FIRST LASP HEARING DRAWS A CROWD
The Transportation Security Administration was urged Tuesday not to apply a one-size-fits-all approach to aircraft security by essentially transferring measures used for airline security to business aviation. The first of a series of public hearings into the Large Aircraft Security Program being proposed by the TSA was held in White Plains, New York and National Business Aviation Association President Ed Bolen told AVweb in a podcast interview that hundreds of people packed the meeting room with a consistent message to properly tailor security measures to the special considerations of business aircraft. Bolen stressed business aviation isn't trying to duck security measures and said GA "takes a backseat to no one" in the implementation of effective programs, such as Airport Watch, which have been done at the initiative of the community and not at the bidding of the federal government. More...

MORE LAYOFFS AT CESSNA
Cessna is warning its workers to brace for another round of layoffs as the deepening financial crises puts the brakes on aircraft orders. The Wichita Business Journal says Cessna spokesman Doug Oliver confirmed earlier reports that Cessna CEO Jack Pelton had sent an e-mail to employees saying the company's production schedule was being changed in response to economic conditions. He did not detail how each of the various production lines would be affected, nor did he say how many people will be laid off. More...

CIRRUS CALLS MANDATORY STAFF MEETING
Cirrus Design will hold a mandatory staff meeting on Thursday to discuss the company's state of affairs. WDIO TV is reporting that "major staffing changes" are in store for the company, which, like virtually all aircraft manufacturers, is seeing sales drop in the current economic crisis. The TV station quotes vice president of business administration Bill King as saying "huge internal staffing changes" are planned. "If the market conditions continue to soften — and they certainly could, you know, for the first quarter or two of the year here — then we're going to need to be thoughtful about how we respond to that as well," King told the TV station. "We certainly can't allow the business to get put into a situation where we can't sustain it." More...

BIZJET BACKLOGS EVAPORATING: ANALYST
Last week, analyst Richard Aboulafia predicted Boeing and Airbus's production backlogs would largely evaporate as airlines grapple with the various crises before them, and now another industry-watcher is predicting the same in the business jet market. Brian Foley, who runs his own consultancy firm in New Jersey, said in a news release that much of the backlog reported by most of the major manufacturers is made up of large orders from start-up companies that will undoubtedly have challenges getting going in the current economy. "Whereas previous backlogs were speckled with fleet orders from a handful of fractional providers, current order books sport a cadre of unproven, start-up fleet purchasers launching unproven businesses into a deep worldwide recession," Foley said. "These types of entities have literally placed hundreds of business jet orders." More...

SUPERIOR CHAPTER 11: STILL SHIPPING PARTS, FOR NOW
Superior Air Parts says it's continuing to fill and ship orders following its bankruptcy filing of last week and the acquisition of most of its assets by Textron Lycoming. Superior's Kent Abercrombie told AVweb this week that although the company laid off staff following its Dec. 31 bankruptcy filing, it is maintaining sufficient staff to accept and fill orders.Superior's XP experimental engine program will continue, but its popular owner-build program for homebuilders has been at least temporarily suspended. Lycoming's purchase includes only Superior's assets, meaning its PMAs and STCs for aftermarket parts, production certificates and various approvals, plus all parts in inventory and related intellectual property and equipment. Curiously, it did not buy Superior's Millennium cylinder line for Teledyne-Continental engines that, presumably, represents yet another asset Superior can sell. More...

XM OUTAGE DARKENS GARMIN WEATHERLINK
Owners of Garmin weatherlink-capable portable navigators found themselves flying blind over the weekend because of an as-yet-to-be diagnosed technical fault that may be days away from a solution. Spokespersons for both Garmin and WxWorx, which massages the weather data for delivery through the XM Radio system, told AVweb on Monday morning that no one seems to know why the failure occurred or when it will be fixed. Evidently, the failure affects only some GPSmap396, 496 and 696 models, but not the panel-mounted G1000 system. Also, Garmin's marine portables, which receive marine-related weather datalink, are similarly unaffected. One possible fix, says Garmin, is to refresh the XM receiver, which you can do by typing www.xmradio.com/refresh into a Web browser and then entering your receiver code. (It's on the back of the puck-type Smart Antennas.) Make sure the antenna has a view of the sky for at least 30 minutes. Garmin says it doesn't expect a solution before the middle of this week. More...

