CJ4'S WILLIAMS ENGINE FLIES ON TESTBED
On Monday, the new 3,400-pound-thrust Williams FJ44-4A FADEC engine slated for the Cessna Citation CJ4 flew for the first time aboard a Citation testbed. “The first flight of the new engine went very well, and performance exceeded our expectations during the 50-minute flight,” said CJ4 Program Manager Norm Baker III. According to the Wichita aircraft manufacturer, the coming "moderately swept" wing Citation CJ4will have a full fuel payload of 1,000 pounds, a maximum payload of 2,1000 pounds and a 435-knot cruise spawned from any runway longer than 3,299 feet. The jet is scheduled for first flight in the first half of 2008, with entry into service following in 2010. The FJ44-4A outshines the CJ3's FJ44-3A thrust output by 580 pounds and "has the best thrust-to-weight ratio in its thrust class," Cessna notes. It also incorporates proprietary aerodynamic improvements that result in "a significant reduction in fuel consumption." More...

FIRST PHENOM 100 TAKES SHAPE
Embraer's first four- to six-passenger $2.75 million Phenom 100 jet, announced in May 2005, is headed for final assembly. Production and design planning of Phenom jets are entirely digital, allowing for pre-production parts manufacturing forecasts ("virtual" production) and a smooth production process, according to Embraer. The second Phenom very light jet is already in the initial assembly process. Two plants, both located in Botucatu, Brazil, are being upgraded and expanded by 95,800 sq ft to provide facilities for subassembly lines of the Phenom 100 and derivative Phenom 300 light jet. Installation of the VLJ’s two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW617 engines is expected this month. First flight for the 100 is planned for the summer, with the twinjet entering service by mid-2008. More...

MORE BRAZIL MIDAIR LAWSUITS FILED
At least 16 lawsuits filed Friday in federal court are seeking financial compensation for the loss of 154 people killed when a Gol airlines 737 made airborne contact with an ExcelAire Legacy business jet over the Amazon rain forest last September 29. The suits filed in Miami name New York-based charter provider ExcelAire and the U.S. pilots of the Legacy -- Joseph Lepore and Jan Paladino -- who were previously detained for more than 70 days in Brazil following the accident. It claims the pilots did not maintain proper altitude, failed to properly maintain communication with air traffic control and didn't operate the aircraft properly. Defects in the air traffic control system, which was developed and maintained by Honeywell, Lockheed Martin and two other companies, also factor into the crash and the lawsuit, according to the Associated Press. More...

LAUTENBERG SEEKS STAGE 1 AND 2 AIRCRAFT BAN
Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., late last year submitted a bill (S. 4109) to prohibit all Stage 1 and Stage 2 aircraft -- regardless of weight. While it didn’t pass in the previous Congress, sources say he hopes to slip the bill into the FAA's reauthorization legislation. The bill "would finally bring closure to this issue by phasing out the use of all remaining Stage 1 and Stage 2 aircraft in the United States," according to Lautenberg. Individual airports would be allowed to "opt out of this measure," writes Lautenberg, and the act would not take effect until three years after enactment. More...

SOCATA TRIES HAND AT COMPOSITES
EADS Socata hopes to revolutionize its manufacturing processes through the use of new advanced composites manufacturing techniques that could provide it lighter parts, for less money, built in less time. In partnership with other private-sector entities it would provide 32 percent toward a EU$9.3 million FUSCOMP, short for fuselage composite, program for the manufacture of a composite fuselage demonstrator based on the turboprop-single TBM 850 fuselage design but developed through vacuum infusion. The research-and-design-focused program is based on using vacuum pressure to inject liquid resin into dry fiber in a closed mold -- as opposed to working with pre-impregnated fiber materials cured in an autoclave. The new manufacturing method will allow for use of new materials and reduced production cycles, materials and manufacturing costs. More...

NBAA COMMENTS ON AIR-TAXI RULE
The National Business Aviation Association has filed comments on proposed rules for air-taxi services in response to an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking issued by the Department of Transportation. NBAA has advocated for the FAA to provide rulemaking that would require Part 135 carriers to verbally brief passengers on "operational control" for particular flights so that the passengers may know what entity is operating the flight and thereby be in a position to research any concerns regarding that operator. NBAA extends that desire to include charter brokers and ticket agents, or whomever sells or coordinates flights for the customer. More...

2006 TOP SELLING TURBINE: THE PC-12?
Every type of general aviation airplane saw increased shipments in 2006, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association report, but the Pilatus PC-12 – now in its 14th year of production -- held top honors, according to the Switzerland-based aircraft maker. The company says that this makes it four consecutive years that the PC-12 has won the top spot as the best-selling model of turbine-powered business aircraft. With 90 deliveries last year, the PC-12 turboprop single outsold the Citation XLS and CJ3 business jets, as well as the Grand Caravan turboprop single and midsize Citation Sovereign twinjet. The PC-12 is now seeing its highest production rate to date, even as the "Next Generation" PC-12 (slated for certification at the end of this year) gears up to be delivered. More...

BOMBARDIER BOOSTED BY BIZJETS
Bombardier saw a fourth-quarter gain in profits of 30-percent based in part on higher deliveries of business jets, according to the company. By the numbers, that translated to 69 bizjets amounting to an increase of 6.2 percent and buttressed by a record 274 orders. Bombardier Aerospace president Pierre Beaudoin last week told reporters, "Learjet is like everybody else in the industry," the business jet segment "is benefiting from a strong market." Looking toward the future, last year's announcement of the Learjet 60XR has sparked strong interest and the company says it is looking into use of composites throughout the entirety of its product line. More...

AIRCELL'S BROADBAND FOR BIZAV TRAVELERS
In case you haven't heard, AirCell is promising an onboard seamless (within the U.S.) broadband coverage system for business aircraft operators available in early 2008. The system, which was announced in at the Aircraft Electronics Association convention in Reno last week, includes a single LRU weighing in at 15 pounds and accessed via an Ethernet port. It will be a modular option offered to aircraft equipped with the AirCell Axxess cabin system and will provide passengers an onboard 802.11b/g "hotspot" capable of DSL-type speeds and supportive of all normal Internet activities (surfing, e-mail with attachments, chat, etc.). Service coverage begins at 10,000 feet, automatically transitioning between ground stations to provide coast-to-coast uninterrupted service, according to AirCell. More...

ON THE FLY
Eclipse delivers three Eclipse 500s,not yet for use as air taxis, to DayJet...
MedAire is offering onboard medical kits for child travelers...
FAA issues Gulfstream G200 AD...
Citation Mustang sim OK'd by the FAA and EASA. More...

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