YOUR GARMIN, NOW BY MICROSOFT?
Wall Street reacted Monday to rumors that Garmin Ltd. may be targeted by Microsoft Corp. as an acquisition -- Garmin shares jumped 5 percent as a result. Head equity traders told Bloomberg News that the speculation may be riding a wave borne of news that Nokia Oyj had agreed to buy Navteq Corp., which happens to produces data used by Garmin in its navigation programs. That buyout is credited with triggering a "who's next" mentality among some traders and apparently Garmin is imagined as the most likely target. Others, however, put little faith in the rumors. "It doesn't make any sense at all ... Microsoft always is rumored to be buying someone," Rob Sanderson of American Technology Research told the Kansas City Star. More...

SUPERSONIC BIZJETS INCH CLOSER TO REALITY
Gulfstream, Supersonic Aerospace International and Aerion Corp. are all whittling away at their supersonic bizjet models as the market for such designs leaps closer to credibility. The Teal Group, through Vice President of Analysis Richard Aboulafia, believes that demand for supersonic travel is significant -- over 20 years of production, the Teal Group sees a market for up to 400 jets and Aerion aims to make its jet the first available offering. Aerion expects to spend time and $2.2 billion to land its jet in the market by 2014, citing a lack of available talent (a shortage of engineers) as a primary obstacle. More...

AMI JET SERVICE SUSPENDED
The FAA last week, citing operational control violations, declared an "emergency order" suspending AMI Jet Charter Inc.'s Part 135 air carrier certificate. The action came after a seven-month review of AMIJC's operation and apparently centered on operational control specifications -- details that allow passengers a clear understanding of who is providing service and, for pilots and maintenance personnel, the name of their employer. Complicating matters and perhaps at the root of the suspension, TAG aviation owns 49 percent of AMIJC, which manages nearly 80 of TAG's jets. Some suppose AMIJC may be seeking purchase of some larger percentage from TAG, but those suspicions are yet unconfirmed. TAG Aviation USA Inc. currently arranges charter flights as an agent for AMIJC and the precise wording posted to AMIJC's Web site that describes the relationship between the two entities may be at issue. More...

TEXTRON'S NEW UAV
Textron announced this week it has agreed to buy United Industrial Corp. for $1.1 billion, giving Textron responsibility for the Shadow tactical unmanned aerial system currently working in Iraq and Afghanistan, and providing the company a fresh card to play in the UAV market. "This industry is still in the very early stages, but at some point most of the military's surveillance aircraft and even many of its fighter aircraft will be unmanned," Paul Nisbet, aerospace and defense analyst for JSA Research Inc. in Newport, R.I., told The Boston Globe. More...

ARINC DIRECT AIRBORNE INTERNET SERVICE EXPANDS
ARINC Direct this week unveiled coverage expansion for its SKYLink satellite broadband for business jets. The coverage will by Q4 2007 include major portions of Central and South America with SKYLink Ku-band coverage of the entire Caribbean, though partnerships with SES AMERICOM. The service's total coverage area will by year-end include coverage stretching from Central Europe across the Atlantic, including southern Greenland, through northern portions of South America. In other words, SKYLink customers will be able to fly from Central Europe, through North America and on to South America with uninterrupted e-mail and Internet service. Much of the new service provided by SES AMERICOM comes through a new ground station in Miami. More...

PRATT & WHITNEY'S GEARED TURBOFAN
Lower fuel burn and lower noise is the aim of the new Geared Turbofan engine from Pratt & Whitney to be tested in flight next year and later carried commercially in a new Mitsubishi Regional Jet. Aboard the jet, the engine aims to offer best-in-class efficiency, reduced environmental impact and lower operating costs, making it a player in the demand for next-generation technology. The gearing system in the engine works by allowing the engine's fan to operate independent of the low pressure compressor and turbine. The resultant slower fan speed produces less noise while providing greater fuel efficiency and lower emissions. More...

NATA ON NEW TAX LAW FOR FRACTIONALS
The California State Assembly would like to assess property taxes on all fractional ownership flights in the state, according to NATA's review of Senate Bill 87. NATA reported yesterday that under the legislation, signed into law on Aug. 24, all flights operated in California as part of a fractional ownership program would be subject to the property taxes of whatever county the operation occurs in. The legislation establishes a formula to be used by the ownership management in determining how much it must pay. According to NATA, "The formula includes a fraction by which the total number of operations conducted in a county is divided by the total number of operations for the fractional ownership company." More...

GLOBAL WEATHER RADAR FOR EPIC COCKPITS, FROM ARINC
Add another stick to the arsenal of information ARINC offers the modern cockpit. The company announced last month a new graphical weather radar service for business jet operators called Expanded Weather RadarSM. The product is available immediately, bundled as a "no extra cost" addition to the standard ARINC Direct flight-service portfolio and includes "first-time coverage of major world regions where aviation weather radar data has not previously been available," according to ARINC, plus "true local radar coverage." The Expanded Weather Radar is offered to those ARINC Direct customers operating Honeywell EpicTM avionics equipped aircraft. More...

AVWEB ORIGINAL VIDEOS
From NBAA and AOPA, Alan Klapmeier on The-Jet, the Honda/GE powered Spectrum Freedom, Airbus Bizjet tours and 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.

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Timothy Cole

Editorial Director, Aviation Publications
Paul Bertorelli

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Glenn Pew

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