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February 17, 2010
By The AVweb Editorial Staff
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Come See Lightspeed at Heli Expo ... The World's Largest Trade Show Dedicated to the International Helicopter Community
Stop by booth 2128 and see why Zulu with a coiled cord is the ultimate helicopter headset. Take our short survey and you could win your own Zulu. We'll be giving one away each day of the
show. You'll also want to ask about our special programs for professional helicopter pilots. The show runs February 21-23 in Houston.
Click here to visit
the Lightspeed web site. 
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Top News: GAMA Report Confirms the
Zeitgeist |
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The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) announced on
Tuesday that 2009 worldwide shipments and billings of general aviation airplanes were down in all categories. GAMA Chairman Rob Wilson, president of Honeywell Business and General Aviation, said
it was one of the toughest years ever for GA manufacturers. "The worldwide economic crisis, which included major constraints on credit, cutbacks in flying hours, and downsizing and divestiture of
business jet fleets, forced manufacturers to take difficult steps in 2009," Wilson said, at the annual industry review and market outlook briefing, held in Washington, D.C . "General aviation
manufacturers had no choice but to cut production and announce painful layoffs and furloughs," he said. Industry billings dipped to $19.5 billion, a 21.4 percent decrease from the 2008 record high of
$24.8 billion, but still the third highest year ever. Worldwide shipments of GA airplanes declined for a second year in a row with a total of 2,276 units delivered, a 42.6-percent decrease over the
2008 total of 3,967 airplanes. The piston airplane segment experienced the greatest decline at 54.5 percent. Shipments totaled 965 piston airplanes in 2009, compared to 2,119 the year before. Wilson
added, however, that there are some hopeful signs the worst of the economic crisis may be over.
"The inventory of used aircraft has peaked and is now declining, flying hours are on the rise, and inquiries for new orders are beginning to grow again," he said. Markets outside North America are
still expanding. "While these positive factors give us reason for optimism, we know that a full recovery will take time," Wilson said. In other GA sectors, turboprops proved most successful in
weathering the economic storm, showing a decline of 17.6 percent. In 2009, 441 turboprops were shipped, down from 535 units in 2008. After five years of growth, the business jet sector declined 33.7
percent with 870 airplanes shipped, compared to the previous year's figure of 1,313 airplanes. More details from the report can be found at GAMA's Web site.
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... And More Year-End Analysis Bears It
Out |
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It's no secret that 2009 was a tough year for the U.S. economy, and year-end reports released last week by two industry stalwarts show how hard it's been for general aviation. Sales of business and
GA aircraft at Hawker Beechcraft were down by about 30 percent in 2009 compared to the year before, the company reported. Deliveries in 2009 totaled 309, including 98 jets, 155 turboprops, and 56 piston aircraft. In 2008, sales in those categories totaled 441. Overall the company posted a
net loss of $451 million for the year. Cessna also summed up the results of a bleak year last week, noting in a strategic review of 2009 that its workforce has been cut in half and the current
business-jet down cycle is "unprecedented in severity." Textron, Cessna's parent company, projects that business-jet shipments will bottom out and start to rise again by the end of this year. Cessna's
newest business jet, the CJ4, should start deliveries this summer, according to the report.
"Cessna will continue to invest in new aircraft," the company said in its report. "Cessna's best days are still ahead." The company will emerge from the down cycle more competitive, the report
concludes.
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AERO Friedrichshafen Is Europe's Foremost Trade Show for General Aviation
Besides major decision-makers and multipliers of the industry, AERO attracts thousands of aviation enthusiasts each year in the scenic city of Friedrichshafen, Germany — home base of the
famous Zeppelins. As a trend-setter and driving force in the industry, AERO not only showcases the entire range of GA products and services, it also offers significant added value in the form of
future-oriented supporting events.
Go online for
complete information. 
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Business aviation analyst Brian Foley has taken a cue from the judging protocols of some sports competitions in determining that, overall, business jet sales will grow at 2.7 percent over the next
10 years. Foley tossed out the results of bizav's best year in recent memory (2008) and one of it's worst (2009) to come up with figures he thinks will stand up and actually mean something for those
making plans for the next decade. "2009 was too unsettled and 2008 was a clear anomaly, an unsustainable peak," Foley said. "Our same numbers would yield a minus growth -2.6 percent if measured
against 2008, but that's not really useful information." Foley predicts 8900 business jets worth $170 billion will be built between now and 2020. Foley has also tried to forecast bizjet fuel
consumption and, if he's correct, there will be a significant increase in the use of private aviation.
