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October 20, 2009
By The AVweb Editorial Staff
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There's Much Happening in Lightspeed Aviation's NBAA Booth This Week
First, we're drawing each day for a no-cost Zulu or Mach 1 headset — your choice! And if your company or flight department has five or more pilots, we're also offering your
organization a trial Zulu. Finally, if you're flying with any other premium headset, be sure to ask about our corporate pilot trade-in program. It's a great way to move up to a Zulu.
Look for Booth
#3818. 
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Cessna's large-cabin business jet might be officially dead, but CEO Jack Pelton is suggesting it still has a pulse. Pelton surprised a packed media conference Monday by saying he prefers to
consider the Columbus project "suspended" even though it's been formally cancelled by parent company Textron. He said the stronger language was important for "contractual and legal reasons," but he
still believes it's a market Cessna needs to service. "We'll get back in it," he said.
The Columbus program was cut earlier this year because of the economic downturn, and there was no indication at that time that there were any plans to resurrect it. The Columbus was announced with
fanfare two years ago as a 4,000 nm intercontinental aircraft carrying up to 10 passengers at 0.8 Mach. It's an all-aluminum design powered by PW810 engines, fly-by-wire controls and a Rockwell
Collins panel.
Cessna technicians will be making hangarcalls for customers who choose the new ServiceDirect option for maintenance of their aircraft. The new program was announced at NBAA in Orlando on Monday and
will allow owners to have many servicing tasks done without leaving their home field. "ServiceDirect is a new offering designed to provide a range of customer service options for Citation operators
outside of the company's service centers. This includes on-site maintenance operations and long-term logistics support, including A&P placement or contract support," the company said during press day
Monday.
The company has tapped Matt Melillo, the former manager of the Toledo Citation Service Center as the new general manager of the service. Melillo will also oversee Cessna's fleet of mobile service
trucks as well as the Air Response Team, which dispatches a Citation for AOG parts delivery.
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As Vital As Vision
XM WX Satellite Weather provides comprehensive in-flight weather data directly to your cockpit. Never fly blind again when you sign up today for one of XM Weather's Aviator LT, Aviator, or
Aviator Pro weather data packages. Enhance your situational awareness with data products like Radar, Lightning, Winds, and more. Come see the latest from XM WX Satellite Weather at Booth
#5359 during NBAA 2009 or
visit us online at
XMWXWeather.com/aviation. 
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High-Tech, High-Profile Releases from
Garmin |
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Touchscreen control is standard equipment on most of Garmin's road navigators and at NBAA in Orlando this week, Garmin says the same will soon be true for cockpit EFIS. Garmin announced the new
G3000, a touchscreen (and widescreen) follow-on to its popular G1000 suite. The new EFIS is aimed a light turboprops and will be ready for market in a couple of years.
Meanwhile, a working mockup of the new system revealed 14.1 inch landscape aspect display screens with WXGA resolution which gives Garmin's synthetic visual a lifelike snap. On the MFD side, the
screen can be split into two vertical pages to allow reading an approach plate on one side, a map or weather display on the other.
The touchscreen function happens on a pair of what Garmin calls GTC570 vehicle management systems, which live below the screens on a pedestal mount. These are actually smaller display screens that
have touch-controlled operating menus with logic similar to computers, including "back" and "home" functions to simply operation. There are some knobs and buttons, including one for radio volume, and
also a joystick for map navigation. As with the G1000, the G3000 will have reversionary display capability and will be able to re-initialize on the fly. It will also support Jeppesen chart products,
but Garmin's SafeTaxi, ChartView and synthetic vision features. Garmin expects certification approval in mid-2011.
With new aircraft sales soft, buyers who really need business transportation are finding Cessna’s older CitationJet 525s to be an alluring value. They’re about to get even more
attractive, now that Garmin and Cessna have announced a program to upgrade these legacy airframes to full glass cockpits with the popular G1000 suite. As configured for the CJ, the G1000 will be fully
WAAS and RVSM capable and will include such features as synthetic vision, datalinked weather, SafeTaxi and traffic displays. Garmin will also certify the system with the GFC700 digital autopilot.
Garmin says it expects to receive STC approvals by the second quarter of 2010, with conversions to begin short thereafter. Since this upgrade represents a major mod, they’ll be done by
Cessna’s Citation Service Centers. Owners should contact those centers for scheduling and pricing.
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Cutter Aviation Wants to See YOU at NBAA 2009 This Week!
Visit Cutter Aviation at the NBAA 2009 Convention in Orlando this week and "turn yourself in" for a reward! Stop by our booths at ConocoPhillips Booth #2613 or AvFuel Booth
#2100 and learn more about the wide range of services Cutter Aviation provides and get a Cutter Reward card redeemable for 20,000 WingPoints or 2,500 AvTrip Points on your next visit — no
purchase necessary!
Not attending NBAA? Visit our site and sign up to have one mailed to you!
Visit
CutterAviation.com for details. 
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Embraer has announced development of a long-range version of the Legacy 600 super midsize business jet. The Legacy 650 is already flying and is based on the 600 model. A beefed-up airframe and
landing gear allow more fuel, and new Rolls Royce AE 3007A2 engines are both more powerful and more efficient. It adds up to a 3,900 nm range with four passengers and a 3,800 nm range with eight
passengers. The cabin can hold up to 14 passengers.
A new Primus Elite avionics suite graces the panel, and some creature comfort refinements have been included in the makeover. More sound insulation is being added, and an Inmarsat SwiftBroadband
System will keep pax connected. There are two test airplanes already flying, and certification and first deliveries are expected by the middle of 2010.
