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4/842 avionicsnews july2014

Vol. 51 No. 7

4 Point of Communication by Kim Stephenson

Experience AirVenture

6 AEA Now

14 The View From Washingtonby Ric Peri

Rumors, lies and misinformation

16 International News and

Regulatory Updatesby Ric Peri

22 Immortal Aviation and the Avionics Rx

by Dave Higdon

Aiding owners in upgrade decisions for older aircraft

26 Member Profileby Christine Knauer

GAM supports busy Australian charter fleet

30 iPad Limitations by Scott M. Spangler

What pilots need to know

36 UAVs Spring New Business by Dale Smith

Robotic Skies set to help avionics repair shops make

the most of new business opportunities.

44 A Conversation With ...by Thomas Inman

Mike Morgan of Duncan Aviation

46 Member Profileby Christine Knauer

Islip Avionics helps restore historic aircraft

N E W S JULY 2014

46

AVIONICS NEWS

is a monthly publication of theAircraft Electronics Association

EDITORIAL & EXECUTIVE OFFICES:3570 NE Ralph Powell RoadLees Summit, MO 64064Phone: 816-347-8400Fax: 816-347-8405Email: [email protected]: www.avionicsnews.net

Publisher

Paula R. Derks

Editor

Geoff Hill

Managing Editor

Jeff Kirchhoff

Director of Advertising

Lauren McFarland

Circulation Manager

Katie Ryser

Senior Writers

Ric PeriJason Dickstein

Contributing Writers

Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside

Dave Higdon

James A. Hunter

Thomas Inman

Christine Knauer

Greg Laslo

Patricia Luebke

John D. Ruley

Dale Smith

Scott M. Spangler

Published monthly by the Aircraft Electronics As

(ISSN 0567-2889). Periodicals postage paid at L

MO and additional mailing offices. Advertising ra

upon request. For subscription information, send

and complete mailing address to:

AVIONICS NEWS

3570 NE Ralph Powell Road

Lees Summit, MO 64064

POSTMASTER: Send address changes toAVIO

3570 NE Ralph Powell Road, Lees Summit, MO

The publishers and editors of this magazine do n

responsibility for statements made by advertisers

for the opinions expressed by authors of bylined

Materials may not be reproduced without written

Material forAvionics News(USPS 452011) is we

review; however, the editors assumes no respon

the return or safety of artwork, photographs or m

Articles submitted for publication become the pro

AEA. Articles submitted by AEA contractors are

work-for-hire and, as such, are the property of th

Avionics News and its editors reserve the right to

articles for length, clarity and content.

2014 Aircraft Electronics Association All right

PRINTED IN THE USA.

A d v e r t i s e r s I n d e x p a g e 6 4

49 Before & After

Islip Avionics of Ronkonkoma, New York

50 Avidynes IFD540 plug-and-play wonder

by Dave Higdon

Hybrid touch redefines control; easy GUI

enhances flexibility, utility

56 Business Basicsby Greg Laslo

Single minds: How groupthink hurts smart

decision-making

62 Whats Working?by Thomas Inman

Invested Experts: Pacific Southwest Instruments

66 Marketing Report Cardby Patricia Luebke

Media Relations

68 Power for Portable Avionicsby John D. Ruley

More than repurposing the 12-volt cigarette lighter

72 Whats New

The source for updates on AEA members

78 Marketplace Classifieds

Jobs, equipment, calibration, services & more

2 avionicsnews july 2014

www.avionicsnews.net

26 62

Rare is the pilot today who does not fly without a tablet computer, usuallyan Apple iPad. But these personal electronic devices are not without their

problems. Read more about the limitations of flying with an iPad on page 30

Main photo courtesy of Sportys Pilot Shop

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APPROACH PLATES

TRAFFICWEATHER

RADARAIRSPACE / AIRWAYSADS-B AND TERRAIN

GTN SERIES

When it comes to experience in touchscreen avionics, our GTN750/650 series

is in a league all by itself. Evolved from thousands of Garmin glass systems, this

integrated GPS/Nav/Comm/MFD platform gives pilots the technology to make

quicker, smarter, easier decisions in all phases of flight. It offers full WAAS LPV

approach capability, preloaded FliteChartsand SafeTaxi1, plus a wide range of

display capabilities and inputsincluding optional Doppler-enhanced onboard

weather radar, digital autopilot interface, datalinks for worldwide weather, traffic

alerting, voice/text messaging, position reporting, and more. Theres also onscreen

control for remote transponder and audio panel functions 2plus a GTN Trainer

app you can download to preview the GTN on your iPad.

To find out more, see your Garmin dealer or visit Garmin.com/aviation.

2014 Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries

1Initial U.S. FliteChartswill disable when data is over 6 months out-of-date. Updates available on single-cycle or annual basis.2Transponder and audio systems sold separately. Remote audio panel functions available on GTN 750 series only.NOTE: GTN 750 shown above is displayed with Jeppesen JeppViewelectronic charts, available with optional Garmin ChartView.

Hundreds of features.

Thousands of installations.

Millions of flight hours.

One clear choice.

5/20/2018 Avionics News 2014-07


Experience AirVenture


Continued on page 60

So whats to like about AirVenture? Umm everything!As we enter the month of July, aviation enthu-

siasts have an opportunity to immerse themselves

in a one-of-a-kind aviation gathering in Oshkosh,Wisconsin, at the Experimental Aircraft

Associations AirVenture. This years

annual event is set for July 28-Aug.

3. For many, AirVenture is an annual

pilgrimage a once-a-year opportunity

to soak up the sights and sounds of all

things aviation.

If you havent attend-

ed AirVenture in the

past, it is definitely worth the trip.

For one week, Wittman RegionalAirport in Oshkosh becomes

the busiest airport in the world.

More than 10,000 aircraft come

and go in a few days. After 20

years of working at AirVenture,

I am still in awe of the cho-

reography that goes into

managing the airspace. Each

day, one can look up and see

an antique aircraft, a blimp, ultra-

lights, a helicopter and multiple other aircraft in

simultaneous flight above the grounds. This is gen-

eral aviation on the grandest scale.

Where else can you see the B-17 and the Jetman,

Yves Rossy, fly in the same day? The B-17 always

gives me goose bumps, and the Jetmans jet pack

is reminiscent of our childhood fantasies. This also

is the place to be if you love innovation. Some of

the emerging technologies showcased at AirVentureare still so raw you can see the creative

struggle to make the next leap right before

your eyes.

Whether youre a show veteran or first-

time participant, the best way to experience

AirVenture is with another person. A good

candidate may be the youngest member of

your extended family. I found such a candi-

date in my 8-year-old son when he visited

AirVenture two years ago. When asked what he

liked best about AirVenture, he said, Um every-thing!

His favorite place was KidVenture. The name

implies its all about kids, but you may feel the

same level of excitement if you walk a youngster

through this program and see science concepts click

into place. But beware this is a great place to pass

along the aviation bug.

KidVenture offers hands-on experiences for youth

to learn the basics about aircraft and flying. On

the aircraft maintenance technician A&P (airframe

and powerplant) track, kids will build a small-scale

wing rib and carve a propeller, learn electrical sys-

Kim Stephenson

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8/846 avionicsnews july2014 avionics news july 2011 6

EEDIRECT Dgd x fr AEA

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ANNUAL RATE & LABOR SURVEY Er r,

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3210 r t .t.r.

AEAS WEBSITE AEA.NET The first stop for

AEA members in search of the latest in regulatory

topics, technical information and association news.

The AEA website,

www.aea.net, offers

24-hour access for

AEA members around

the globe who are inneed of online training,

meeting and event

information, magazine archives, warranty claims, reg-

ulatory updates and more. It is the most comprehen-

sive website for certified repair stations in the world.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Chairman of the BoardDAVID LOSO, Jet Aviation St. Louis

Vice ChairmanMICHAEL KUS,Avionics 2000 Pty. Ltd.

