B/CA first saw an AirCell airborne cellular phone at an NBAA show about five years ago and thought it was a great idea. Cellular telephones were starting to appear everywhere--why not in aircraft? The sales reps were pumped up about the possibilities of airborne cellular service. It offered an alternative to VHF airborne telephones and the potential of datalink applications. There was just one catch--the FCC had not yet approved the concept. ``When will the FCC sign off on this?'' we asked AirCell. ``We expect it any day now,'' they replied.

Issaquah, Wash.-based Generation Systems' newly enhanced Lube-It software reduces the risks of aircraft failure due to inadequate lubrication by scheduling tasks. Available for $1,295 (single-user) or $1,995 (multi-user). Phone: (800) 613-5525; www. generationsystems.com . . . Some of the new features provided in Version 2.0 of Flyte Comm of Florida's Flyte Trax Windows 95/98/NT aircraft situation display system information (ASDI) include built-in data playback, a new interface, start-up display configuration file and access via the DTN Weather Center.

It isn't often that we come across a book that we know right away could become an industry standard. But that may become the case with Aircraft Acquisition Planning, the first of three texts produced by Conklin and de Decker, a provider of aircraft costing information based in Orleans, Mass.