USER-FEE BATTLE HEATS UP; CONGRESS KEEPS OPTIONS OPEN
Despite increasing rhetoric on both sides of the issue, there's still no clear winner in the ongoing battle engaging the FAA and the airline industry against general and business aviation to impose user fees. Meanwhile in Congress, indecision reigns, with the House unlikely to develop legislation to fully implement the FAA's legislative proposal but an even murkier picture forming in the Senate. The FAA/airlines recently fired a salvo via an Associated Press story whining that airline ticket taxes are being used to develop airports used by business and general aviation. The non-scheduled industry shot back last week, announcing a new, national coalition of communities, small businesses and other organizations depending on general and business aviation and "dedicated to protecting small and rural communities" and their access to the national air transportation system. The new organization -- the Alliance for Aviation Across America (AAAA) -- last week boasted more than 2,200 members and stressed its support of "properly modernizing America’s air traffic control system to enhance safety, promote efficiency and expand capacity in order to ensure ALL Americans have access to air transportation." More...

CESSNA CELEBRATES TWO FLEET MILESTONES
Cessna last week announced that two of its airplane fleets had reached significant time-in-service milestones: The Cessna Citation business jet fleet has surpassed the 20-million flight hour milestone and the Cessna Caravan has accumulated more than 10 million flight hours. The announcement was made at the annual Sun 'n Fun Fly-In, at which the company had a major presence. According to Cessna, more Citations have been sold than any other business jet. Through system upgrades and new model introductions, Citations have consistently set the standard of utility, comfort and performance. Today, Cessna produces eight Citation models -- from the world’s first fully certified very light jet, the Citation Mustang, to the world’s fastest business jet, the .92 Mach Citation X. Since entering service 35 years ago, nearly 5,000 Citations have been delivered to customers around the world. Meanwhile, 1,650 Caravans have been delivered in its more than 20-plus year production history. As a testament to the airplane’s durability and reliability, the biggest Caravan customer -- FedEx -- has demonstrated a sustainable dispatch rate of over 99 percent. Cessna designed the Caravan for use as an outback utility aircraft in the early 1980s. Equipped with a 600-hp Pratt & Whitney PT6A-114, it was the first turbine-engine-powered, single-engine aircraft put into production by a major aircraft manufacturer. The first Caravan was delivered in 1985. More...

NTSB INVESTIGATING AIRCRAFT PERFORMANCE IN CRJ OVERRUN ACCIDENT
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) yesterday said it will be forming an Aircraft Performance Group as part of its ongoing investigation into the April 12 accident involving a Bombardier CRJ-200 regional jet at Traverse City, Mich. According to the NTSB, the aircraft rolled off the end of Runway 28 at about 12:43 a.m. EDT, while landing at the Cherry Capital Airport (TVC) in Traverse City. The CRJ -- similar to Bombardier Challenger business jets -- was operated by Pinnacle Airlines as Flight 4712, overran the departure end of 6,501-foot-long Runway 28 and an additional 200 feet of pavement before coming to rest, substantially damaged. There were no injuries among the 49 passengers -- including three lap-held infants -- and three crewmembers. During the accident sequence, the airplane exited the paved surface onto a grassy snow-covered field, the nose gear separated from the fuselage, and the airplane came to rest about 100 feet beyond the pavement. The passengers and crew exited the airplane via the main cabin door. More...

CESSNA DELIVERS FIRST RETAIL CITATION MUSTANG VLJ
Cessna on Monday delivered its first "retail" and third production Citation Mustang business jet to Dave and Dawn Goode of GOODE Ski Technologies. Earlier, the company delivered two other copies of the Mustang, which are being used by Cessna as marketing demonstration aircraft. A former U.S. Ski Team member, Dave Goode founded GOODE Ski Technologies in 1975. After 15 years of manufacturing and marketing ski accessories, Goode developed and produced the snow ski industry's first carbon fiber ski. Goode also patented the first carbon fiber water ski. Today, GOODE is the world leader in carbon composite ski poles, snow skis and water skis. “We are proud to be the owners of the first retail Mustang and excited about putting it into service,” Goode said. More...

PILATUS CELEBRATES 700TH PC-12 DELIVERY
Pilatus Aircraft last week celebrated delivery of its 700th PC-12 single-engine turboprop in a celebration marked at the V. Kelner Pilatus Center in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The 700th example went to David Fountain, a private investor, who accepted the keys to his aircraft from Robert Arnone, president and CEO, and Steve Davey, vice president of V. Kelner Pilatus Center. It's the second PC-12 for Fountain, who plans to fly his new PC-12 himself out of Halifax, Nova Scotia. According to Pilatus, the PC-12 has been the top-selling turbine-powered business aircraft for the past four years in a row; the company celebrated delivering the 600th PC-12 just over one year ago. To build on its success, the company is hard at work on the Next Generation PC-12, which it plans to introduce later this year. Based in Broomfield, Colo., Pilatus Business Aircraft Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Pilatus Aircraft Ltd, was founded in 1996 to provide completions, marketing, sales, and service for Pilatus aircraft in North and South America. More...