TreasurerJIM JOUBERT, Pacific Southwest Instruments

Secretary

KIM STEPHENSON, L-3 Aviation Products

PAULA DERKS, Aircraft Electronics Association

RICK GARCIA, Gulf Coast Avionics

TOM HARPER, Avidyne Corp.

MATTHEW HARRAH, Garmin USA

GARRY JOYCE, IAE Ltd.

TIM KELLY, Honeywell Aerospace

MIKE LACONTO, Epps Aviation

JEANNE MEADE,Velocity Aerospace

MIKE MINCHOW, Duncan Aviation

RICK OCHS, Spirit Aeronautics

RICHARD PEAVLEY, Vero Beach Avionics

CORY RELLING,Aspen Avionics

DAVID SALVADOR,Aircell

TIM SHAW, Rocky Mountain Aircraft

BRIAN WILSON, Banyan Air Service

Immediate Past ChairmanGARY HARPSTER, Duncan Aviation

AEA INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS

3570 NE Ralph Powell RoadLees Summit, MO 64064

Phone: 816-347-8400 Fax: [email protected] www.aea.net

AEA HEADQUARTERS STAFF

PAULA DERKS, President

DEBRA McFARLAND, Executive Vice President

MIKE ADAMSON, Vice President,Member Programs & Education

LINDA ADAMS, Vice President, Member Services

GEOFF HILL, Director of Communications

JEFF KIRCHHOFF, Creative Director

AARON WARD, Director of Information Services

LAUREN McFARLAND, Director of Advertising

KATIE RYSER,Administrative Assistant

AEA WASHINGTON, D.C., OFFICE

601 Pennsylvania Ave. NWSuite 900, South BuildingWashington, D.C. 20004

Phone: 202-589-1144 Fax: 202-639-8238RIC PERI

Vice President, Government & Industry Affairs

AEA EUROPE OFFICE

Richmodstrasse 6D-50667 Cologne, GermanyPhone: +49 221 920 42 442

Fax: +49 221 920 42 200

AEA CONSULTANTS

JASON DICKSTEIN

AEA General Counsel

BRUCE BAXTER

South Pacific Regulatory Consultant

KEVIN BRUCE

Canadian Regulatory Consultant

FRANZ REDAK

European Regulatory Consultant

July .........................................Td, J 1

August ..................................Md, Ag. 4

September............................ Td, Spt. 2

October ........................... Wdd, Ot. 1

Other benefits of the AEA include the annual International Convention & Trade Show, regional

meetings, regulatory representation, AEA Wired e-newsletterand Avionics News magazine.

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9/84avionicsnews july2014 7avionicsnews july 2014 7avionicsnews july 2014 7

The Aircraft Electronics Association is offering four

educational courses during the month of August in the

Dan Derby Center for Professional Development at its

international headquarters in Lees Summit, Missouri.

First, the AVIONICS INSTALLATION AND

INTEGRATION TRAINING course is

slated for Aug. 18-20. Presented

by Don Dominguez of Radioman

Avionics, this three-day course is

designed for technicians who have

completed AEAs Basic Wiring andAvionics Installation Course

and/or have a couple years of basic

avionics installation practice and

are looking for more experience

integrating common general

aviation installations. Technicians

will learn how to plan, install,

interface, configure and check

out an installation consisting of

a Garmin GTN 650 touchscreen

nav/comm/GPS, Garmin GTX33ES

remote transponder and an AspenEFD1000 primary flight display.

In addition, the PITOT-STATIC AND

TRANSPONDER CERTIFICATION TRAININGcourse

takes place Aug. 21. Attendees will learn the proper

methods for conducting pitot-static and transponder

certification testing. This full-day course offers hands-

on training, including a regulatory review and an

explanation of the proper administrative procedures

for completing these critical certifications. It also

includes a transponder tune-up course. The contents

of this course can easily be incorporated into

approved training programs for certified

repair stations.

The RVSM MAINTENANCE

AND ADVANCED TRANSPONDER

TRAININGcourse immediately followson Aug. 22. Attendees will be introduced

to the regulations, documentation, test

equipment and maintenance practices

associated with performing RVSM

maintenance and will follow with an

in-depth look at Mode S transponders.

This course assumes the attendee has

good operating knowledge of Federal

Aviation Regulations 91.411 and 91.413.

Finally, the NATIONAL CENTER FOR

AEROSPACE AND TRANSPORTATION

TECHNOLOGIES AIRCRAFT ELECTRONICS

TECHNICIAN REVIEWcourse takes place Aug. 25-27.

Presented by Bruce Bessette, who has more than

30 years of avionics and maintenance experience,

this three-day course provides a review of all 34

subject areas for the NCATT AET certification exam.

At the end of this review, course attendees should

be prepared to take the NCATT AET certification

test, which will be administered free of charge (a

$100 value). Upon successful completion of the AET

exam, attendees will be eligible to test for additional

ratings, including the NCATT Radio Communications

Systems (RCS), Dependent Navigation Systems

(DNS) and Autonomous Navigation Systems (ANS)

endorsements.

For more information or to register for these

professional development opportunities, visit www.

aea.net/training or contact the AEA at 816-347-8400.

Class size is limited, so register today. q

Four Training Classes Available at

AEA Headquarters in August

TRAINING SITE:

Dan Derby Center

for ProfessionalDevelopment,

AEA International

Headquarters.

INFORMATION/

REGISTRATION

www.aea.net/training

816-347-8400

5/20/2018 Avionics News 2014-07

10/848 avionicsnews july20148 avionicsnews july 2014

The Aircraft Electronics

Associations 12th edition of

the Pilots Guide to

Avionicsdebuts at the

Experimental Aircraft

Associations AirVenture,

July 28-Aug. 3, in

Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

The freePilots

Guide to Avionicswill

be available at the

AEAs AirVenture

booth, No. 2035/36,

Hangar B.

In addition to a complete directory

of AEA member government-certified

repair stations, avionics manufactur-

ers and distributors, the Pilots Guide

to Avionicsfeatures educational arti-

cles to help pilots and aircraft owners

with their avionics buying decisions.

The Pilots Guide to Avionicsalso

will be distributed throughout the

year at AEA Regional Meetings; the

NBAA Business Aviation Convention

& Exhibition; WAIs Conference; HAIs

Heli-Expo; and the AEA International

Convention & Trade Show. A com-

plimentary copy will be mailed to all

AEA member companies in August.

For more information, or request

the Pilots Guide to Avionics, visit

www.aea.pilotsguide.net.q

2014-15

Pilots Guide

to AvionicsDistribution Begins

at AirVenture

ISACONSUMERS

GUIDE

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ERVICES,INCLUDI

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ERVICES,INCLUDI

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RS.

ADS-B:Arey

ouready?

Autopilotupg

rades

Showcasing

newavionics

ADS-B:Arey

ouready?

Autopilotupg

rades

Showcasing

newavionics

ADS-B:Arey

ouready?

Autopilotupg

rades

Showcasing

newavionics

ADS-B:Arey

ouready?

Autopilotupg

rades

Showcasing

newavionics

The Aircraft Electronics Association recently released its first-

quarter 2014 Avionics Market Report.

In the first three months of the year, total worldwide business

and general aviation avionics sales amounted to $651,748,994.12,

or more than $651 million.

That amount shows an 11.2 percent increase in sales compared

to the first-quarter 2013 amount of $586,006,894.49, or more

than $586 million as reported a year ago by the participatingcompanies.

The dollar amount reported (using net sales price, not

manufacturers suggested retail price) includes: all business

and general aviation aircraft electronic sales including all

component and accessories in cockpit/cabin/software upgrades/

portables/noncertified aircraft electronics; all hardware (tip

to tail); batteries; and chargeable product upgrades from the

participating manufacturers. The amount does not include repairs

and overhauls, extended warranty or subscription services.

Of the more than $651 million in total sales in the first

quarter, $330,420,718.04, or more than $330 million, came

from forward-fit (avionics equipment installed by airframemanufacturers during original production) sales and comprised 50.7

percent of total sales. Retrofit (avionics equipment installed after

original production) sales amounted to $321,328,276.08, or more

than $321 million, comprising 49.3 percent of total sales.

