Volume 3, Number 20 — November 30, 2005

Email this Business AVflash to a friend Having trouble viewing this AVflash? View it online. To ensure that you continue to receive this newsletter, please add avweb@homer.belvoir.com to your address book.

BOEING ADDS NEW BBJ. MAYBE
Boeing earlier this month announced a new version of its ber business jet, the BBJ 3, which is derived from the company's next-generation 737-900ER airliner. Billed as a more spacious offering than previous BBJs, Boeing says the 3 has 1,120 square feet of cabin space, 35 percent more than the original BBJ and 11 percent more than the BBJ 2. With up to five auxiliary fuel tanks, the jet will have a maximum range of 4,765 nautical miles (8,825 km). There's one problem, though: Boeing does not yet have a launch customer, or at least didn't when it made the 3's announcement on Nov. 21 at the Dubai Air Show. To date, 102 BBJs have been sold since the program was launched in 1996. There are currently 83 BBJs in service around the world; the fleet has generated more than 168,000 flight hours to date and 66,250 flights, with an industry-leading 99.9 percent dispatch reliability. More...

DASSAULT INTRODUCES 2000DX...
Earlier this month at the 58th NBAA Annual Meeting and Convention, Dassault announced a new addition to its line of business jets, the Falcon 2000DX. The 2000DX and its 3250-nm range will replace the Falcon 2000 in 2007, some 230 copies of which are flying. Dassault says the new 2000DX will feature the same interior as its even longer-range sibling, the 2000EX, but will be optimized for operators with different stage-length requirements. The company says its 2000DX design will be the only business jet in its class capable of landing with fuel tanks nearly full: The 2000DX can leave New York for Washington, D.C., and continue to San Francisco without adding fuel. The 2000DX will be powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW308C engines, rated at 7,000 lbs. thrust. More...

...AS FALCON 7X RACKS UP 100TH TEST FLIGHT
Meanwhile, flight testing of Dasault's latest tri-jet, the Falcon 7X, continues with the company announcing the type's 100th flight, which took place Nov. 15. The mini-milestone involved the serial-number-two aircraft, and lasted 01:35. Since that flight, all three test aircraft have flown again with the 103rd flight being the return of s/n 03 from the U.S. where it attended the annual NBAA convention. The Falcon 7X flight test program is expected to reach 1,200 flight hours before achieving certification, which is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2006. Since its first flight on May 5, 2005, the Falcon 7X has accumulated over 330 flight hours. More...

EMBRAER RENAMES LEGACY, ANNOUNCES NEW OFFERINGS
Embraer made a splash at this month's NBAA Annual Meeting and Convention by bringing its EMB-135 regional jet-derived and newly renamed Legacy large-cabin business jet and throwing two new smaller jets into its product mix. Embraer’s first business jet -- the Legacy -- is now called the Legacy 600, a change the company says was made to "be more in line with the Company’s new executive jet naming structure." Meanwhile, the Brazil-based airframer announced new very light and light jets, respectively the Phenom 100 and the Phenom 300. Both will feature Garmin's G1000 all-glass, fully integrated avionics suite built around three interchangeable 12-inch displays – two primary flight displays (PFD) and one multi-function display (MFD). The Phenom 100, powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW617F engines with 1,615 pounds of thrust, will carry up to eight occupants and offer a 1,160-nm range with four onboard. The Phenom 300 jet will be powered by P&WC’s PW535E engines, with 3,200 pounds of thrust each, while accommodating up to nine occupants; its range will be 1,800 nautical miles. More...

ROCKWELL UPGRADES, CERTIFIES IFIS
Rockwell Collins this month announced several upgrades to its Integrated Flight Information System (IFIS) plus supplemental certifications for retrofitting the advanced avionics into new airframes. Additionally, the company announced that Cessna has selected its Pro Line 21 avionics suite for the new Encore+ aircraft, which is scheduled to begin deliveries in February 2007. The enhancements include XM WX Satellite Weather, a new "smart entry" capability allowing pilots to enter and access data faster, and more easily geo-referenced charts beyond the U.S, including Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The company says the new capabilities will further enhance situational awareness the system provides while reducing pilot workload. Meanwhile, Rockwell announced FAA approval for retrofits of its IFIS to Cessna Citation CJ1 and CJ2 aircraft plus the Hawker 800XP jets -- when integrated with the Pro Line 21 avionics system. More...

