TURBOPROP, JET DELIVERIES CLIMB IN GAMA 1Q REPORT
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association on Friday released its first-quarter shipment report, showing continued growth in deliveries of business turboprops and jets. While general aviation piston airplane shipments fell, year-over-year numbers for turboprops grew by 30.5 percent (an increase of 59 units) and 12.2 percent for business jets (up 23 aircraft). The numbers show a current shift that favors business aircraft and account for a mild drop in overall general aviation shipments (from 847 to 842, year-over-year), while billings rose 11.3 percent to $4.5 billion. "Markets outside North America continue to account for nearly half of total business jet shipments," said GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce, who predicts that the GA “industry will continue to enjoy robust shipments throughout 2007" as a result of strong economic growth in markets outside of North America. More...

FALCON 7X WINS FAA, EASA CERTIFICATION
Dassault's 5,950-nm, fly-by-wire Falcon 7X is expected to enter service before July, having received type certification from both the EASA and FAA on Friday at a ceremony in Bordeaux-Merignac, France. More than 160 of the trijets have been sold, representing four years of production and marking the 7X as "the most popular launch of a business jet ever in terms of sales dollar value," according to the company. "When we look back on this event in the future, it will be remembered as a day that brought the design, manufacturing and efficiency of business aircraft to a new level," said Dassault Aviation Chairman and CEO Charles Edelsteene. As the first traditional business jet to be flown with fly-by-wire technology and "numerous new technologies never before used in business aviation," Alain Picard, director of certification for Dassault, complimented cooperation from both the EASA and FAA during the joint certification process. More...

FIRST CITATION ENCORE+ DELIVERED TO CUSTOMER
Cessna Aircraft announced Tuesday that it delivered the first Citation Encore+ to an undisclosed customer. The latest Citation V derivative is powered by two FADEC-equipped, 3,400-pound-thrust Pratt & Whitney Canada PW535B engines that offer "high durability and reliability," and "surpasses the most stringent environmental standards for emissions, set by the International Civil Aviation Organization." Besides the upgraded powerplants, the $8.273 million Encore+ has an increased gross weight that allows for a full-fuel payload of 1,170 pounds, 340 pounds more than the original Encore. According to Cessna, this weight increase also extends the airplane's range with higher passenger loads. In the flight deck, the Encore+ sports a Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 integrated avionics suite, which marks a significant change from its predecessor's Honeywell Primus 1000 avionics. More...

EPA RECOGNIZES ECLIPSE'S PHOSTREX
Eclipse Aviation on Tuesday said the Environmental Protection Agency awarded the company with a 2007 Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award for the development of its PhostrEx fire-suppression system. “PhostrEx will transform how our industry protects against engine fires while simultaneously guarding against the depletion of the ozone,” said Eclipse President and CEO Vern Raburn. PhostrEx was patented by Eclipse and is the first new commercially viable aircraft engine fire-suppression system in 50 years, the company said. Aircraft fire-suppression systems are currently exempt from the Montreal Treaty and are allowed to use Halon, an ozone-depleting substance, until a workable substitute is found. PhostrEx could very well be that substitute, but the EPA has yet to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking t o ban Halon for aviation applications. More...

BULLISH BOMBARDIER RELEASES ANNUAL BIZJET FORECAST
Bombardier shipped 56 business jets in the first quarter of 2007 with total billings of almost $1.3 billion, according to GAMA's quarterly report, and Bombardier expects its market to remain strong. The company's "10-year baseline Corporate Aircraft Market Forecast predicts 9,950 deliveries" in sum total from 2007 through 2016, representing $227 billion in market-wide revenues and an average 995 aircraft each year. (Note: those figures exclude the VLJ segment.) The forecast is a jump from the average of 572 business jet deliveries for years 1997 through 2006. Echoing a market-wide sentiment, Bombardier expects a shift toward international markets and aircraft that are more efficient to operate. The company expects to see continued growth in the market extending forward from today through the next four years and building annually upon the record deliveries mark set in 2006. More...

ECLIPSE RECEIVES PRODUCTION CERTIFICATE, MOVES ON TO TRAINING
Multiple announcements from Eclipse last week publicized the company's new training partners, delivery from the FAA of Eclipse's production certificate (the company may now issue standard airworthiness certificates for its production aircraft) and questions regarding earlier issuance of its type certificate. In February, Eclipse announced that aerodynamic refinements (larger tip tanks and aerodynamic refinements) made to the aircraft would be standard on aircraft delivered in mid-April and beyond. (We'll soon find out if all aircraft produced now will adhere to the "B model" configuration with which Eclipse says all its aircraft will ultimately conform.) With its production certificate awarded in the last week of April, Eclipse can begin delivering toward a goal of about 400 aircraft this year. As for training, United Airlines and Eclipse last month parted ways, which would have seen United training Eclipse 500 pilots. Now, Flight Simulation Company (FSC) of The Netherlands and Higher Power Aviation (HPA) of Dallas-Fort Worth have joined with Eclipse in working with simulator manufacturer OPINICUS Corporation of Lutz, Fla. FSC will provide Eclipse's FAA-approved course content and HPA's flight instructors will conduct FAA-approved flight training. More...

RUMORMILL ROILS OVER FAA'S ECLIPSE 500 TYPE CERTIFICATE
The FAA issued a type certificate for the Eclipse 500 last Sept. 30, but a grievance filed Oct. 20 by National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) aircraft certification representative Tomaso DiPaolo hit the spotlight this week suggesting the gesture may have been rushed. DiPaolo suggests that the pay-for-performance structure within the FAA may have held undue influence in the process. DiPaolo's grievance, posted late last week to a blog, alleges that "several outstanding safety/regulatory issues" noted by certification engineers and test pilots would have precluded issuance of the TC, were it not rushed through channels on the last calendar day of the government's fiscal year. The allegations are not intended to implicate Eclipse (and Eclipse denies any attempt to involve political influence in the certification process) but rather target the FAA's operating structure. More...

ALPHA FLYING EXPANDS PC-12 BASES
As new Cirrus-based air taxis (SatsAir and ImagineAir, to name two) and Eclipse-based air taxi hopeful DayJet populate the Southeast, Alpha Flying – better known under its fractional program name PlaneSense -- is stretching its wings to the south. The 11-year-old fractional and largest operator of the Pilatus PC-12 is expanding. It currently operates 28 tried and true (and top-selling turbine) Pilatus PC-12s and manages the virtual palindrome of 82 pilots who fly them from one single pilot base in Manchester, N.H.. That base will move in the fall to an 84,000-sq-ft facility in Portsmouth, N.H., with the addition of two new bases -- one at Atlanta Peachtree/DeKalb and another at Fort Lauderdale Executive. More...

EBACE TARGETS RECORD YEAR
The European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE), to be held later this month in Geneva, Switzerland, is on target to set new records for static display, booth spaces and overall number of exhibitors. The event, co-produced by the European Business Aviation Association and the National Business Aviation Association is scheduled for May 22 to 24 and has sold 1,410 booth spaces, with more than 340 exhibitors contracted for space, and 56 aircraft confirmed for the display grounds. Dr. Bertrand Piccard -- a key influence behind the Solar Impulse sustained solar flight project -- will deliver the keynote address. More...

ON THE FLY
NBAA 2008 convention will be in Orlando, not New Orleans...
Corporate Angel Network recognized Andy Spano...
Embraer puts Frederico Fleury Curado at helm...
Engine choice nears for Dassault's "Future Falcon." More...

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.

Today's issue was written by Contributing Editor Glenn Pew (bio) and Editor In Chief Chad Trautvetter.

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.

Shiny side up, okay?