In addition, the first-quarter 2014 report marked the first

time participating companies were asked to separate their total

sales figures between North America (U.S. and Canada) and

other international markets. According to the companies that

participated in this breakdown, 62.9 percent of the sales volume

occurred in North America (U.S. and Canada), while 37.1

percent took place in other international markets.

It is encouraging to see total avionics sales in the business and

general aviation market grow by more than 11 percent from the

same time period one year ago, said Paula Derks, AEA president.

This report is another positive economic indicator for the

general aviation industry, which continues its recovery from the

recession. And with more than 37 percent of avionics sales taking

place outside the United States and Canada, its another sign that

the business and general aviation industry has no boundaries and

truly is a significant contributor to the international economy.q

AEA Announces First-Quarter2014 Avionics Market Report

Overall growth in total sales 11.2 percent; forward-fit and retrofit sales nearly even; 62.9 percent of

sales took place in North America (U.S. and Canada).

5/20/2018 Avionics News 2014-07

11/84

Were not just innovatingin-flight connectivity.

WereAircelleratingit.

5 new ways to kick your connectivity into high gear.

aircell.com | [email protected]

In-flight connectivity and technology have just

raced boldly ahead. See how Aircell has once agai

enhanced and expanded whats possible in the air.

To learn more, contact Aircell at +1.303.301.3271.

UCS 5000A smart router. A media server.

The next-gen system to manage it all.

ATG 2000Gogo Biz Internet/voice

service for up to three devices.

GOGOTEXT & TALKText and talk with your phone.

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GOGO ONEPHONEEverything a business

aviation handset should be.

GOGO VISIONStream the latest movies, TV

and news. On-demand. In flight.

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12/8410 avionicsnews july201410 avionicsnews july2014

Is ADS-B OUT of time?AEA members offer someINsightThe Aircraft Electronics Association, which rep-

resents nearly 700 U.S.-based repair stations and

900 repair stations throughout the world, recently

conducted a survey of its members regarding their

ADS-B installation capacity.

AEA members identified their shop size, the aircraft

they maintain and alter, and what type of activity

drives their business today (e.g. installation, mainte-nance, bench work, etc.). They also indicated whether

or not they have avionics installation capability, if they

have already performed an ADS-B installation, and

the average total man hours and days required to per-

form these installations.

Survey participants also were asked how they plan to meet demand for ADS-B installations in the future. Of the

81 respondents, 52 represented a shop size of 10 or fewer personnel; 29 represented a shop size of 11 or more

personnel.

The results among both the small and large shops indicate a capability and a capacity to perform these upgrades

by the Jan. 1, 2020, mandate. However, it is evident with nearly 160,000 general aviation airplanes expected to com-

ply with the Jan. 1, 2020, mandate, the pace aircraft owners are on to upgrade needs to increase dramatically, as any

further deferment could force serious backlogs in 2016 and beyond.

85%have already performed an

ADS-B INSTALLATION

of SMALL shops

73%will increase capacity to meet

demand ofADS-B INSTALLS

of SMALL shops

60

Small shop survey data (classified as 1 to 10 personnel):

45 percent note their primary business is avionics installation; 35 percent

report their primary business is maintenance.

96 percent of respondents say they have avionics install capability, and 85

percent have already performed an ADS-B installation.

Average total man hours to complete an ADS-B install is 34 hours.

Average number of days aircraft is in the shop for an ADS-B install is four

days.

73 percent of shops indicate they will increase capacity to meet demand

of ADS-B installs: Increase capacity by hiring more employees

(full and part-time) 46 percent.

Increase capacity by increasing

work hours 25 percent.

Average number of ADS-B installs per year per shop is

5/20/2018 Avionics News 2014-07

13/84avionicsnews july2014 11avionicsnews july2014 11

72%have already performed an

ADS-B INSTALLATION

of LARGE shops

83%will increase capacity to meet

demand ofADS-B INSTALLS

of LARGE shops

Its all in the NUMBERS The certified repair station industry has capacity

today to perform ADS-B installations at a rate nec-

essary for nearly 160,000 aircraft to comply with

the ADS-B Out mandate by Jan. 1, 2020. Demand

is expected to increase as the deadline nears, and

AEA members indicate they will begin expanding

their installation capacity in order to keep up with

new demand. Survey results suggest expansion will

occur primarily through growth in payrolls (addi-

tional hours for current employees and addition of

new full and part-time employees).

However, general aviation aircraft owners are on

the clock as ADS-B installation capacity today

far exceeds aircraft owner demand. This inverse

relationship will not last unless the industry

immediately begins to see 100 or more installs

completed per day a 25-fold increase over the

current installation rate.

To that end, the Federal Aviation Administration

must prime the pump by incentivizing aircraft

owners and signing the loan guarantee certificate

for the NextGen GA Fund, which will offer low-

cost financing for ADS-B upgrades to aircraft own-

ers. Additionally, efforts must be made within the

FAA to streamline the certification process so AEA

manufacturers can bring new products to market

faster and member shops can be more efficient

in clearing regulatory hurdles to speed their turn-

around time.q

The 36th annual General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey is the Federal Aviation Administrations primarysource of information about the size and activity of the general aviation and on-demand Part 135 fleet.

Accurate survey data is critical in developing the FAAs accident statistics for general aviation and on-demand

charter operations. This data is used for FAA planning and forecasting purposes, as well.

The survey is conducted on behalf of the FAA by Tetra Tech, an independent research firm, and all survey

responses are confidential. Tetra Tech would like to hear from everyone who receives an invitation to complete

the survey to prepare accurate statistics on aviation activity. The GA Survey is a scientific sample of aircraft from

the Civil Aviation Registry. If you have questions, please contact Tetra Tech at 800-826-1797 or send an email to

[email protected].

2013 General Aviation and Part 135 Survey

75

Large shop survey data (classified as 11 to more than 20 personnel):

59 percent note their primary business is avionics installation; 38

percent report their primary business is maintenance.

93 percent of respondents say they have avionics install capability,

and 72 percent have already performed an ADS-B installation.

Average total man hours to complete an ADS-B install is 57 hours.

Average number of days aircraft is in the shop for an ADS-B install

is 11 days.

83 percent of shops indicate they will increase capacity to meet

demand of ADS-B installs:

Increase capacity by hiring more employees

(full and part-time) 69 percent.

Increase capacity by increasing work

hours 38 percent.

Average number of ADS-B installs per year per shop is

5/20/2018 Avionics News 2014-07

14/8412 avionicsnews july201412 avionicsnews july 2014

6 7 8

15 16 17 18 19

20 21 22 23 24 25 26

13 14

5

27 28

10 11 12

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

31

1 2 3 4

129 30 2

Deadline toadvertise in the

September issue ofDeadline to submit

equipment for sale

CASR Part 145 AMO TrainingCairns, Australia

J U L Y 7 - 1 1

Aircraft Electronics

Association

CASR Part 145 AMOTraining Course

Cairns, Australia

816-347-8400

www.aea.net

J U L Y 2 8 - A U G . 3

Experimental

Aircraft Association

EAA AirVenture

Oshkosh, Wis.

920-426-4800

www.airventure.org

A U G . 2 0 - 2 1


Association

AEA Latin AmericaRegional Meeting

Bogota, Colombia

816-347-8400

www.aea.net

A U G . 1 8 - 2 7


Association

Four ProfessionalDevelopmentTraining CoursesOffered

Lees Summit, Mo.

816-347-8400

www.aea.net

The P i lo t s G u ide to A v ion ics debuts

July 28-Aug. 3 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh,Wis.

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5/20/2018 Avionics News 2014-07

15/84

For the first time, Bogota, Colombia, is the site for

the AEA Latin America Regional Meeting scheduledfor Aug. 20-21 at the Ar Hotel Salitre. The event took

place in Sao Paulo, Brazil, each of the last three years.

To make a hotel reservation and/or register to

attend the fourth annual AEA Latin America Regional

Meeting, visit www.aea.net/regional/latin.

