engine piston aircraft. Jack Pelton, boss of Cessna, said: “We have been conducting market studies and assessing new technologies to ensure our next generation piston family is responsive to market requirements and provides significant improvements in safety, performance, comfort, and economics. “We are currently in the process of listening to what our stakeholders have to say about our possible designs,” he said.

He said no decisions have been made about the type of aircraft or specifications – however Cessna dealers have returned from company meetings enthused by what they’ve been told and shown. They’ve indicated to LOOP that high wing and metal construction will feature, though the company has refused to comment.

»COLUMBIA Aircraft is to offer its 350i and 400i models with the Garmin G1000 glass cockpits along with READY Pad, a data entry keypad interface, and satellite weather/ radio and an autopilot, as part of a redesigned panel. The Oregon company is to offer six new models altogether with a variety of options. In addition to the 350i and 400i, there will be the 350SL and 400SL with more options such as thermal ice protection or air-conditioning. The 350SLX and 400SLX combine both ice protection and climate control. Prices range from $398,900 for the 350i up to a whopping $593,900 for the 400SLX. Columbia also announced a price reduction of $20,100 for the base model Columbia 350.

»CIRRUS is considering building a jet-powered aircraft but it will not go head-to- head with the new breed of Very Light Jets being developed by Eclipse and others. Cirrus boss Alan Klapmeier said: “Cirrus is not going to build a VLJ.” But he admitted, “I can imagine something like a two-seat fixed-gear trainer.” »AVIONICS companies Avidyne and Ryan International have announced a merger. Ryan’s traffic display and alert technologies will be added to Avidyne’s product lines, for both the original equipment and retrofit avionics markets. Ryan also invented the Stormscope weather system.

»TWO new Husky derivatives have been announced by Aviat Aircraft. The Husky A- 1B200 has a 200 hp Lycoming IO-360 engine and is priced at $184,680. It’s aimed at the wilderness markets with certification for tundra tires and will soon be available with floats and skis. Aviat says says the aircraft can climb at 1700fpm at sea level. The other new model is the 160 hp Husky A- 1B160 priced at $124,525.

»AOPA’s annual Expo was held in sunny Tampa, Florida this year and attracted more than 8500 people, with more than 1200 aeroplanes flying in. More than 70 hours of seminars were held, 100 plus aeroplanes were on show over the three days of the Expo. Next year’s event will be in Palm Springs, California from 9-11 November.