PRIVATIZATION PLAN FOR CALIFORNIA AIRPORT FACES OBSTACLES
Although a new commercial airport due to open soon in Branson, Mo., will be privately run, and hundreds of small GA airfields are operated by private owners, efforts to convert existing government-run airports in the U.S. to private management have met resistance. Since 1997, only six airport operators have applied to an FAA program to privatize airports, and five terminated or withdrew their requests, the Los Angeles Times reported this week. Only a plan to privatize Midway Airport, near Chicago, remains in play. Now, local officials in Long Beach, Calif., are discussing a plan to privatize their municipal airport, but the plan is controversial. "I don't see this as a very attractive target for a takeover by private companies," Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga told the Times. "The airport is close to residential areas, and there's a grandfathered noise ordinance that would be of concern ... I don't know how the airport will be profitable unless there is expansion." And expansion is problematic, since the field is surrounded by densely settled, affluent neighborhoods. Privatization is common in Canada, Europe and Asia, the Times reports. More than 50 airports worldwide have privatized their operations, management or ownership since 1987. More...

FOR AUSTRALIA'S FLYING DOCTORS, OBESITY CARRIES A COST
The Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, a historic outfit known around the world for providing health care and transport to patients in remote regions since the 1930s, now faces a uniquely 21st-century problem -- the obesity epidemic. Stretchers on new aircraft for air ambulance service in Australia are now required to handle patients weighing up to 570 pounds, almost twice the previous limit. Alan Tippett, spokesman for the RFDS, told the Daily Telegraph that besides upgrading to stronger stretchers, the organization is considering buying two larger airplanes, which would cost about AU$10 million each. "It is alarming to consider that the number of people who are obese has increased so much that special equipment is needed to lift those in a medical emergency to safety," Australia's Acting Health Minister Ian Macdonald told the Telegraph. "This should be a wake-up call to the community to watch what they eat by cutting down on fats and sugars and increasing how often they exercise." The story followed recent reports that more than 7.5 million Australian adults are overweight or obese, representing more than one third of the country's total population. More...

BOLEN ADDRESSES GA SECURITY HEARING
The first in a series of public hearings on the Transportation Security Administration's proposed Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP), which targets general aviation aircraft larger than 12,500 lbs., was held in White Plains, NY on Tuesday. AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with National Business Aviation Association President Ed Bolen just after the hearing concluded. More...

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

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: AVGAS PRICES — WHY AREN'T THEY CHEAPER?
Your corner service station is offering 2001 prices; why isn't your FBO? Actually, a few are, and Paul Bertorelli explains why in the latest installment of our AVweb Insider blog. More...

BONUS VIDEO! AVIATION SAFETY PROFILES THE GARMIN 696'S TOP SAFETY FEATURES
By now, you've seen and heard a lot about Garmin's new GPSMap 696 GPS device. In this video, Jeb Burnside, Editor-in-Chief of Aviation Safety magazine, walks you through four key safety features of the 696. (Click through to watch.) More...

BONUS VIDEO! IFR MAGAZINE GOES INSIDE THE TOWER AT JFK INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
IFR magazine Editor-in-Chief Jeff Van West spent time in the Tower at Kennedy airport to see what it takes to run the operation during the evening push and why it takes two years for a controller to reach full qualification at one of the busiest airports in the Northeast. More...

PATTERSON JOINS FREEFLIGHT

John Patterson

John Patterson is FreeFlight Systems' new director of marketing and sales. Patterson is a former naval aviator who also flew for Delta before joining FreeFlight.
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GOULET TO CRS JET SPARES

Tim Goulet

Tim Goulet has joined CRS Jet Spares as sales manager for the West Coast of the U.S., as well as handling accounts in the Middle East and Asia. He was previously director of maintenance for Symphony Master Ltd., a Dubai-based Global Express operator.
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BARNARD AT NATIONAIR

Dale Barnard

Dale Barnard has been hired as a sales executive for NationAir Aviation Insurance covering Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Alaska. He was previously with a large national insurance broker.
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BARRON FOR BANYAN

Alvie Barron

Alvie Barron has been named director of North American sales for Banyan Air. He worked previously at Jet Aviation, General Dynamics, Bombardier and Hawker Beechcraft.
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WALKER ON ADVISORY COUNCIL

Joe Walker

Joe Walker, CEO of Dornier Seaplane Company, has been named to the business advisory council of Bye Energy. Bye Energy is developing alternative fuels for aviation.
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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...

EASA APPROVAL FOR AEROSPACE WELDING MINNEAPOLIS
Aerospace Welding Minneapolis, which overhauls aircraft exhaust systems and does engine mount and turbo mount repairs, has received Part 145 EASA approval to send overhauled and repaired parts to any European country that is a member of EASA. The certificate was issued under the Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement and the associated Maintenance Implementation Procedures.
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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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