The AEA annually hosts regional meetings in the

U.S., Canada, Europe, Latin America and the South

Pacific. The AEA Regional Meetings offer a forum tosee, hear and learn about all the new technology on

the market, network with industry peers and discover

best practices for the aviation repair station industry.

Attendees and exhibitors gather for two to three days

of regulatory and technical seminars, business man-

agement sessions and exhibits. q

AEA Latin America RegionalMeeting in Bogota, Aug. 20-21

avionicsnews july 2014 13

F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n , v i s i t t h e A E A w e b s i t e a t

w w w . a e a . n e t / r e g i o n a l

Latin America Regional

Meeting

Aug.20-21,2014Bogota,Colombia

Canada Regional

Meeting

Sept.3-4,2014

Kelowna,British

Columbia

The Aircraft Electronics Association announced the dates and locations for each of its Regional

Meetings in 2014. Visit the AEA website for more details on each event, including continuous updates

on training schedules, exhibitors, hotel reservations and registration information. q

2014 AEA Regional Meetings Announced

U.S. East

Regional Meeting

Sept.16-17,2014Orlando,Fla.

U.S. West

Regional Meeting

Sept.30-Oct.1,2014

Reno,Nev.

U.S. Central

Regional Meeting

Oct.9-10,2014KansasCity,Mo.

South Pacific

Regional Meeting

Nov.12-13,2014

Sydney,Australia

5/20/2018 Avionics News 2014-07


Rumors, liesand misinformation

B Y R I C P E R I

A E A V I C E P R E S I D E N T O F G O V E R N M E N T & I N D U S T R Y A F F A I R S

In this monthly column, Ric Peri of the AEAs Washington, D.C., oce, informs members of the latest regulatory updates.

As I write this months column, it is late spring. For those

of you in the United States, its graduation season. The

nightly news is filled with reports of brilliant minds

who were invited to address the graduating classes at educa-

tional institutions of all kinds, from the Ivy League in the East

to Stanford and Southern Cal in the West, only to be disinvited

by the voices of the vocal minority who missed something in

their education the ability to hear and learn from those whose

opinion may differ from yours.

Oh, the power of the mob, exercising their constitu-

tional right of free speech, silencing those with whom

they disagree. Where was the majority? Those risk-averse

lemmings missed an opportunity of a lifetime because they

were not willing to object to the vocal minority. Perhaps

we can get former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to

give the opening speech at next years AEA International

Convention and Trade Show in Dallas. I think she would

get an interested and open audience for her thoughts, ideas and

values.

There were three issues raised this month that shows the

failure of academia, at least the failure of the Federal Aviation

Administrations Ivy League institution in Oklahoma City,

Oklahoma.

In the first instance, a well-meaning inspector went to

Oklahoma City for training and returned with a new sense of

expertise and in a well-meaning way, spread rumors and pro-

paganda that bordered on well, you know where Im going

here. He sent a mass email to all of his charges informing

them he had just returned from school and was sharing what

the school had taught him about SMS. Yes, the safety man-

agement system rule was on short final, and within the next

90 days or so, it would be published. So he was giving all of

his charges a heads up so they could prepare for the pending

mandate.

The problem? He was addressing air charter (Part 135)

companies and repair stations (Part 145); neither of which was

included in the Part 5 proposal. Now, having been an instruc-

tor for more years than I care to count, I dont want to say the

school was spreading false information; it is quite possible

someone asked a question where the answer was misinter-

preted, or perhaps the presenter was discussing the foundation

of SMS and its future applicability, and the student simply

misunderstood. However, it is worth noting that on at least

a half dozen cases since Ive been in Washington, D.C., the

FAA headquarters course managers have been expelled from

courses for noting the instructor was spreading rumors and

propaganda, not accurate policy and procedures. In fact, I was

nearly expelled myself when my instructor was misquoting an

FAA policy memo written to FAA employees that was being

presented as if the intended audience was the general public. It

didnt matter. The basic facts were the student heard bad infor-

mation and, with the best of intentions, was breaking the rules

W h e r e w a s t h e m a j o r i t y ? T h o s e r i s k - a v e r s e

l emmings missed an opportunity of a

l i f e t i m e b e c a u s e t h e y w e r e n o t w i l l i n g t o

o b j e c t t o t h e v o c a l m i n o r i t y .

5/20/2018 Avionics News 2014-07

17/84avionicsnews july2014 15

by making the public do things that had not been approved by

the FAA, the Department of Transportation or the Office of

Management and Budget.

Back to our misguided inspector; fortunately one of our

astute members immediately contacted me for confirmation

of this newfound information since it was contrary to what

the AEA has been teaching at its regional meetings. Once Iconfirmed the misinformation, I contacted the inspector with

a friendly, Hey, Im not sure what you think you heard, but

.. It wasnt received in the tone it was sent, and it was

unfortunately dismissed since his information was received

from the school and I was only an industry representative,

who, by the way, has been serving on the SMS working groups

and rulemaking committees for a number of years. While its

possible the FAA is doing a backdoor approach to SMS, it isnt

very likely.

The one part of the information that was accurate is the Part

5 should be final sometime this summer. The NPRM (notice

of proposed rulemaking) initial applicability for Part 5 was forPart 121 air carriers. We have no reason to believe the applica-

bility was expanded since proposed.

Kudos to the shop who took the time to contact us.

The next two issues are based on the same misinformation.

There were two SUPS (suspected unapproved parts) reports

issued that were simply wrong one in late March and the

other in early May. Sorry folks, these arent unapproved parts

at least not with the explanations listed in the reports. This

is not to say there isnt a regulatory violation, but that is a dif-

ferent issue; they are not ineligible parts that must be removed

and destroyed.

Recently, the AEA finished its first Train the Trainer course

on repair station regulations. As many of you know, the AEA

has been teaching a Certified Repair Station training course for

a few years. The course has progressed well, and the reviews

from the last class in May were quite rewarding. But the Train

the Trainer course was a bit different in that it focused on the

why of the regulations rather than the what. As the theory

goes, for someone to truly teach something, they need to fully

understand the topic with the history, applicability and nuances

of the standard. This has been woefully missing in the misap-

plication of the SUPS program since the beginning. Most dis-

turbing, when I brought this to the attention of FAA leadership,

the answer I received was, We are powerless to address this.

Yes, I nearly fell over and lost all respect for the office that,

by its own admission, is powerless to lead.

During the early days of the SUPS program, it wasnt

unusual for a report to identify suspect parts and instruct

the operators of their need to inspect the parts to assure thepaperwork and installations met the regulations. These new

reports, however, simply identified these parts and instructed

the public to remove the parts (oh, forget the money involved).

The argument? They were not produced in compliance with 14

CFR 21.9.

Because the parts had not been approved, the author of the

SUPS report assumed they were unapproved parts. Clearly

the authors failed to read the SUPS program or understand the

intent of the program. This program is not about approved or

unapproved parts, but rather parts that are eligible for installa-

tion in type certificated aircraft.

It is important to note that in the 1995 Suspected UnapprovedParts Program Plan, which was prepared and submitted to

the administrator by the FAA Suspected Unapproved Parts

Task Force, the task force clarified that an approved part is

not synonymous with a part that has received a formal FAA

approval.

The commonly used term approved part is not synonymous

with a part that has received a formal FAA approval. The terms

approved parts and unapproved parts as used in this report

are not legal definitions, but simply a reflection of the need to

have a broad term that identifies parts that should, or should not,

be installed on an aircraft. In this report, parts that should be used

on an aircraft (approved parts) are described as parts accept-

able for installation or eligible for installation.

Even Advisory Circular 21-29C Detecting and Reporting

Suspected Unapproved Parts, makes this point. According to

the AC, Parts that have been inspected and/or tested by persons

authorized to determine conformity to FAA-approved design

data may also be deemed acceptable. Although only appli-

cable to replacement parts, AC 20-62E Eligibility, Quality,

and Identification of Aeronautical Replacement Parts, states

Continued on page 65

Come on Barney F if e, youre not in Mayberry anymore!