GULFSTREAM RECOGNIZES SMALL-BUSINESS SUPPLIERS
Gulfstream Aerospace yesterday recognized four small businesses for their outstanding performance as suppliers to the company during the 2006 calendar year. The ceremony was held at Gulfstream's Ninth Annual Corporation Supplier Conference, held recently in Savannah, and which helps the company manage the $252 million in goods and services it purchased from U.S. small businesses. “In 2006, our small businesses improved delivery performance and maintained competitive pricing with their innovativeness and quick response to our challenging production demands,” said Jim McQueeney, vice president, material, Gulfstream. Gulfstream purchases a variety of products from small businesses, including machined parts, maintenance repair overhaul items, adhesives/sealants, electronic components and raw materials. In addition, Gulfstream receives numerous services from small businesses, including cabinetry assembly, plastic fabrication, construction, engineering, nondestructive testing, employment, plating, coating, equipment leasing and printing. More...

UNIVERSAL AVIONICS ANNOUNCES EASA CERTIFICATION FOR SYNTHETIC VISION
Universal Avionics yesterday said it obtained European certification for its Vision-1 Synthetic Vision System (SVS) last month under EASA standard ETSOA IM.21O.671. The Vision-1™ image is a real-time computer-generated rendering of the terrain ahead of the aircraft oriented to the aircraft’s vertical and lateral position when displayed on the company's EFI-890R, MFD-640 or EFI-550 flat-panel LCD displays. Universal’s Vision-1 terrain imagery utilizes topographical coloring similar to that used on aviation sectional charts. Hills and mountains appear in shades of green and brown while oceans and other large bodies of water are colored blue. Special shading on the digitized terrain and the grid overlay that conform to the landscape on the synthetic world provide a sense of movement in flight. The Vision-1 is also capable of displaying a wingman’s view, allowing a crew to view the flight profile based on the FMS flight plan. More...

ECLIPSE 500 MAKES FIRST LANDING IN EUROPE
Eclipse Aviation last week said one of its Eclipse 500 very light jets (VLJs) successfully ventured outside of North America for the first time. The aircraft left the company's headquarters in Albuquerque, N. M., on April 14, 2007; flew the North Atlantic route through Canada, Greenland, Iceland, and the United Kingdom; and landed in Friedrichshafen, Germany, for the AERO 2007 show. Additionally, the aircraft will tour Europe over the next few weeks, with scheduled stops in Cannes, France, for EUR-AVIA on April 27, and then to Geneva, Switzerland, on May 22, for the European Business Aviation Conference and Exposition (EBACE). “Europe is such a great market for the Eclipse 500 because of its superior performance and efficiency to anything else offered today,” said Andrew Broom, director of public relations at Eclipse Aviation. “The Eclipse 500 offers a quicker and more convenient way to travel. We already have more than 100 orders throughout this market, and we believe that once people in Europe and the UK see it and fly it, we can change the way they travel.” More...

AVWEB'S SUN 'N FUN PODCAST #6: EMBRAER'S ERNEST EDWARDS
AVweb Editor-in-Chief Chad Trautvetter sat down with Embraer North America Vice President of Sales and Marketing Ernest Edwards at the Sun 'n Fun Fly-In in Lakeland, Florida to get more background on the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer and its growing line of business jets. More...

EADS SOCATA UPGRADES TBM 850 WITH GARMIN MFD
Fresh from a 20,000-nm trip to Australia, including a week at the Australian International Airshow, the newest model of EADS Socata's TBM 850 single-engine turboprop was on display last week at Aero 2007, in Friedrichshafen, Germany. The latest iteration of the company's flagship business turboprop is dubbed the TBM 850 VFT (Very Fast Turboprop) and includes a latest-generation Garmin GMX 200 multi-function display (MFD) as standard equipment. The GMX 200 integrates a moving map, radar, traffic and terrain into a single display. At long-range cruise settings, the 850 VFT will deliver 252 KTAS; pump up the power, though, and you're in VLJ territory, cruising at 320 KTAS, according to company specifications. More...

FLIGHTPLAN, EXPRESS JETS FORM PARTNERSHIP
Flightplan, the Farnborough-based aircraft sales and charter company, last week said it had entered a partnership with Express Jets of San Antonio, Texas. According to the company, the move will provide Flightplan with access to the resources and used-aircraft inventory of the North American market while Express Jets' recent move into Europe will now give them representation across four continents. Flightplan is an aircraft sales and charter company based at the Farnborough Airport near London. Express Jets is an aircraft sales, acquisition and management company with corporate offices in Texas and subsidiary offices in China, Mexico and England. More...

AVANTAIR PROMOTES, GEARS UP FOR GROWTH
Avantair Inc., which says it is the only publicly traded standalone fractional operator in the U.S., yesterday said its has promoted Darren Blackett to the position of vice president of sales and marketing while appointing Mark Whitman as sales director of a newly formed territory in the North and Midwest. Blackett, who joined the company in 2004 and previously held the position of senior director of sales, will now be responsible for leading and managing the sales organization and the company's marketing efforts. He previously held the position of Business development manager for the western region at the Barnes Group Inc. He holds a BA in Marketing and an MBA. Whitman, a former Naval Aviator in the U.S. Marine Corps, brings 25 years of business aviation sales and marketing experience to Avantair. With a strong background in business aviation sales, Mr. Whitman has served in various roles with major industry leaders. More...

AVwebBiz is an every-other-week summary of the latest business aviation news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the internet's aviation magazine and news service.

Today's issue was written by Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside (bio).

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