spahr has more than 20 years of experience in the corporate and charter field. 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 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...

GOT A MOMENT? MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD WITH AVIATION CONSUMER'S MAINTENANCE SURVEY
Our sister magazine, Aviation Consumer, wants your opinion on aircraft maintenance. If you'd like to participate, click here to complete a short, confidential survey.

(The results will be used in an upcoming Aviation Consumer article on managing your maintenance. For subscription information, click here.) More...

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