We real ly need you to step up, read the regulations,

question what acad emia teaches and lead .

5/20/2018 Avionics News 2014-07


The Aircraft Electronics Associations international membership continues to grow. Currently, the AEA represents avionics

businesses in more than 40 countries throughout the world. To better serve the needs of the AEAs international membership,

the International News and Regulatory Updates section of Avionics News offers a greater focus on international regulatory

activity, international industry news and an international Frequently Asked Questions column to help promote standardization.

If you have comments about this section, send emails to [email protected].

F R O M R I C P E R I

A E A V I C E P R E S I D E N T O F G O V E R N M E N T & I N D U S T R Y A F F A I R S

UNITED STATES

News & Regulatory Updates

AEA President tells Congress: Theavionics industry is ready to meetmandate, but FAA leadership needs torefocus on ADS-B

On Wednesday, June 11, Paula Derks, president of

the Aircraft Electronics Association, told members of

the U.S. House Small Business Committee that the

Federal Aviation Administration leadership needs to

refocus its efforts for a more rapid adoption of the

safety-enhancing NextGen technologies, in which it

has invested so heavily.

Chaired by Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.), the hear-

ing titled, FAAs 2020 NextGen Mandate: Benefits

and Challenges for General Aviation, examined the

benefits of the 2020 mandate to the general aviation

industry, challenges it may face in compliance with

the mandate, and the importance of incentivizing andensuring widespread adoption.

In her testimony, Derks focused on job creation and

urged congressional leaders to encourage the FAA to

expedite the implementation of the NextGen GA Fund

by issuing loan guarantee certificates. Derks stressed

the need to streamline certification and field approv-

als for the expected 160,000 U.S. general aviation

airplanes to equip in time to meet the Jan. 1, 2020,

mandate for ADS-B Out.

Other witnesses who presented testimony include:

Michael P. Huerta, FAA administrator; Tim Taylor,

president and CEO of FreeFlight Systems; and Bob

Hepp, owner of Aviation Adventures.

The hearing was live-streamed and is available

on the committees website at www.ustream.tv/

recorded/48663396. To hear Derks testimony, skip to

1:06:00 in the video.

Below is Derks written testimony that was submit-

ted to the committee.

Chairman Graves, Ranking Member Velzquez, and

members of the U.S. House Committee on Small Business:

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before

you today on the benefits and challenges of the

Federal Aviation Administrations 2020 NextGen

mandate on the general aviation industry.

My name is Paula Derks, and I am president

of the Aircraft Electronics Association. We are an

international organization representing nearly 1,300

companies of which nearly 80 percent are small

businesses. Included in our membership are nearly

200 avionics manufacturers who are producing sys-

tems to meet ADS-B Out requirements.

Our largest category of membership is the 900-

plus government-certified repair stations with

approximately 700 in the United States certified by

the FAA, and an additional 200 repair stations in

more than 40 countries around the world.

My comments today will focus on three primary

areas: 1) the ability of industry to meet the man-

date; 2) the challenges my members face when

5/20/2018 Avionics News 2014-07


Continued on following page

certifying the new equipment and receiving field

approval on the installation; and 3) the refocused

effort needed from the FAA leadership to expedite

implementation of this safety-enhancing technol-

ogy and sign off on the congressionally-authorized

finance incentives for the aircraft operator.

It is important to note that all three of these

areas are related to an overall lack of leadership

within various divisions in the Federal Aviation

Administration.

Today, the certified repair station industry has

the capacity to perform ADS-B installations at a

rate necessary for nearly 160,000 general aviation

aircraft to comply with the ADS-B Out mandate by

Jan. 1, 2020. Demand is expected to increase as thedeadline nears, and AEA members indicate they will

begin expanding their installation capacity in order

to keep up with new demand.

However, general aviation aircraft owners are

on the clock as ADS-B installation capacity today

far exceeds aircraft owner demand. This inverse

relationship will not last unless the industry imme-

diately begins to see 100 or more installs completed

per day a 25-fold increase over the current instal-

lation rate.

Our industry has received mixed signals from the

FAA in regards to the ADS-B mandate. This leads to

confusion, rumors and mistrust of the very agency

charged with implementing the Next Generation Air

Transportation System, which will exacerbate the

backlog as early as 2016 and beyond.

As you might imagine, when it comes to being

forced by a government mandate to spend hard-

earned, personal cash to upgrade when benefits to

the consumer have not yet been fully realized, it

is not an easy sell. But, in our recognition of the

enhancement of safety and efficiencies that NextGen

will bring our nation, we have worked our best to

educate the general aviation industry and move for-ward on implementation.

Yet, throughout our efforts, and those of our sis-

ter trade associations, and industry itself, the FAA

seems to be dragging its feet.

From day one, Administrator Huertas office has

been a vocal proponent of the NextGen implementa-

tion, and has said the right things they have prom-

PhotocourtesyofPeterCu

ttsPhotography

Paula Derks, president of the Aircra Electronics Associaon, tells members of the U.S. House Small Business Commiee that FAA leadership needs to

refocus its eorts for a more rapid adopon of the safety-enhancing NextGen technologies.

5/20/2018 Avionics News 2014-07


INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Continued from page 17

ised a reasonable transition, offered cost-effective

solutions, and worked to make sure the ground

infrastructure was in place ... only to have their

efforts derailed by the back office whose individual

guidance, excessive micro-management and person-

al opinions compete with the overall objectives.

When you consider the nearly 160,000 aircraft

still needing ADS-B equipage as of today, this is not

a strategy for meeting the deadline and providing

safe, ef ficient and cost-effective installations.

Our members both the manufacturers and the

repair stations are sharing with us that there is

general mistrust of the FAA, and their decision-mak-ing ... or lack thereof.

Rumors are swirling that the mandate will be

extended, or new and cheaper technology will

miraculously be introduced at the very last moment.

All these rumors and mistruths create a very con-

fused consumer.

Ironically, the very agency that is charged with

overseeing the safety and efficiency of our nations

skies is the same agency causing this turmoil.

Several of our repair station members tell us that

their customers, the aircraft operators, have decidedto wait until the last minute to equip because they

assume the FAA will operate as usual with delays

and will have to extend the deadline to equip.

Again, industry has no faith in the leadership of the

FAA to actually stick to the mandate of Jan 1, 2020.

The FAA has a history of not implementing rules

on time. We cannot remember one avionics man-

date in the last five decades that was implemented

without an extension. These extensions have created

a public perception that the FAA will, once again,

allow another exception, creating the potential for a

serious backlog as the 2020 deadline nears.

However, for those operators who have decided to

equip now, the FAA is still a constraint. For exam-

ple, we have a member in Las Vegas who supports a

helicopter fleet operator wanting to equip a fleet of

90 helicopters. He currently has the correct ADS-B

equipment installed. But because his aircraft has

not been FAA approved for ADS-B operations, he

cant turn the system on.

For clarity, the navigation-transponder system

he is installing into this fleet has already been

approved by the FAA in thousands of airplanes, but

because this is a fleet of helicopters, the approvals

dont count.

So the penalty for this operator who is willingly

following the law by equipping for ADS-B opera-

tions, is experiencing six months of costly admin-

istrative burden and an additional cost of approxi-

mately $30,000 in certification fees.

The constraint: they had to coordinate the approv-

al with a two-person team at FAA Headquarters

in Washington who manage all ADS-B installa-

tions. Then, they had to get consensus from a single

engineer at the FAA Rotorcraft Directorate in Fort

Worth, Texas, even though there were no modifica-

tions to the aircraft.Despite the fact that the FAA employs thousands

of very talented engineers, all 160,000-plus general

aviation aircraft needing an upgrade must pass

through a couple of project managers in Washington.

