EPIC THE NEXT BIG THING?
Epic Aircraft has called an unscheduled news conference for Wednesday at the National Business Aviation Association convention in which it is expected to announce a major funding infusion from an Indian businessman -- but Airbus is also sharing the podium, and that might lend some credence to rumors that its parent company EADS was considering a shot at the very light jet market. (We heard the factory will be on the Isle of Wight, but we've also been told we're wrong.) Whatever is being announced on Wednesday, it's being described as a "strategic alliance" between Epic, India-based Kingfisher Airlines and Airbus. More...

EMBRAER EYES EXPANSION
Brazilian airframer Embraer once again made the trek to NBAA from Sao Paulo this year, bringing with it updates on its forthcoming Phenom 100 and 300 bizjets at the low end along with plans to plug the gap between them and the company's top-of-the-line Lineage 1000 and Legacy 600. During a pre-show press conference Monday and an unveiling Tuesday at its booth on the convention floor, Embraer reminded attendees its Phenom 100 very light jet is already flying, having amassed 55 flight hours in 39 flights as of this week, all of which the company says are geared toward achieving certification and first deliveries by mid-2008. Eventually, the Phenom 100 flight-test effort will include four jets and about 1,800 flight hours. A second, fully instrumented Phenom 100 will soon join its older sibling "to confirm flight qualities, stall procedures, high-speed characteristics, and general performance," according to the company. Meanwhile, the Phenom 300's assembly process has begun at Embraer's plant at Botucatu, Brazil, where its rear fuselage is being built. But the company reserved most of its focus -- along with most of its booth space -- to present concepts of two possible future products: its MSJ, or mid-size jet, along with its MLJ, or "midlight" jet. More...

ADAM'S NEW MANAGEMENT VOWS TO MAKE ITS TARGETS
In a press conference Monday at Atlanta's Georgia World Congress Center in preparation for this year's National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Annual Meeting and Convention, Adam Aircraft's new management team vowed "we'll make our numbers" as its members touted to-be-certified Adam A700 very light jet as the price/performance leader in the VLJ market. Company Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John D. Wolf echoed a theme heard in Adam's tent this summer at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh: His task his to transition Adam from a "world-class" development company to a same-level production concern. The company even has a new slogan recognizing the new situation in which it finds itself: "Make Production Fly." Meanwhile, Adam President Duncan (Dunc) B. Koerbel stressed he and his team were "on track for certification and delivery of the A700 by the end of 2008," even as he declined to be pinned down on exactly when next year all that would occur. Their optimism and confidence in the company's future was buttressed by the signing of a 10-year training agreement with Ross Perot-backed SAFERjett, a Colorado-headquartered aviation training and education company planning to base its Adam training facilities at the Fort Worth (Texas) Alliance Airport beginning in late 2008. More...

NEW CABIN SYSTEMS FROM ROCKWELL COLLINS: VENUE
As business aircraft interiors grow ever more plush and connected -- broadband internet, telephone, fax and high-def video -- customers are demanding the same kind of operating ease they expect from home and office information systems. That's the driver behind Rockwell Collins' latest cabin information and entertainment product called Venue. The company's Airshow product, a first-gen system, is widely in use in hundreds of aircraft and Rockwell Collins' Tommy Dodson told journalists at NBAA in Atlanta this week that the company has made a major commitment to offer more sophisticated cabin systems. It also announced a range of software-based improvements for Airshow, including a new world clock feature, a detailed road atlas map for ground planning and a nifty flight instrument page reminiscent of Garmin's GPSmap 396/496, but based on the aircraft GPS and airdata system, not GPS alone. One upgrade includes a seat-side control panel with rocker switches, soft keys and a color GUI-based display for entertainment selection. More...

AVIDYNE RETROFIT FOR CESSNA 210
Although sales of piston singles have been brisk for the last three years, older aircraft still dominate the fleet, leaving many owners lusting for state-of-the-art EFIS systems that just haven’t been available for retrofit. But this week, Avidyne is addressing that in announcing that the Envison system—basically a second-generation Entegra EFIS suite—will be available for retrofit in the Cessna 210 series. Avidyne is developing the STC for the Centurion line jointly with Crownair Aviation, a San Diego-based mod and maintenance shop at Montgomery Field. More...

PIPERJET PROGRAM ONE YEAR OLD, TO USE GARMIN AVIONICS
It was only a year ago, at NBAA 2006, that Piper announced its entrant into the personal jet market, a growth version of its venerable Malibu/Meridian platform powered by a single Williams FJ44-3AP turbofan. This year, Piper updated attendees on the PiperJet's certification flight testing program and -- to no one's great surprise -- announced it had selected Garmin as the new jet's avionics supplier. James K. Bass, Piper Aircraft president and CEO, told showgoers his company intends to fly the first PiperJet -- a proof-of-concept platform -- during the second quarter of calendar 2008, followed by three more airframes to play specific roles in a program leading to certification and delivery in 2010, per Piper's schedule. Of those three additional airframes, the first will be used for aerodynamics flight testing, the second for systems engineering tests and the third will be a conforming article expected to receive FAA certification. More...

AVWEB'S NBAA 2007 PODCAST #1:
SPECIAL EXTENDED INTERVIEW WITH DAYJET'S ED IACOBUCCI ON THE FUTURE OF AIR TAXIS
Ed Iacobucci, president and CEO of DayJet, told AVweb in this extended podcast that the initial maintenance availability and reliability of the company's first 12 Eclipse 500 twin jets has been better than he expected and that operating economics have thus far panned out to within 5% of expectations as DayJet flies its first revenue passengers. So far, so good — but Iacobucci says DayJet's marriage to Eclipse isn't necessarily monogamous; he's talking to other jet makers, too. Bottom line: It's too soon to tell what the long-term potential of either the VLJ market or the air taxi segment will be. More...

AVWEB'S NBAA 2007 PODCAST #2:
JUST WHAT COULD CESSNA DO WITH COLUMBIA, IF THEY MANAGE TO ACQUIRE THE COMPANY? CESSNA'S ROGER WHYTE HAS SOME IDEAS
NBAA may be all about jets and turboprops, but the big buzz so far has been Cessna's pending purchase of Columbia Aircraft, a development that caught everyone by surprise. But is this acquisition really a good fit? Cessna's VP for Sales, Roger Whyte, says it is. More...

NBAA 2007 EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: CESSNA'S $11 BILLION BACKLOG
During a press conference at the NBAA Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, Cessna Aircraft revealed just how full the company's plate has become. In addition to making an offer on the financially-challenged Columbia Aircraft and rolling out the highly-anticipated SkyCatcher, the manufacturer has an $11 billion backlog of aircraft to build and deliver. (Click through to watch.) More...

WANTED: AVIATION WRITER, EDITOR AND WEB PERSON
AVweb has an opening for an able and experienced aviation writer and editor with proven experience in both print and web publishing, although we're willing to train the right person in the finer points of massaging content for the web. This position requires relocation to our Sarasota, Florida office. If this description fits you, contact aviationeditorial@comcast.net. More...

AVWEB'S NEWSTIPS ADDRESS ...
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something that 130,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? 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.

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

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