EPIC, KINGFISHER, AIRBUS CONFIRM -- AND CONFUSE -- STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
Wednesday morning in Atlanta at the 60th National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Annual Meeting and Convention, executives from Epic Aircraft, India-based Kingfisher Airlines and Airbus sat down to confirm rumors and reports of a new strategic partnership, releasing few details but giving rise to additional speculation. Rick Schrameck, Epic Aircraft’s president and CEO, Hitesh Patel, Kingfisher’s executive vice president and Arnaud Martin, vice president of the Airbus corporate and executive jet operation held a press conference in which they confirmed Kingfisher’s $200 million, 50/50 "strategic partnership" with Epic but left open the specific roles each other would play. Lurking in the background was Airbus, which presently has no formal agreement with Epic but has a longstanding manufacturer/customer relationship with Kingfisher, a large scheduled aircraft operation in headquartered in Mumbai, India. On its face, the new arrangement between manufacturer Epic and Kingfisher likely will prove a boon to both companies. But is there something else beneath the surface. Officials of all three companies delivered little more than a figurative shrug Wednesday morning. More...

NBAA, GAMA RALLY AGAINST USER FEES
NBAA President Ed Bolen and General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) President Pete Bunce told members and media representatives Tuesday that the fight is far from over to ensure that user fees are not part of the FAA reauthorization package currently before Congress. The House of Representatives have passed a bill that rejects user fees and the Senate Finance Committee recently followed suit but that bill is yet to go to the full Senate and there is plent of politicking that can throw the current trend off track. Bolen said those in aviation can't let up on the politicians now because the airlines are sure to keep up their lobbying effort. "We've all got to get involved," Bolen said. "We've all got to make our voices heard on Capitol Hill." More...

L-3 SMARTDECK CHOSEN FOR CIRRUS JET PROTOTYPE
Cirrus Design has chosen L-3 Communications to provide the avionics for its prototype single engine jet. The announcement was made at the National Business Aviation Association's convention in Atlanta. L-3 calls the avionics package the SmartDeck and says it represents the "next generation" of flat panels. In addition to all the usual features found on the glass wizards, L-3 has included its Stormscope weather mapping feature, SkyWatch collision avoidance system and Landmark terrain awareness and warning system (TAWS). It says it tested the displays with pilots and human factors experts to try and make it as functional and intuitive as possible. Cirrus CEO Alan Klapmeier said the choice of L-3 for the first Cirrus jet does not mean that production models will necessarily have the gear. More...

EADS SOCATA'S TBM 850 GOES GARMIN IN A BIGGER WAY
If your company already has what it claims as the world's fastest single-engine turboprop, what do you do to improve it and keep it competitive? New paint; new interior; drop the price? If you're EADS Socata, and the airplane is the faster-than-your-propeller-airplane TBM 850, the correct answer is "none of the above." Instead, you upgrade its avionics from a traditional Garmin 430/530 package and go full-boat with the Kansas manufacturer's G1000 integrated panel. "Two years ago, our customers asked us for more speed," said Jean-Michel Léonard, EADS Socata's CEO, referring to his company's decision to transform its successful TBM 700 into the 850. "We continue to listen to their needs, and as a result, we have taken the next step with the integrated cockpit panel -- which will ease pilot workload, save weight and reduce the cost of ownership. Playing with the TBM 850's known reliability was not an option, and we wanted a solid and fully integrated solution," Léonard added. More...

PRATT & WHITNEY CANADA TESTS PHENOM 300 ENGINE
The Pratt & Whitney PW535E that will power Embraer's new Phenom 300 light jet was successfully test-run and achieved its full thrust at 3,360 lbs. at PWC's Longueil, Quebec facility, the company announced at NBAA this week. Company officials said the project is on time, and that will allow Embraer to maintain its development schedule on the Phenom. PWC predicts the engine will be certified by the end of the year. "The PW535E development program is progressing very well, as confirmed by this key milestone," said Dan Breitman, PWC's Vice President of Turbofan Development. The Canadian engine maker also inked a big deal with very light jet air taxi pioneer DayJet. More...

WHAT DO PIPER AND GARMIN HAVE UP THEIR SLEEVE?
All we know for sure is that the PiperJet will have a new avionics package maybe based on the G1000 — or maybe not. Garmin is being closed-lipped about what capabilities it will provide to Piper, according to Bob Kromer, Piper's VP of sales. In this podcast, Kromer offers an update on Piper's progress on its single-engine jet. Testing, he says, will happen in Vero Beach, but no decisions have been made on a production site. More...

ROLL YOUR OWN APPROACH — JEPPESEN'S NEW RNP PROGRAM
The advent of WAAS GPS means that virtually any airport on the planet -- at least in the U.S -- can have an instrument approach. But the FAA can't even begin to keep up with demand, so it's about to approve Jeppesen's request to develop so-called public RNP approaches on a contract basis. Jeppesen's Andy McDowell explains how it will work. More...

L-3'S SMARTDECK EFIS — COMPETITION FOR GARMIN?
Five years ago, a new EFIS called SmartDeck appeared at Oshkosh, to be offered by BF Goodrich's aerospace unit. It promptly vanished, L-3 Communications bought the Goodrich line, and now SmartDeck is back. L-3's Larry Riddle explains why the new version advances the state of the EFIS art. More...

NBAA 2007 PODCASTING ROUND-UP:
OUR COMPLETE AUDIO COVERAGE FROM THE ATLANTA CONVENTION
Innovation and growth topped everyone's agenda at the 2007 National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. If there was any doubt as to the health of the business jet market, this show eradicated it. As always, AVweb's audio news team was on hand to get the biggest stories straight from the newsmakers themselves. In case you missed them, here's a quick recap of our NBAA 2007 podcasts. More...

AIRBUS A318 ELITE BUSINESS JET CABIN TOUR
The 2007 NBAA Convention has been a busy one for the AVweb team, and there were many invitations we (unfortunately) had to turn down. When the kind folks at Airbus invited us to tour a fully-equipped A318 Elite, however, we just couldn't pass up the opportunity. Grab your most presentable briefcase and join us for a taste of business travel in the highest style. (Click through to watch.) More...

NBAA 2007 VIDEO ROUND-UP:
COMPLETE VIDEO REPORTING FROM THE ATLANTA CONVENTION
If there's one thing we cay with certainty about the 2007 NBAA Convention and Trade Show, it's this: Business aviation is healthy and keeping (very) busy. If you don't believe us, check out these three exclusive videos we put together while gathering news reports for AVweb at the show. 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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