ECLIPSE AUCTION CANCELLED
The Associated Press is reporting that a public auction to sell the assets of Eclipse Aviation Wednesday has been cancelled for lack of qualified competing bidders. According to AP's story, that will pave the way for EclipseJet Aviation, owned by current Eclipse Chairman Roel Pieper, to pick up the company for roughly 20 cents on the dollar. ETIRC is proposing to pay $188 million ($28 million cash, $160 million in new notes) and offer 15-percent equity to senior secured creditors. Eclipse's total liability was estimated at more than $1 billion when it filed for Chapter 11 protection in late November. More...

BUSINESS AVIATION BAN DROPPED FROM TARP
Business aviation groups are breathing a collective sigh of relief with the news late Tuesday that Congress has dropped a provision from a business assistance plan that would have required companies to get rid of their aircraft to qualify for relief. In a last-minute revision, Congress agreed to drop an amendment that would have required companies applying for help under the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) to divest themselves of corporate aircraft. "Congress has clearly recognized that it is important to provide Americans with strong oversight of the federal dollars in the TARP program, but that the language addressing business aviation had the potential to fuel job losses for countless people in the general aviation community," said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. "We thank Congress for recognizing the importance of general aviation to companies and communities across the country with the elimination of this onerous requirement from the TARP proposal." More...

FUGITIVE PILOT REPORTED IN CUSTODY
Police in Quincy, Fla. say they've arrested an Indiana pilot who is alleged to have faked a distress call, parachuted from his Piper Meridian and fled a small Alabama town on a motorcycle he'd hidden there. Earlier, some authorities suspected Marcus Schrenker had managed to leave the country in his apparently determined bid to escape a crumbling business empire, criminal fraud charges, the wrath of disgruntled investors and a divorce. "He's shown a total disregard for human life. I think he'd do anything to get away," said David Latimer, chief of the police department in Harpersville, Ala., where Schrenker allegedly landed and had the brand-new Yamaha sport bike stashed in a storage unit he'd rented the day before. Flamboyant might be an understated description for Schrenker, who collected luxury cars, owned at least two airplanes and starred himself in a YouTube video in which he flies under bridges in the Bahamas in an Extra 300. More...

DIAMOND FURLOUGHS 180 EMPLOYEES
Diamond Aircraft is furloughing 180 of its 684 employees in London, Ont., to balance inventory as weakening demand settles over the light aircraft market. But company CEO Peter Maurer told AVweb in a podcast interview that he hopes the furloughs will be short-lived as the new Lycoming-powered DA42 twin goes into production. He said there are also good-sized fleet orders for DA20s and DA40s for the training market. More...

PHIL BOYER JOINS ASPEN AVIONICS BOARD
Soon after retiring from his 18 years as AOPA's president, Phil Boyer has taken a next step common to many executives who complete a successful career while still healthy and full of energy -- he has joined the board of an industry stalwart. Aspen Avionics announced on Tuesday that Boyer will be the first outside member of its board of directors, joining six investors and company executives. The board will help to guide the company through its next stages of growth. "Nearly two decades spent listening to the concerns and issues of the nation's pilots, aircraft owners, manufacturers and regulators has given Phil a deep understanding of the GA industry's opportunities, as well as its challenges," John Uczekaj, president and CEO of Aspen Avionics, said in a news release. "Phil's extensive expertise and relationships will be invaluable in helping chart Aspen's strategic course in the years ahead, and in ensuring that our products meet the needs of pilots around the world." Aspen Avionics sells the Evolution Flight Display System, a glass cockpit for certified GA aircraft. The opportunity to continue bringing transformational technologies to all segments of the GA industry is part of what attracted Boyer to join the board, according to the company. More...

QUEST DELIVERS FIRST KODIAK AIRCRAFT FOR MISSION WORK
When Quest Aircraft launched its Kodiak design back in 2005, the company said it was motivated by a need to support missionary activities in remote places around the world. This week, that goal has been fulfilled with the delivery of Kodiak serial number 008 to JAARS Inc., the first mission or humanitarian customer to take delivery of one of the 10-place turboprops. JAARS was originally formed in Peru in 1948, where it was known as the Jungle Aviation And Radio Service, and provides support to Wycliffe Bible Translators, a group that aims to translate the Bible into thousands of languages. "We looked into the future of aviation for a safe, effective solution to our passengers' unique transportation requirements," said David Reeves, president of JAARS, who took delivery of the airplane in Sandpoint, Idaho, on Monday. "The Kodiak is well-poised to meet the challenging needs of the translation community in remote operations." The airplane burns Jet A, which is much easier to find in many remote locations than the avgas that powers much of JAARS' current fleet of aging piston airplanes. Kodiak No. 008 will spend the next several months in the U.S. for pilot training and then will be exhibited at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis., this summer before heading for its new base of operations in Papua New Guinea. More...

LASP UNCONSTITUTIONAL, SAYS LAWYER
An Atlanta lawyer and pilot claims the Transportation Security Administration's Large Aircraft Security Program (LASP) is unconstitutional and he's started a campaign to convince Congress of that. Alan Armstrong says the stated goal of the program is to prevent aircraft from being used to carry biological, nuclear or other weapons in attacks against the U.S. But in a string of logic that could give some sectors of the aviation industry fits if he's right, Armstrong claims the 12,500-lb. lower limit on aircraft covered by LASP is "arbitrary and capricious" because just about any aircraft can carry such weapons. Therefore, he claims, the rule violates the Fifth Amendment which requires that laws be "substantive." He's asking his own elected representatives to help strike down the law and suggesting he'll take it to court if they don't. More...

TRAINING A BRIGHT SPOT AT DIAMOND
Diamond Aircraft was the last of the major OEMs to announce layoffs to grapple with the tough economy. CEO Peter Maurer spoke with AVweb's Russ Niles about the market in general and the steady sales in the training sector. 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...

KELLY AVIATION GETS EASA CERTIFICATION
Kelly Aviation Center, an affiliate of Lockheed Martin, has received EASA certification for maintenance repair and overhaul of the CF6-50 engine. The certification expands the company's market to European-owned DC-10s, A300s and Boeing 747s.
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EXECUJET EXPANDS IN MEXICO
ExecuJet is broadening Mexico-based fleet available for clients in Latin America and the Caribbean to include Global Express and Falcon 900B aircraft. They augment the three PC-12s already dispatched to that area.
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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...

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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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Timothy Cole

Editorial Director, Aviation Publications
Paul Bertorelli

Editor-in-Chief
Russ Niles

Contributing Editors
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Glenn Pew

Features Editor
Kevin Lane-Cummings

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Scott Simmons

Contributors
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