Foley said he thinks he's breaking new ground with the fuel consumption forecast because he's taking into consideration aircraft numbers, utilization rates and factors like fleet modernization that
dampen demand through increased efficiency. He thinks business aircraft will burn a total of 21 billion gallons of jet fuel in the coming decade and the annual consumption will reach 2.5 billion
gallons in 2020, 57 percent more than was burned in 2009. Foley says both sides of the business will continue to follow the roller coaster trends that define the aviation business cycle and there will
be lean periods within the decade of overall growth.
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JA Air Center — Your Source for the New Garmin Aera Series!
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click for more
info. 
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The trade show season revs up next weekend in Houston with Heli-Expo 2010 put on by Helicopter Association International (HAI). Thousands of delegates and hundreds of exhibitors will fill the
George R. Brown Convention Center for the event, which runs from Feb. 20 to Feb. 23. Exhibits and business meetings will go from Sunday to Tuesday. Most major helicopter companies and makers of
related gear will be in attendance and the exhibit floor looks mostly booked. There are dozens of seminars and educational forums scheduled and the event wraps up with HAI's annual Salute To
Excellence Awards dinner.
This year's Pilot of the Year honor goes to Earl S. Palmer, chief pilot of Hillcrest Aircraft Company in
Lewiston, Idaho. The company provides firefighting, construction, power line and other services in the challenging mountainous terrain of the area. Palmer has 13,000 hours in helicopters, including
time in Vietnam where he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for participation in a night re-supply mission at Bien Phoa under heavy enemy fire. A total of ten awards will be handed out.
Texas-based Flexjet and Switzerland-based VistaJet have formed an alliance to expand service to their customers. Flexjet, which is owned by Bombardier and VistaJet, which bought Bombardier's
European and Middle East-based Skyjet International in 2008, have reached an agreement that will allow customers of each company access to the other's aircraft. The deal also includes customers of the
Flexjet 25 Jet Card program, who buy blocks of aircraft time through Part 135 operator Jet Solutions. Under the deal, Flexjet fractional customers and Flexjet 25 customers will get guaranteed access
to VistaJet's European operations and be able to book flights in the Middle East and Asia as availability permits. The preferred rates that customers get through their existing affiliations apply on
the expanded network.
All of the organizations fly Bombardier-built aircraft exclusively. Flexjet is a traditional fractional operation in which clients purchase a fraction of an aircraft, starting at 1/16th, based on
the number of hours they expect to fly. Under the Flexjet 25 plan, customers buy block time on aircraft operated by Jet Solutions. VistaJet operates similarly to Jet Solutions and also offers
on-demand charters.
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Lead in auto fuel has already become a memory, and it seeems that day may be coming for avgas, too. In the latest installment of the AVweb Insider blog, Paul Bertorelli asks whether the
scientific data supports a crusade to remove lead from aviation fuels.
Click here to read Paul's thoughts and add your own.
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Southeast Aerospace (SEA) — Your Premier Avionics Source — Sales, Repair & Install
If you are not familiar with SEA, then you might be missing out on valuable avionics information. SEA's web site is one of the leading resources used daily by aviation professionals. The site is
constantly maintained and updated to always supply accurate information. SEA's online catalog provides thousands of detailed product pages with images, specifications, real-time pricing, and
delivery. Additionally: FAQs, avionics research, and repair calculator.
Click here to visit
SEAerospace.com. 
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| John Bingham |
John Bingham is the new Piaggio Aero America President and CEO. He was formerly an executive vice president with Cirrus Design.
Philip Anderson has been named senior vice president and chief financial officer for Spirit AeroSystems. He was formerly treasurer and VP of investor relations.
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.
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Business & Corporate Aviation Management
A comprehensive guide to choosing a business aviation model and making it work. Covers evaluating air transportation needs, running a flight department, and combining the needs of operations,
administration, and financial — plus regulatory requirements, policies, scheduling, planning, security, safety, training, and more.
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Call (800) 780-4115 or
click here for more
information. 
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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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details. 
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Now's your chance to win 100,000 Air BP Bravo Rewards Points as we celebrate our 15th Anniversary! All you have to do is click here to enter your
name and e-mail address. (You only have to enter once, and you'll be entered in our prize drawings for the entire year. If you've already entered for the previous Bose Headset drawing, you're
all set — no need to register again.)
And no, we're not going to rent or sell your name, ever. Tell your friends, and invite them to sign up for AVweb so they can qualify for our 15
Grand Giveaways prize drawings, too. (We won't spam them, either — but we hope they will sign up for our newsletters.)
Deadline for entries is 11:59pm Zulu time February 19, 2010.
Click here to read
the contest rules and enter.
Congratulations to Ron Goin of Idaho Falls, ID, who won the Bose Aviation Headset X! (click here to get your own from Bose
Corporation)
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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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