NBAA CANCELS 2009 ABACE
The National Business Aviation Association says the continuing economic downturn has prompted it to skip next year's edition of the Asian Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition in Hong Kong. The event was planned for Feb. 11 and 12. Last year's ABACE attracted 50 exhibitors and about 800 registrants. NBAA President Ed Bolen didn't say what the count was for the coming show but it clearly wasn't worth the time and expense to stage it. More...

NBAA REVAMPS LAUNCH OF LIGHT BUSINESS AIRPLANE CONFERENCE
It was just back in April that the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) announced it would be organizing a new annual event to focus on light aircraft and small business operators, and scheduled it for next March in San Diego. Now, with all the turmoil in the global economy and the business sector, NBAA announced last week that it will scale back the inaugural show from three days to two. "As the economy has constricted dramatically since LBA [Light Business Airplane conference 2009] was conceived, the challenges confronting the entrepreneurs and pilots who own and operate light business airplanes have increased," said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. "To address this situation, NBAA is adjusting LBA 2009 to ensure that the conference offers exceptional educational content while also remaining manageable and affordable. This is about tightly focusing an inaugural conference for a very important segment of the business aviation community so that it provides real and tangible value in a very challenging economy." The conference now will take place Friday, March 13, and Saturday, March 14. NBAA will limit sizes for indoor exhibits to a maximum of 20 feet square and will also reduce exhibit fees by 20 percent. Fees for attendees are cut 50 percent. More...

VIKING PROPOSES RESURRECTION OF DHC-5 BUFFALO
Earlier this year Viking Air, of Victoria, B.C. Canada resumed production of the de Havilland Twin Otter and now it has its sights set on an even more ambitious project. The company, which owns the type certificate to seven de Havilland models, is proposing to start building the DHC-5 Buffalo, a large twin-engine utility aircraft with ultra short takeoff and landing capability and a rear cargo door that accommodated bulky cargo. The aircraft has been the backbone of the Canadian Forces' fixed wing search and rescue fleet for decades but the military is now looking for replacements for the 40-year-old aircraft. Viking President Dave Curtis says the most affordable answer is an updated Buff. "The requirement to replace the present fleet is not based on a lack of ability for the Buffalo to do the job, but simply due to the aging of the aircraft," Curtis said. More...

EMBRAER PARTNERS WITH UPS FOR PARTS DISTRIBUTION
Embraer has come up with an innovative way to ensure timely parts delivery. The Brazilian planemaker has teamed with UPS to create a new certified parts distribution center in Louisville. UPS Supply Chain Solutions will operate the distribution center, which will supply parts to service center throughout North America, serving the continent and the Caribbean. Embraer says the arrangement will allow for overnight parts delivery virtually anywhere in that geographical area on orders placed before midnight. "In addition to the three recently-inaugurated service centers, this achievement further confirms our readiness to support our North American and Caribbean customers, including those who will begin to fly their Phenom 100s," said Edson Carlos Mallaco, Embraer Vice President, Customer Support and Services - Executive Jets. More...

TEXTRON RIPE FOR TAKEOVER?
At least one analyst says Cessna and Bell Helicopter's parent company Textron is ripe for a takeover after its stock price slipped another 18 percent on Tuesday. The latest decline was prompted by Textron's prediction that it will post a net loss of 80 to 90 cents a share in the fourth quarter and that it plans to lay off about 2,000 more people at Cessna and Bell in 2009. The company is also selling off most of its credit arm, leaving only enough to finance products made by its manufacturing facilities. "While the stock will likely remain under a cloud given earnings uncertainty, Textron does have valuable assets and could become a takeover target as [Textron Financial Corp.] diminishes in size," Citi Investment Research analyst Richard Sprague told MarketWatch. More...

FIRST FLIGHT FOR WHITEKNIGHTTWO
WhiteKnightTwo, the twin-fuselage all-composite aircraft designed by Scaled Composites to carry SpaceShipTwo aloft, flew for the first time on Sunday morning, at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Southern California. The flight lasted about an hour. "Today Virgin Galactic passed a huge milestone in its mission to create environmentally benign, safe and affordable access to space," reads a brief statement posted on the Virgin Galactic Web site on Sunday. "In the early hours of a beautiful Mojave morning, its revolutionary carbon composite carrier aircraft performed a flawless maiden flight. Congratulations to Burt Rutan and all at Scaled Composites for this fantastic achievement!" Will Whitehorn, president of Virgin Galactic, told Wired.com, "With these aircraft, nothing is ever a foregone conclusion. It's not like pulling another Airbus off the line and putting it into the air. This was a big moment. I think it was a big milestone for the whole industry." More test flights are expected, then sometime next summer WK2 will take off carrying SpaceShipTwo, the rocket ship that will carry space tourists to the edge of space. A short video clip of the takeoff and landing is posted at the FlightGlobal web site. More...

WAGSTAFF SAYS SHE'S SORRY FOR OSHKOSH INCIDENT
Air show pilot Patty Wagstaff says she's sorry for the "undue or unwanted attention to EAA or the local community" her incident with Oshkosh authorities may have caused on July 31 when she was arrested for driving drunk on a runway at Wittman Regional Airport after the airport had closed. Wagstaff pleaded no contest to first-offense drunk driving and a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest last Friday. She was fined $500, ordered to pay court costs and banned from driving for eight months. "I have accepted personal responsibility for my actions by pleading no contest to the remaining reduced charges. And despite statements or actions that some others have either attributed to me that evening or insinuated occurred, this outcome puts those rumors to rest as well," she said. Wagstaff said she's now focused on the coming season and Todd Simmons, vice president of marketing for Cirrus Design said the company will stick by her in sponsorship. Click through to read her full statement. More...

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

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: CULTURAL COLLISION — HOW THE BRAZILIANS BLEW THE LEGACY ACCIDENT PROBE
Over on the AVweb Insider blog, Editorial Director Paul Bertorelli reflects on the two-year-old investigation of the Legacy and wonders why the government seems incapable of assigning blame where it belongs: With ATC. But that's not to say the Legacy crew had no role. More...

THOBURN NEW SAMSON CFO

Leland Thoburn

Leland Thoburn has been named Chief Financial Officer for Samson Motorworks. Thoburn comes from Earthlink, where he was the CFO from start-up to first IPO and later assumed numerous management positions in that rapidly growing company. 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...

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: AVIDYNE ENTEGRA INTEGRATED FLIGHT DECK (RELEASE 9)
Avidyne has upgraded its Entegra Flight Deck. Join us as we have a look, courtesy of Paul Bertorelli and Glenn Pew. (Click through to watch.) 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...

ATTENTION, POWER FLOW CUSTOMERS: AVIATION CONSUMER WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU!

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(The results will appear in a future issue of Aviation Consumer. For subscription information, click here.)

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