Since the ADS-B Out mandate first became a rule

in 2010, the AEA has been working with our con-

stituents to educate them, inform them of progress,

and how to best comply with the mandate. The AEA

has promoted the recently announced financing

program, the NextGen GA Fund. The NextGen GA

Fund was designed to take advantage of the public-private partnership funding authorized by Congress

in the 2012 FAA Reauthorization Bill, to create an

incentive for operators of aircraft to take advantage

of low-interest, government-backed loans to buy the

necessary equipment in order to comply with the

mandate. While there may be an ongoing debate

regarding the fund, the lack of the FAAs willingness

to embrace the fund is a testimony to the cancer

that has wreaked havoc on the agency for the past

decade. The agency has a culture of cant rather

than a culture of can do. The agencys employees

are so absorbed with finding why something cannot

be done, they have lost the aviators vision of how

to accomplish the task in spite of the barriers and

challenges. The only cure for this type of corporate

disease is leadership! It will take strong leadership

to change the corporate culture from one that is sat-

isfied with cant and move it toward one of defining

how to move beyond the barriers.

Yet, despite our efforts and those of our sister

trade associations, and industry itself, to promote

5/20/2018 Avionics News 2014-07


early equipage, the FAA is dragging its feet on the

incentive program by not signing the loan guarantee

certificate. Until they issue the loan guarantee cer-

tificates, nothing moves on this program.

Keep in mind; the monies raised for financing

these loans are from private investors. Our industry

is not asking for government money; we are only

asking for the FAA to immediately issue the loan

guarantee certificates as they were directed by

Congress to do so.

With these incentives in place, the industry has

indicated it still has the capacity to manage the

groundswell of installations, assuming aircraft own-

ers have renewed faith in the FAA, that the dead-

line will not be extended, and certifications will be

streamlined.

A recent survey of AEA members indicated that in

order to meet this new demand, more than 75 per-

cent of the 700 FAA-certified U.S. repair stations will

expand and hire more employees this is job creation!

A direct contributor of nearly $40 billion to the

U.S. gross domestic product according to the FAA

Air Traffic Organization general aviation is a

significant contributor to the overall health of the

economy.

If we are able to tackle the challenges I have

outlined, general aviation will continue to have apositive economic impact, create jobs, and sustain

our service to the law enforcement, agricultural and

medical communities that rely upon us.

In closing, we ask the administrator to begin

the long leadership recovery to restore the culture

of can do. It is the agencys historical culture that

created the greatest aviation industry in the world.

Without this leadership, the industry will continue to

suffer, and this mandate, as well as future mandates,

is destined to fail. In addition, the challenges we ask

Congress to address include:

1. An effort by the FAA to incentivize aircraft

owners by immediately signing the loan guarantee

certificate for the NextGen GA Fund.

2. Streamlining the certification process to pro-

duce efficiencies in ADS-B installations.

3. Restore aircraft owners confidence in the FAA

that this deadline wont be extended and their money

is well spent.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify on behalf

of the general aviation industry.

FREQUENTLY ASKED

QUESTIONS

United States

The following information is from the Aircraft

Electronics Associations Safety Management System.

QUESTION:What should be reported using the AEA SMS

Employee Hazard Identification Report?

ANSWER:Generally, any item of concern or

recommendation an employee has and would like

to present to management. Many managers and

supervisors are busy, and they often forget casual

conversations during the course of the workday. The

Employee Hazard Identification Report, in essence,

assists by submitting an electronic memo to the

safety manager that highlights significant issues.

At a minimum, the following types of events

should be reported. This is not an all-inclusive list.

The form should be used when the employee wants

to identify hazards and/or process improvements.

Near-miss events.

Human factors issues. Communication concerns.

Failure to adhere to established safety policies

and procedures.

Failure to adhere to established maintenance

policies and procedures.

Broken or inadequate equipment or procedures.

Environmental concerns.

Workplace hazards.

Concerns raised by third-parties (customers,

tenants, visitors, etc.).

Organizational process improvement.

SMS process improvement.

Note: The AEA offers Frequently Asked Questions to

foster greater understanding of the aviation regulations

and the rules governing the industry. The AEA strives to

ensure FAQs are as accurate as possible at the t ime of

publication; however, rules change. Therefore information

received from an AEA FAQ should be verified before being

relied upon. This information is not meant to serve as

legal advice. If you have particular legal questions, they

should be directed to an attorney. The AEA disclaims any

warranty for the accuracy of the information provided.


5/20/2018 Avionics News 2014-07


INTERNATIONAL NEWSContinued from page 19

CANADA


First set of NPAs issued since CARACresumed activities in October 2013

Several NPAs (notice of approved amendments)

have been issued by Transport Canada Civil

Aviation covering a wide variety of regulations.

These are the first set of NPAs released since the

updated CARAC (Canadian Aviation Regulation

Advisory Council) process was introduced in

October 2103. During the plenary session, there

were many issues identified as high-priority tasks

to complete and included many long-standing

harmonization issues with the Federal Aviation

Administration.

NPA 2013-006 and 2013-007 are introducing

the lightning protection standards for rotorcraft in

AWM 527 and AWM 529. These changes bring the

lightning protection standards to be more consistentwith fixed-wing requirements and recognize that

complex avionics are being used in helicopters.

NPA 2104-008 was issued to correct the

language introduced in 2008 regarding cockpit

voice recorders and flight data recorders for AWM

527. The change in the language is not significant

in Canada but had operational impact in the U.S.

These NPAs were issued under the new simplified

process and will have a 30-day consultation period.

If there are no significant comments received,

these NPAs will be promulgated into the standardsthrough Gazette II30 days later.

NPA 2014-012 introduces the new 525.1302

for installed systems and equipment for use by

flight crew requirements. This is a harmonization

with the FAAs Part 25, which introduced this new

requirement in 2013. This new requirement puts

into the design standards the requirement for a

specified human factors evaluation of the cockpit

and installed equipment.

Exemption for installations of406 ELT reissued

The exemption to allow AMEs and AMOs to

install 406 megahertz emergency locator trans-

mitters without ratings for specialized avion-

ics maintenance was reissued. The exemption

expired March 31, 2014. The Transport Canada

website has not been updated with the new

exemption, but the content has not changed. A

copy of the exemption will be distributed soon.

EUROPE


European Aviation Safety Agency

The European Aviation Safety Agency recently

announced a new proposal for the amendment

of the current regulation for flight recorders and

underwater locating devices.

The new proposed EASA requirement

identified in the Opinion 01/2014 includes the

extension of the transmission time of underwater

locating devices fitted on flight recorders from

30 days to 90 days, and also proposes to equip

large airplanes flying over oceans with a new

type of ULD that have longer locating range

than the current flight recorders. In addition, the

minimum recording duration of cockpit voice

recorders installed on new large airplanes shouldbe increased to 20 hours from two hours.

The proposed regulation also will include a

retroactive fit of a long-range detection ULD.

The EASA released a new NPA 2014-11 to

propose a clarification on the functions and

responsibilities of B1 and B2 support staff.

The proposed amendment would provide

detailed guidance for the use of support staff in

base maintenance of large and other-than-large

5/20/2018 Avionics News 2014-07


Civil Aviation Safety AuthorityThe Australian governments Civil Aviation

Safety Authority removed:

AAC 9-4 List of CASA Historically

Accepted Aircraft Type Training Courses

Conducted by Overseas Equipment

Manufacturers, Operators and Training

Organizations.

AAC 9-5 Type Training Courses and

Examinations Conducted by Maintenance

Training Organizations Approved under

CAR 30.

AC 147-2 v5.1: Approved Part 147 Training

Organizations, published in May 2014, replacesthese two AACs.

The CASA published the following final

advisory circulars:

AC 21.J-01 v1.0 Approved design

organizations.

AC 21-14 v4.0 Production certificates.

AC 21-42 v2.0 Light sport aircraft

manufacturers requirements.

AC 21-50 Approval of software and

electronic hardware parts.

AC 66-5 v1.2 Using a Part 66 license to

provide certifications for completion of

aircraft maintenance under the Civil Aviation

Regulations 1988.

