NBAA, the event which dubs itself "the world's largest civil aviation exposition," takes place in Atlanta on October 12, 13 and 14, 1999. Boasting more than 1,000 vendors filling seven halls of the Georgia World Congress Centre, the exhibition will cover 800,000 square feet of space. 145 aircraft will be on display, including nearly every business aircraft in current production and some new aircraft prototypes, on a contiguous 22-acre ramp at DeKalb-Peachtree airport. As usual, the leading business aircraft manufacturing companies are tight-lipped with regard to important announcements, but some have revealed part of their exhibition strategies prior to the convention. \rBombardier's theme for the convention is: "Go further, ask us for the world." Seven Bombardier business jets will be displayed at the show, including all six business jets currently in production presented together at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport throughout the convention. At the centre, there will be a full-size cabin mock-up of a Continental business jet, featuring a new avionics suite representative of the planned production aircraft. Bombardier's static display will cover 24,000 square feet on two levels, and will also feature a video wall showcasing its aircraft, services and products. Raytheon will be taking a Premier I to Atlanta, marking the first time a production Premier I will participate in a public show. The aircraft is the third of its kind to enter Raytheon's test-flight programme, doing so on September 17. More than 200 Premier Is are on order, prompting Raytheon to announce recently a 25 per cent increase in the aircraft's annual production, from 48 to 60 aircraft.\rThe third jet flew for nearly two hours from Beech Field at Raytheon's headquarters in Wichita. Test pilot Dave Newton flew manoeuvres that tested the aircraft's flying qualities, gear and flap operations, airspeed and on-board systems. Newton flew the aircraft to 16,500 feet and reached an airspeed of 320 KCAS. Raytheon Aircraft is striving for FAA certification by the end of 1999, with deliveries to begin immediately following. Cessna will be celebrating the delivery of the 3,000th Citation at NBAA, as a follow up to last year's launch of the new Citation Sovereign, Encore, CJ2 and CJ1. Cessna is said to be planning a "comprehensive listening and briefing effort," according to sources at the company. It will be hosting a series of short product presentations on a regular schedule throughout the convention. Cessna is keen to promote an "exchange of ideas" with clients. \rCessna's booth will include full-size cabin mock-ups of the Citation Sovereign, Encore and CJ2, and information on the Citation, Caravan and single-engined products, Cessna Finance Corporation and customer services. The Cessna static display will feature the 206 Stationair, Grand Caravan, CitationJet, CJ2, Citation Bravo, Encore, Excel, Citation VII and Citation X. \rEuropean Business Air News will once again be exhibiting at the convention. Located on booth 6781, immediately adjacent to Cessna Aircraft Company, we will be delighted to meet all our readers and to introduce you to our new publication, Global Business Jet. GBJ is distributed worldwide to owners of business jets with a range in excess of 2,000 nm. Said publisher David Wright: "The NBAA convention is a superb place to publicise our new magazine since over 70 per cent of our readers are based in the USA."