BOMBARDIER LAUNCHES LEARJET 60 XR
Bombardier Aerospace this month announced its latest evolution of the venerable Learjet platform: the Learjet 60 XR. The newest Lear will be certified to FL510 and feature a high-speed cruise of 0.81 Mach, while pilots will fly behind a Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics suite including four 8x10-inch LCD panels. Behind the cockpit, a newly designed stand-up cabin will provide space for up to nine passengers and redesigned seats that improve legroom. The cabin will also include a larger galley and vanity cabinet, plus next-generation entertainment capability, light-emitting diode lighting technology, a reclaimed window in the aft lavatory and new modular floor plan. More...

BLACKHAWK WANTS TO UPGRADE YOUR BABY KING AIR
Beech's smallest twin turboprop, the King Air 90, has always suffered somewhat for its reputation as, well, Beech's smallest twin turboprop. Basically an overpowered, more-reliable version of the classic cabin-class piston twin, the King Air 90 is neither faster nor larger than the company's other offerings yet it remains popular as an entry-level rung on the turbine ladder. Relatively stable and comfortable, the only thing it really needs is more speed. Enter Blackhawk Modifications, a Waco, Texas-based firm that has focused on supplemental type certificates (STCs) to upgrade the older '90's Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A engines with more powerful versions. Blackhawk also upgrades Cessna's Model 425 Conquest I with larger engines. More...

KOLLSMAN ADVANCES COCKPIT-MOUNTED SYNTHETIC VISION
Avionics manufacturer Kollsman announced that its new Vision-Based Cockpit (VBC) -- one of the industry's latest synthetic vision systems -- recently made its first flight aboard a company test aircraft. Flight tests are being conducted to validate the system's compatibility with multiple avionics products and evaluate its operational use. The Kollsman VBC system is a modularized collection of various components, including GAViS, an externally mounted camera; ESViS, a head-down display, providing the pilot with a wide field of view of synthetic terrain and obstacles; and the m-ViS HUD, used to display imagery and flight guidance symbology and greatly reduce the size and weight of current HUD technology. The company's All Weather Window EFVS component, mounted in the nose of the aircraft, is designed to improve night and low-visibility instrument approach operations in accordance with FAR 91.175. More...

SANDEL OFFERS NEW FOUR-INCH DISPLAYS
Sandel Avionics, which made a big splash several years ago with an all-electronic horizontal situation indicator (EHSI) in a three-inch form factor and recently followed it up with a similarly sized stand-alone TAWS instrument, has introduced two new four-inch cockpit display units designed to offer turbine aircraft operators with an upgrade path away from their electromechanical units. Sandel's new products -- the SN4500 EHSI and SA4500 electronic attitude director indicator (EADI) -- build on the basic backlit technology pioneered by the company's original SN3308 EHSI and offer moving-map functionality. Both the SN4500 and SA4500 offer 360-degree readability and are based on the same four-inch product platform. More...

WATCH YOUR INBOX...
...the next issue of AVweb's BizAVflash will be e-mailed to you on Dec. 7. More...

Business AVflash is a twice-monthly summary of the latest business aviation
news, articles, products, features and events featured on AVweb, the
Internet's Aviation Magazine and News Service. http://www.avweb.com

Have a comment or question? Send it to mailto:newsteam@avweb.com.

Today's issue written by Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside:
http://www.avweb.com/contact/authors.html#jburnside
AVweb's editorial team: http://avweb.com/contact/authors.html.

Have a product or service to advertise on AVweb? A question on marketing?
Send it to AVweb's sales team: mailto:sales@avweb.com.

Shiny side up, okay?