AC 147-2 v5.1: Approved Part 147 Training

Organizations. q

SOUTH PACIFIC


aircraft. The proposal tries to specifically fillan existing gap in the current regulation in the

following areas:

The absence of criteria to qualify the personnel

in charge of performing and signing the

maintenance tasks during base maintenance

(personnel authorized to sign off).

The lack of a clear definition of the role

and responsibilities of the Part 66 licensed

B1 and B2 support staff.

Next to other changes l ike providing more

detailed criteria on the competency assessment

of support staff and mechanics authorized to sign

off, a new paragraph 145.A.32 has been created.

This new paragraph is exclusively dedicated

to qualification assessment, authorization and

privileges of maintenance personnel, including

authorized maintenance personnel, such as:

Certifying staff.

Support staff.

Personnel authorized to sign off

maintenance tasks.

Unauthorized maintenance personnel.

It should be noted that certifying staff and

support staff have a dedicated paragraph

(145.A.35) with more detailed requirements

regarding their qualification, assessment,

authorization and privileges.

A bilateral agreement between the Republicof Brazil and the European Union was signed

in 2010. In April, a technical implementation

procedure was issued to cover the cooperation

and mutual recognition of certification

and validation activities of the two related

airworthiness authorities, ANAC and EASA.

The TIP is providing guidance on the handling

of design approvals, export airworthiness

approvals and validation thereof.

5/20/2018 Avionics News 2014-07


S T O R Y B Y D A V E H I G D O N

Forever immortal. Aviation, in less than a century,

established itself as a transportation mode

unparalleled in human history.

Along the way, an industry emerged credited with manu-

facturing several hundred thousand private aircraft and

thats just since World War II ended in 1945.

Think about it. Between Dec. 17, 1903, and July 20,

1969, less than 66 years, mankind soared from the sands of

Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, to the Sea of Tranquility on

the moon.

Between the end of World War II and 1980, U.S. aircraftmanufacturers shipped upward of 330,000 new aircraft.

Most of those aircraft continue to y today, albeit most of

them in conditions far from their original state.

Credit for their longevity belongs to the engineers and

manufacturers who originally produced aircraft with re-

markable lifespans. The average age for general aviation

aircraft is somewhere in the 37-year to 40-year range, de-

pending on the source of the number.

Credit for contributing to these far-beyond-expectation

lifespans continues to belong in large part to the aftermar-

ket businesses that develop and retrot engines, props and,

most importantly, for improving utility beyond performance

alone avionics.

Thanks to avionics, an airplane made 40, 50, even 60-

plus years ago can y with avionics comparable with even

identical to avionics in the best of todays new-production

aircraft.

Thanks to avionics makers and the shops they work with,

general aviation aircraft owners can continue to upgrade,

enhance and improve their decades-old aircraft to offer the

same capabilities and utility as an all-new airplane pro-duced last week.

Ask many pilots and aircraft owners, and theyll note

how much they wish powerplants and props enjoyed the

same degree of advancement and improvement as avionics.

The owners and pilots of older aircraft, often ying on

original-equipment instruments and gyros, remain prime

candidates for serially updating older aircraft and, in the

process, helping repair shops build long-term rapport with

aviators who could become long-term clients.

One key is to help an owner navigate through the myriad

Immortal aviationand the avionics RxAiding owners in upgrade decisions for older aircraft

IMMORTAL AVIATION:

As long as engines can be rebuilt, propellers

overhauled, interiors replaced and avionics upgraded, some

will look at an elderly design, recognize its genetic roots in a design

still in production, and recognize that anything the new plane can do the old

plane can be equipped to do. How does an avionics repair shop help pilots and aircraft

owners determine whether upgrading, trading or retiring the aircraft actually serves best?

i ndus t r y

5/20/2018 Avionics News 2014-07



options and opportunities accessible with an avionics up-

grade. Another is in helping the owner differentiate between

equipment thats high in cool, and equipment that improves

the utility or safety of the aircraft. Acknowledged, depend-

ing on the pilot, much equipment may click as both cool

and practical.

The customer should be able to clear up this point. Deal-

ers and shops should be able to help them nd gear that

keeps their aircraft viable years into the future.

Thankfully, a host of options ex-ist, and some simply improve on

existing functions with more-ef-

cient, lighter units to perform those

same functions.

Other options hold the promise

of enhancing or otherwise improv-

ing operational utility by providing

use options unavailable before.

Think of the LPV approach capa-

bility available from TSOd WAAS

GPS navigators.

Still, other options deliver im-

proved hazard-avoidance abilities,

while some allow the delivery

of satellite- or ground-broadcast

weather graphics, lightning or traf-

c.

Modern avionics wont make an airplane faster or more

fuel efcient. But an argument can be made that modern

avionics can improve aircraft efciency by reducing empty

weight.

In fact, little of what pilots today covet in avionics even

existed in the year of manufacture of the average-age pri-vate aircraft.

For any aircraft with original equipment, the options are

more vast than practical. But practical options do exist to

give panels a step up, a step ahead, and a step into the 21st

century.

A deep pool of prospects

As usual, this years annual Sun n Fun International Fly-

In in Lakeland, Florida, attracted more than a few geriatric

aircraft, in some cases own by pilots of similar age, in oth-

ers by aviators young enough to be the aircrafts children.

The older they were, the deeper the story to accompany

each of these elderly aeronautical conveyances. Often, the

story involved the aviation equivalent of an end-of-life

decision for an inanimate object with as much emotional

weight as a blood relative for those who owned the old

birds.

With new-aircraft prices beyond the reach of all but

a few hundred customers each year, sustaining a viable

aircraft population depends more onbuilders of experimental aircraft and

owners of older aircraft opting to keep

them ying into the future.

The future includes some equip-

ment-update mandates that, when

announced, raised questions about the

mandates potential to accelerate a

eet decline as owners opted to scrap

or retire otherwise viable, airworthy

aircraft because of an early belief that

meeting the mandate would require

spending more than the aircrafts fair

market value.

Fortunately, those cost fears are

declining with each new advance in

technology that offers a lower-cost

option for complying with the Federal

Aviation Administrations 2020 ADS-B Out mandate.

But, this is one narrow area that, in reality, is already

resolvable with the equivalent of a new transponder; a plug-

and-play option is in the ofng, with a further cost reduc-

tion.

The issue comes into play every time something majorbreaks, fails or faces a replacement need. For example, do

aircraft owners sustain an analog panel or start adding digi-

tal equipment to the panel?

No question, the options for investing in an older aircraft

have seldom been broader, deeper or more confusing for the

owners who dont devote all their spare time to stay abreast

of advances in avionics upgrade options.

T H A N K S TO AV I O N I C S M A K E R S

A N D T H E S H O P S T H E Y W O R K

W I T H , G E N E R A L A V I A T I O N

A I R C R A F T O W N E R S C A N

C O N T I N U E T O U P G R A D E ,

E N H A N C E A N D I M P R O V E

T H E I R D E C A D E S - O L D

A I R C R A F T T O O F F E R T H E S A M E

C A P A B I L I T I E S A N D U T I L I T YA S A N A L L - N E W A I R P L A N E

P R O D U C E D L A S T W E E K .

5/20/2018 Avionics News 2014-07


Market price, owner value

It takes less than an investment genius to fathom an owner

hesitating to put $30,000 worth of avionics into an aircraft

worth barely $20,000. Despite the popular image, owners of

such aircraft routinely add new capabilities and newer avionics

to their 20-, 25-, 30-, 40- and 50-year-old aircraft. Operational

requirements prompt some; utility needs drive others.

But in the end, its less about whether

the owner can ever recoup the invest-

ment. No, in the end, its all about sat-

isfying the owners ambitions, desires

and needs, and theres a bit of relativityto this.

For example, a $20,000-aircraft own-

er sets his value expectations based on

reviews of used-aircraft advertisements,

in print, online, and if a realistic thinker,

aligns that value judgment with ads that

most-closely match the owned aircraft.

