October 5, 2011

By The AVweb Editorial Staff

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Proposals in Congress have suggested raising the minimum as high as 1,500 hours. The changes stem from concerns that arose following the Colgan Air crash in Buffalo two years ago. Pilots who graduate from four-year college aeronautical programs or train in the military may earn credits that reduce their total time requirements, sources told the Journal. One result of the proposal, if it's enacted, could be that students would abandon traditional flight training. The plan "would likely drive many of those people interested in an aviation career into the academic realm," Bob Rockmaker, president of the Flight School Association of North America, told the Journal. The rule proposal is still working its way through the regulatory process and could face further delays and modifications, the Journal said. Also in the works are new rules regarding pilot fatigue, pilot mentoring, and airline training practices, all prompted by the Colgan crash. There's Nothing Light About This Jet Meet the latest and greatest member of the world's most successful family of light jets, the Citation CJ4. It delivers more speed and greater range while retaining the pilot-friendly — and single-pilot-certified — operations of the CJ family. The CJ4's cabin is larger, more comfortable, and outfitted with new entertainment and communication systems. All this equals an aircraft that is flexible enough to meet the requirements of many mid-sized aircraft at light jet costs, plus the service reputation of Cessna to back up your decision. It's what every light jet aspires to be. Visit Cessna.com. Gearing Up for NBAA Next Week back to top  NBAA: The Russians Are Coming SuperJet International will be among the prominent presenters as the National Business Aviation Association convention gets under way next week in Las Vegas. The company will be promoting a business version of the SuperJet regional airliner it is building as a joint venture between Russia's Sukhoi and Italy's Alenia. The SuperJet business variant was announced earlier this year and NBAA is the first North American exposure to the product. It's an example of the globalization of the bizjet industry where countries like Russia and China used to come shopping but are now coming to sell. Two Chinese organizations are also on the agenda for NBAA, including aircraft sales and brokerage firm China Business Aviation Group and China Civil Aviation Report, a magazine devoted to non-military flying in the country. Cessna may be the only company with a truly new aircraft to introduce at NBAA. As we reported in September, the company announced the Citation M2, which is a bit bigger than a Mustang but about $3 million cheaper than the least expensive CJ. Cessna will have a mockup on display and perhaps flesh out more details on the project. Updating old designs remains in vogue and Falco will unveil the fifth and last interior design for the Avro business jet, a new use for the Bae 146 regional airliner. A revamped version of the Beechjet 400 with new engines and avionics, called the Nextant 400XT, will also be on display. More than 1,000 exhibitors and 25,000 attendees are expected. Mobile FliteDeck: A Paperless En Route Charting Revolution for Your iPad® Aviation is transformed with the first interactive mobile en route flight application. With Mobile FliteDeck and a Jeppesen electronic chart subscription, you'll benefit from immediate access to accurate information, improved situational and operational awareness, and a more streamlined flight process. The app's features include en route chart data and Airway Manual® text, class-leading vector map imaging, and data-driven IFR and VFR terminal charts. Watch a view overview. Move 'Em In, Move 'Em Out? back to top  Slot Wars Looming In Europe? Business aviation in Europe is rallying against recommendations in a consultant's report that, if implemented, could sharply reduce access to some European airports. The Steer Davies and Gleave Impace Assessment report to the European Commission recommends that airport slots be allocated purely based on the number of passengers on board each aircraft. The European Business Aviation Association calls the proposal simplistic and says it could seriously disrupt business aviation. "This report is blind to the full impact of the entire aviation industry on local and regional economies," EBAA President Brian Humphries said in a speech to the European Airport Coordinators Association. "All of its arguments are based on the premise that maximum passenger throughput is the be-all and end-all, and as a result, it consistently seeks ways that passenger throughput can be maximized, regardless of the economic impact on sectors other than airports and airlines." Humphries said bizav generally avoids major hubs and uses secondary and local airports to maximize efficiency for clients. The difficulty is that airlines are increasingly using the smaller airports and the proposal could push business aviation from its traditional operating areas. EBAA says the best solution would be to guarantee slots to business aviation at secondary airports based on historical usage, noting that business aviation has invested heavily in facilities at many of these airports. Trade Up to the Lightspeed Aviation Zulu Ranked #1 in Professional Pilot magazine's Annual Headset Preference Survey, Lightspeed Aviation is offering you a chance to trade up to Zulu. Setting the standard for all ANR headsets, Lightspeed Zulu features