FAA PROPOSES CHANGES IN FLIGHT TRAINING
Under new rules proposed by the FAA this week, flight schools would be excused from the requirement to have a ground school space if they offer Internet-based ground-school training, and students would be allowed to apply for both a private pilot certificate and an instrument rating at the same time. The agency also said it would like to change its definition of "complex airplane" to include airplanes equipped with FADEC engines. Another change would require pilots of single-pilot-certified light jets to pass a proficiency check. The FAA also said it would like to make it easier to issue U.S. certificates to foreign pilots. "Because of changing technology in aviation, the results of successful research, and an international agreement, the FAA has determined these proposed changes to the pilot, flight instructor, and pilot school certification rules are necessary," the FAA said in its proposal. The changes will help to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens, the FAA said. More...

FRACTIONAL MARKET SHAKING OUT
A business aviation analyst says fractional ownership companies will have to charge more for operating costs to make up for the loss of revenue due to the lack of fleet expansion. Brian Foley says fractionals used to make a lot of their money by paying discounted fleet prices for aircraft and then charging customers full retail. But he says the economic turndown has slowed or stalled expansion and the revenue shortfall has to come from somewhere if companies are to survive. "With fleet size very nearly constant, the emphasis must be on making the operational side profitable -- or changing the business model altogether," he said. More...

CITATION X SPROUTS WINGLETS
The world's fastest business jet just got a little faster and more efficient. Cessna has delivered the first Citation X with elliptical winglets. The winglet kit was developed by Winglet Technology LLC in collaboration with Cessna and received a supplemental type certificate from the FAA in June. "The patented Elliptical Winglet shape ensures the lift distribution closely matches optimum lift distribution along the span of the wing, which reduces the induced drag of the aircraft," Cessna says in a news release. "The resulting drag reduction enhances operational performance for the Citation X including decreased fuel consumption, increased speed and increased range." More...

ENHANCED VISION FOR CARAVANS
There are few aircraft that work in more diverse and often difficult environments than the Cessna Caravan and the option of an enhanced vision system should be welcome news to operators. One Sky Aviation, of Anchorage, recently received supplementary type certificate approval for installation of Forward Vision's EVS 100 and 600 enhanced vision systems, which use a combination of visible and infrared light to give a clear black-and-white image of the outside world in darkness and increases visual range in fog, smoke and precipitation. The STCs on the Cessna 208 and 208B brings to 162 the number of aircraft that can be equipped with the system. One Sky co-owner Cary Foster said the Anchorage FAA worked in cooperation with his firm to develop the STC. More...

NTSB ISSUES NEW RECOMMENDATIONS FOR HELICOPTER EMS SAFETY
The FAA needs to do more to regulate helicopter emergency medical services, the NTSB said on Tuesday, and operators also need to improve their training and procedures. "The pressure on HEMS operators to conduct their flights quickly in all sorts of environments makes these types of operations inherently more risky than other types of commercial flight operations," said NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman. "Operators need to use every available safety tool to conduct these flights and to determine when the risk of flying is just too great." The board said the FAA should mandate better pilot training, improve its data collection and monitoring, develop a low-altitude airspace infrastructure, and require crews to be trained to use night-vision systems. The agency should also require the use of autopilots during single-pilot HEMS operations. Operators should work to improve pilot training and upgrade their equipment, the NTSB said. More...

AVIATION CONSUMER'S ROTAX AIRCRAFT ENGINE SURVEY
Do you own or operate an aircraft equipped with a Rotax engine? Our sister magazine, Aviation Consumer, wants to hear from you about its reliability, maintenance costs, factory and field support, and about your overall satisfaction with the engine.

Please take a moment to complete this survey and share your operational experience!

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

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: NTSB'S HUDSON CORRIDOR RECOMMENDATIONS? MIXED
Once again, says resident blogger Paul Bertorelli on the AVweb Insider, the NTSB jumps the gun on the Hudson corridor midair by issuing a round of recommendations before the accident probe is completed. Although the recommendations make sense (mostly), they also won't fix the problem, because there is no problem to fix. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: BATTERIES SHOULD GO BY SHIP, NOT AIRPLANE
ALPA would like the FAA to ban lithium batteries from being shipped by air. They're right, says AVweb's Paul Bertorelli on the AVweb Insider blog — though he doesn't understand why the industry won't just refuse to carry them. More...

ABBOTT RUNNING EXECUJET FBOS

Mark Abbott

Mark Abbott has been appointed the Group FBO Director for ExecuJet. He's been with ExecuJet for three years and was formerly the regional manager for the Western Cape in South Africa.
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SMOLL AT SPOKANE TURBINE CENTER

Ken Smoll

Ken Smoll is the new director of training at Spokane Turbine Center. He was formerly with Cessna, where he ran the Garmin G1000 customer training program.
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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...

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: LOSS OF CONTROL IN AN F-16 FIGHTER, TEST PILOT ON YAW DEPARTURE
At Edwards Air Force Base, they still test F-16 fighters, because each software upgrade and each new weapons package introduces new parameters. Experimental test pilots need to identify the aircraft's performance limits, and they need to know how it will perform before their brothers- and sisters-in-arms take upgraded Vipers into combat. This is one of those tests, and Air Force pilot Desmond Brophy walks us through it step-by-step. 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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Russ Niles

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Glenn Pew

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Kevin Lane-Cummings

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Scott Simmons

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