COCKPIT LAPTOP BAN EYED
North Dakota Sen. Byron Dorgan will propose a measure to ban the use of laptop computers and other "personal electronic devices" in airliner cockpits in response to the distraction of two Northwest Airlines pilots last month that they say led to their missing their destination of Minneapolis. Dorgan, chairman of the aviation subcommittee, told the Associated Press he was surprised that the use of such devices isn't specifically outlawed and that clearly there's a need for that kind of guidance."We now understand from this flight at least that this can happen and there ought to be a more clear understanding by everyone in the cockpit that there is a national standard that would prohibit this and that they need to take it seriously," said Dorgan, D-N.D. His staff is currently working on the wording of the measure, which he confirmed will exempt electronic flight bags. There are a lot of other definitions that need to be nailed down, however. More...

CHINA DEBUTS AIRLINER ENGINE MODEL
China intends to design and build its own engines to power the so-called Big Plane, the C919. The AVIC Commercial Aircraft Engine Company was formed last January and it has a model of its SF-A engine on display at the China International Industry Fair in Shanghai. The company said it will have a detailed design team in place by the end of this year with a goal of completing the design by the end of 2010. Although the goal of the program is to eventually produce powerplants for the C919, it's not clear if the plan is to have the new engine ready for the aircraft's proposed launch date of 2016. More...

PIPER PRESIDENT RESIGNS
There has been another change at the top of Piper Aircraft. President John Becker, who'd been in the position less than six months, resigned Monday, according to TCPalm.com He will stay on until Dec. 1. Becker was the former vice president of engineering and took over the president's post when former CEO Jim Bass announced he was leaving in May, shortly after the company's acquisition by Brunei-based Imprimis. Becker was a long-time Piper employee. "We would like to express our deep appreciation to John for his many years of faithful service to the people of Piper, and wish him all the best in the future," Human Resources VP Steve Johnson said in a letter to Piper staff. More...

FAA TIGHTENS RULES ON PILOT DUI
The FAA has tightened up its treatment of pilots convicted of alcohol-related driving offenses. In the latest issue (PDF) of the Federal Air Surgeon's Medical Bulletin, AMEs are advised that first-time DUI and DWI offenders don't necessarily escape the agency's scrutiny as they have in the past. Under the new rules, anyone whose blood-alcohol content was measured at higher than .15 percent or who refused to provide a sample will automatically have their case referred by the AME to FAA headquarters. The FAA medics will then insist that the pilot applicant undergo a substance abuse assessment. Previously, on first offenses, AMEs had to review court records and make the call on whether the applicant had a problem. It's been suggested the tougher rules might tempt offenders to lie about it on their medical but that will likely make things worse. More...

USA TODAY: SMALL AIRPORTS GET BIG MONEY
Small general aviation airports around the country have raked in $1.1 billion in federal "earmarks" since 2001, USA Today reported this week. The earmarks are funds requested by lawmakers to support specific projects. USA Today says corporate jets, private pilots, and cargo operators like UPS and FedEx have benefited at the expense of taxpayers and the traveling public. NBAA, EAA, and AOPA were quick to respond. "Unfortunately, the vital contributions provided by community airports, and the millions of people who rely on them, were completely missing from your coverage," NBAA President Ed Bolen wrote to the newspaper. EAA's Earl Lawrence, vice president of industry and regulatory affairs, also weighed in: "The continuing inference that the only airports that are worthy of support are those with commercial service is similar to saying the only roads worth maintaining are those used by passenger buses," he wrote. AOPA President Craig Fuller responded: "USA Today has done its readers a disservice by failing to present all the facts ... regarding aviation funding." More...

MIDWEST AIRLINES 'LEGACY FLIGHT' LANDS AT MKE
Although customers may not notice much besides lower prices and newer aircraft, there are some who are mourning the demise of Midwest Airlines as it was previously structured. Republic Airlines bought the carrier in July and on Monday the last "legacy flight" of a Midwest Boeing 717, with an original Midwest crew, landed at Milwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport. Midwest charged more for its flights than its competitors on the notion that passengers would pay for a superior level of service and wider seats. Its flight crews were also paid more than typical regional crews and both practices came to an end with the Monday flight. It's probably not a coincidence that Sunday marked the beginning of Southwest Airlines' service to MKE. More...

IT'S THE FINAL AV8OR PRIZE THIS YEAR ... AND YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!

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.)

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: GARMIN'S NEW TOUCHSCREEN AERA MAKES ITS DEBUT AT AOPA SUMMIT
At AOPA Summit this week in Tampa, Florida, Garmin will roll out it's new touchscreen-based aera line of navigators. AVweb's Paul Bertorelli spent the last week wringing out a sample. Here's his video report. More...

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: DIAMOND'S DA20 WITH ASPEN AND GARMIN
Diamond Aircraft has always stepped right out there with innovation, and even in its modest DA20 trainer, the company is offering two glass panel choices. AVweb recently took a look at the Aspen EFD1000 and Garmin G500, both offered as options in the DA20. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: AIRPLANE AS PIG STY
Anyone who has ever flown a long cross-country in an airplane knows that the cabin turns into a disorganized mess of charts, water bottles, headsets and snack sacks. Paul Bertorelli and Kitplanes editor Marc Cook have the video footage to prove it — and they'd like to hear your best theories on why the cockpit gets so messy on a long flight. Head over to the AVweb Insider to watch their video blog and share your thoughts in the comments section. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: FLIGHT 60 VS. FLIGHT 188 — THE ART OF FAILURE
Those poor sods over at Delta who landed their B767 (with 193 aboard) on (active) taxiway M at ATL after being cleared to land on runway 27R in the pre-dawn of October 19 sure had one thing going for them, says AVweb's Glenn Pew — what the pilots at Northwest were about to do on October 21 to trump them. In the latest installment of our AVweb Insider blog, Glenn looks at the two high-profile mistakes that have commanded headlines for the last couple of weeks. 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...

HOW'S YOUR AIRCRAFT PARTNERSHIP WORKING OUT?
Aviation Consumer would like to know. We're most interested in hearing about successful long-term aircraft partnerships. What works for you? How have you sustained group ownership? And what effect has the current economic downturn had? Contact the editorial staff directly at avconsumer@comcast.net and we'll respond with our questions. (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...

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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