Full-Function Bluetooth™ connectivity, enhanced communications, a distinctive look, and unparalleled comfort. Visit LightspeedAviation.com, learn the value of your headset, and trade up to Zulu. Forecast International: Growth Is Back In back to top  GA Forecast: Slow But Steady Growth Production of general aviation aircraft is expected to grow slightly through next year, with stronger growth starting in 2013, according to a report by Forecast International released this week. The research firm, based in Newton, Conn., excluded business jets and light sport aircraft from its study, which focuses on the projected GA market from 2011 to 2020. The report forecasts that 18,400 piston aircraft will be built by 2020, worth $8 billion, plus 6,000 turboprops, worth $20.5 billion. "There have been signs of strengthening demand in the piston market, but the increase has been from a very low base," said analyst Douglas Royce. "Getting production back to pre-recession levels will take years, if not the entire decade." Economic growth has been slow in the primary GA markets of the U.S. and Europe since the end of the global recession, and demand from countries with higher economic growth, such as China, India, and Brazil, will not grow quickly enough to replace those lost orders, the analysts found. When that demand does kick in, U.S. manufacturers such as Cessna, Piper and Cirrus will be well-positioned, Royce told the Wichita Eagle. "Everyone will benefit, but that's going to require the regulatory structure and infrastructure [abroad] to be built," Royce said. Get Spidertracks Aviator, The Aircraft Safety System That Makes Flying Fun! Spidertracks tracks you in real-time and automatically sends SOS alerts within minutes of an accident. Your flights are displayed on the Aviator web site, and your online logbook automatically fills in flight time and distance. You can upload photos, share your flights, "follow" other pilots, and talk flying with other aviators who love flying as much as you do. Get Aviator today — call 1 (800) 491‑2895 or visit Spidertracks.com. Opinion & Commentary back to top  AVweb Insider Blog: Is It Time to Privatize TSA? Rep. John Mica, who helped bring TSA into being 10 years ago, says he's surprised at how big the agency has has become. Really? Now he would like to get the agency under control by privatizing it. But that has its own problems, says Paul Bertorelli in his latest post to the AVweb Insider blog. Read more and join the conversation. Fly More for Less Visit the AVbuys page for discounts, rebates, incentives, bargains, special offers, bonus depreciation, or tax benefits to help stretch your budget. We're helping you to locate and view current offers instantly, with a direct link to sponsors' web sites for details. Click for the resource page. Who's Where back to top  Stone Promoted at Gulfstream Jace Stone Jace Stone is Gulfstream's new director of product support sales for western North America and Hawaii. He was previously a sales manager for Gulfstream in Texas. Hooper Joins CHC CHC Helicopters Joan Hooper has been named CHC Helicopter's senior executive vice president and chief financial officer. She was formerly at AT&T and Dell. 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. A Professional Pilot Available from AVweb Bookstore. Guides to help you along the way to becoming a professional pilot. These and others will outline your choices, let you know what to expect (and what will be expected of you), and offer critical guidance to help you succeed along the path you choose, each step of the way. Call (800) 780‑4115 or click here for more information. The Top Reporter on Our Crack Staff ... Is You! back to top  AVweb's Newstips Address ... Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 255,000 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. Looking for Low-Cost, Yet Effective, Marketing Options? Let AVweb assist your company in creating effective direct-response marketing campaigns to generate leads. No other digital aviation news media reaches more qualified subscribers more often. Text messages in newsletters combined with online banners reach over 255,000 readers monthly and deliver more new users to sponsor sites weekly than most print publications do monthly. Click now for details. AVweb Media: Look, Listen, Laugh and Learn back to top  Video: 'IFR' Magazine Learns How Jeppesen Prints Approach Plates Original, Exclusive Videos from AVweb | Reader-Submitted & Viral Videos Jeppesen prints half the approach plates they used to — one billion sheets per year instead of two billion. But they've also changed the way they print many of them. Any custom order, from trip kits to new manuals, gets printed similarly to how you might at home. Just bigger. And faster. And more. Don't see a video screen? Try disabling ad blockers and refreshing this page. If that doesn't work, click here to download the video directly. Names Behind the News back to top  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 Click here to send a letter to the editor. (Please let us know if your letter is not intended for publication.) Comments or questions about the news should be sent here. Have a product or service to advertise on AVweb? A question on marketing? Send it to AVweb's sales team. If you're having trouble reading this newsletter in its HTML-rich format (or if you'd prefer a lighter, simpler format for your PDA or handheld device), there's also a text-only version of AVwebBiz. For complete instructions on making the switch, click here. Aviate. Navigate. Communicate.