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JA Air Center, Your Source for the New Garmin GPSMap 696
JA Air Center is YOUR source for Garmin equipment, including the new GPSMap 696 with Victor Airways, Jet Routes, XM Weather, Terrain, AOPA Airport Guide, and Safe Taxi. We purchase used
GPS units, avionics, and aircraft.
We are now open in Sugar Grove, IL (KARR) providing the finest avionics installations, turbine/piston maintenance, avionics/instrument service, internet sales, and aircraft sales. Call (800)
323-5966, or
click for more
info. 
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Seastars Will Be Canadian (Floridian in the
Winter) |
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| Click for a video from last year's NBAA Convention |
The Dornier Seaplane Company says it has the orders it needs to begin production of the twin turboprop SeaStar amphibian, and it's narrowed the factory site to two Canadian locations. The 10-place
aircraft, with an over-wing push-pull arrangement for the two PT6 engines, will be built in either St. Jean sur Richelieu, Quebec, just south of Montreal, or North Bay, Ontario, about 250 miles north
of Toronto. Winter operations will be conducted in Punta Gorda, Fla. The company says it has 25 letters of intent in hand for the aircraft, which harkens back to Dornier's early flying boat designs,
but the version is made mostly of composites and boasts the latest in engine and electronic technology.
Dornier has been in the airplane business for 100 years and got its start with flying boats that were some of the most ambitious designs of their time. It's a legacy the family-owned company wants
to continue. "I am very pleased that we will continue to build on the 100-year legacy of the Dornier family of aircraft in Canada," said company chairman Conrado Dornier. He said the Canadian
locations were picked for their available skilled labor pool, low real estate costs and the proximity to uncrowded airspace over an abundance of lakes.
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The New Meridian G1000 — Commanding
The new Meridian G1000 with Garmin G1000 avionics and GFC 700 autopilot suite, business jet luxury and turbine simplicity for 30% less than any comparable six-place turbine-powered aircraft.
With a panel as commanding as the airplane, and a million dollars less than its closest competitor, "Pilot in Command" means precisely that.
Click here for more
information on the new Piper Meridian G1000. 
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Air BP has introduced a fuel purchase rewards program that is tailored to business aviation and offers products and services that might be appealing to business travelers. Accumulated points can be
divided among staff and can be redeemed on products and services that BP says its customers have asked for. Merchandise, travel and tickets are redeemable items, but the program also offers a
concierge service for those who would like some help tracking custom items. There will also be a charity component to the program, with non-profit groups selected to benefit from the diversion of
customers' points.
"We didn't want to offer just any rewards program to our custmers," said Steve McCullough, BP's VP of sales and marketing. "More options, more flexibility and more value were the criteria we
set...." Some Air BP FBOs are already offering the program, and most of the FBOs in the U.S. and Canada will be on the program by Nov. 2.
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If You Own a Cirrus, Or If You Are Considering Purchasing a New or Used Aircraft, Consider This:
Avidyne and leading Cirrus sales and maintenance facilities have launched the G3-R9 program combining the purchase of a late-model, low-time Cirrus and the Avidyne Entegra Release
9 avionics suite for much less than purchasing a new aircraft. G3-R9 — combining the best airframe, best engine, and best avionics for the best value.
Click here for more
information. 
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Tell Your Friends: Read AVweb, Win a
Handheld MFD |
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Bendix/King by Honeywell is helping us give away one last AV8OR handheld MFD unit this year! All you have to do is click the image at right to enter your name and e-mail address. And no,
we're not going to rent or sell your name, but Bendix/King by Honeywell may send you information on the AV8OR. You may also forward this newsletter to friends and invite them to sign up for
AVweb so they can qualify for the AV8OR prize drawing, too. (We won't spam them, either, but we hope they will sign up for our AVwebFlash and AVwebBiz newsletters.)
Deadline for entries is midnight EST on Wednesday, November 4, 2009.
Click here to read the contest rules and enter.
(There's nothing to buy. All you need to do is be registered with AVweb.)
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Garmin Glass for the Diamond DA20!
Diamond Aircraft is celebrating the introduction of the lowest cost certified glass cockpit airplane with a time-limited spectacular introductory offer. Every purchaser of a new DA20
equipped with Garmin G500 will receive a no-charge avionics upgrade and free SVT (Synthetic Vision Technology), a $9,685 value!*
Visit
DiamondAircraft.com
or call (888) 359-3220.
* Some terms and conditions apply.
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Yes, we covered the now-infamous boy-in-a-runaway-balloon story and even sent out an AVwebAlert to make sure you were following it, too. On the AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli
explains that much as we hate to admit it, when a six-year-old is drifting towards Denver's Class B in a runaway balloon, that's news. Even if it turns out that something much stranger is actually
happening.
Read Paul's thoughts here.
AVweb's Mary Grady had some thoughts on "balloon boy" and the media reaction, too — although, to be fair, Mary's attention was more focused on next week's opening of Amelia and the
opportunities we have to put a positive spin on the world of aviation for our ground-bound friends and colleagues.
Click here to read Mary's commentary.
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The Top Reporter on Our Crack Staff ... Is
You! |
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 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. You're a part of our team ... often, the best part.
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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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Comments or questions about the news should be sent here.
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Aviate. Navigate. Communicate.
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As a Mooney owner herself, Jennifer can guide you through the purchase process.