Consider a basic four-seat single, sev-

eral thousand airframe hours, mid-time

engine, 40 years old or older, with vin-

tage 1960s avionics; but its airworthy,

in annual, and up-to-date on airworthi-

ness directives and service bulletins.

Strategizing an update for this panel

offers considerable latitude on how to

update. For the pilot ying behind a couple of analog, wafer-

switch-tuned nav/comms with no storage or memory and no

ip-op capabilities, a step up would be a model a decade

newer with digital tuning displays and, at a minimum, ip-op

frequency selection.

For low-four gures, the pilot gets a modern radio. Ditto for

a second-generation IFR GPS in place of a VHF nav or, better,

a now-useless Loran C.Step up a level in audio panel and, without breaking into

ve gures, the smart-shopping owner and helpful avionics

repair shop can give the old airplane signicant new capability

and utility.

As a package, this can be accomplished without breaking

into ve gures, according to estimates from a number of

repair shops contacted in the blind. And the high-four-gure

still constitutes a step up but without the long ve-gure leap

of jumping into one of the newer all-in-one GPS/MFD/nav/

comm boxes.

Its all relative, and relative most of all to the intent and

value perception of the pilot. For the pilot upgrading for

his or her own utility, for an airplane thats their keeper,

straying into higher-dollar upgrades may not be a deal

breaker.

Upgrade-path options

Peering into the cockpit of the typical 1950s to 1990s

single typically takes the viewer time traveling back to

those eras. No avoiding the reality: Equipment in those

old stacks often lasts as long as the

airframes carrying them albeit not

always with the same level of utility.

The FAA is retiring most non-di-

rectional beacons, and the time is notlong off before only those reliable old

broadcast AM radio stations will offer

an NDB a signal to point toward. The

VOR (VHF omnidirectional range)

network will shrink.

Some older analog-tuned VHF

comm radios work on only half the

available U.S. frequencies and cant

be used at all in other jurisdictions.

And the continued presence of once-

state-of-the-art Loran C navigators

still bafes; Loran C shut down in the

U.S. years ago, rendering the naviga-

tors dead weight.

Of course, weve yet to touch on

the prospects for upgrading ight and air-data instruments

an entirely different level of options and considerations.

We touched briey on the prospects for improving an

older panel with a decade-forward step in nav/comms. Con-

sider these other areas where the pilot and aircraft could

benet from more-modern equipment.

Area navigation: For now, its all GPSThe earliest IFR-approved GPS navigators hit the general

aviation market 20 years ago, something Garmin celebrated

in February of this year. It was February 1994, just two

months after the FAA declared initial operational capacity

for the GPS network. With the GPS 155 TSOd, pilots for

the rst time could use GPS as their primary guidance for

an entire IMC ight departure through en route phase,

approach and landing.

Other models and other companies quickly followed,

and though WAAS GPS approved under newer TSOs offers

IMMORTAL AVIATION

Continued from page 23

TH E OW NER S AN D PI LO TS OF

OLDER AIRCRAFT, OFTEN FLYING

ON ORIGINAL-EQUIPMENT

INSTRUMENTS AND GYROS,

REMAIN PRIME CA NDIDATES

FOR SERIALLY UPDATING OLDER

AIRCRAFT AND, IN THE PROCESS,

HELPING REPAIR SHOPS BUILD

LONG-TERM RAPPORT WIT H

AVIATORS WHO COULD BECOME

LONG-TERM CLIENTS.

5/20/2018 Avionics News 2014-07


greater precision and far more instrument-use options, the

original TSO units can, if still supported with database up-

dates, continue to perform and at prices for less than the

lowest-cost WAAS units.

Another option with growing potential: Garmin 400- and

500-series navigators now that Garmin and Avidyne both

offer replacements with far greater performance, better

screens and more utility options. These can even be upgrad-

ed to WAAS and still come in well below the costs of new.

And dont forget stand-alone GPS navigators other man-

ufacturers TSOd. For low-four gures, one of these TSOd

units can give the same pilot some excellent improvement

in utility providing that database updates are reliably

available to bring new utility to IFR operations.

About those VHF nav/comm options

As many pilots of my acquaintance understand, you can

adapt to make many awkward tasks less clumsy but never

really make them smooth. Pilots ying with two non-ip-

op navs, comms or nav/comms adapt to the lack of that

feature which they probably used in training by writing

down each new frequency change from ATC. They then

twist the knobs on the radio not used to set that frequency,

then hit the audio-panel switch to change which radio they

broadcast with, leaving the old frequency in the other VHF-

radios window. Next time they get a frequency update,

they repeat the process in the opposite direction.

With ip-op, they can stick with one radio for active,

monitor guard on the second radio, and be ready to jump

ahead a second and third frequency by having them ready

in the second set of windows on the second ip-op radio.

The options here are signicant and affordable, rela-

tively.

Transponders?

Heres the topic of the decade among a lot of older-

aircraft owners specically in light of the pending ADS-B

mandate of Jan. 1, 2020.Barring a transponder failure as the catalyst, this equip-

ment decision is likely best made in conjunction with de-

ciding how the aircraft owner plans to equip the aircraft to

meet the mandate.

Nothing wrong with now, but considering the growing

list of options, waiting another year or two might not hurt

too much, provided shops can handle the demand closer to

the deadline.

Options already exist priced comparably to a Mode S

transponder without an ADS-B Out connection but with

all the bases covered: GPS position source, broadcasting

on both Out frequencies (978 megahertz universal access

transceiver and 1090 extended squitter), receiving 978 MHz

UAT ADS-B In services, with a wireless link to show ADS-

B In products on a portable computer in the cockpit.

So on this one, consider recommending the pilot/aircraft

owner decide on an approach and then see if lower-cost

options t. But insiders among regulators and FAA ofcials

all recommend planning to complete the project before the

end of 2018 to avoid an expected backlog.

Autopilots? Dare we consider one?

The move to digital autopilots as aircraft owners upgrade

to glass cockpit packages is putting a lot of older ight-

control systems out of work or, at least, the brains ofthese systems, since the servos often get to stay behind in

the aircraft.

This means options for those older analog autopilots

many of which offer signicant functions for reasonable

costs. And for many older-aircraft operators, the prospect

of adding or replacing an older electronic or pneumatic

system can be a boon to their ying.

For the pilot who has long own without, the option of

a still-useful second pilot option will be more than a little

attractive.

How to proceed: All at once? On an annual

(or other) progression?

As one pilot at Sun n Fun said, Upgrades come to suit

me and my needs, and have to fall within my budget. And

every year or two we make that budget t in some type of

improvement or another because itll be my kids who have

to deal with selling the old bird. It meets our needs. So like

the song said, love the one youre with. And we do.

Another pilot noted he and his airplane partner try to up-

grade something every annual.

Yet another was adamant that the smartest approach is to

decide whats important and necessary; price the package asa single project and start saving.

When you get within six months of having enough, or-

der and schedule, said the owner, who confessed he does

this with a different airplane every ve or six years.

Determining the approach to take is as personal and indi-

vidual as the aircraft-and-owner combination.

But with careful planning and shopping, many aircraft

owners can nd a more-modern panel in their future, and

the repair shops that land the business can nd other needs

to help keep a customer long-term.q

5/20/2018 Avionics News 2014-07


GAM supports

busy Australiancharter fleet

THE GAM GROUP

GENERAL AVIATION

MAINTENANCE

MeMber

PROFILE

S T O R Y B Y C H R I S T I N E K N A U E R

A

t Essendon Airport near Melbourne, Victoria,

Australia, General Aviation Maintenance

supports one of the regions busiest charter

operations, GAM Air. With more than 32 aircraft,

GAM Air is one of the largest privately owned and

operated charter fleets on the island continent. Both

are subsidiaries of The GAM Group, which owns

several general aviation companies throughout

Australia.

GAM is the largest operator of Twin Commander

Shrike 500 aircraft in the world, and is the factory

authorized service center for Twin Commander

aircraft here in Australia, said Carl Jepsen, GAMs

chief executive officer.

The current fleet includes twin-engine Aero

Commander 500, 680 and 690 series, used

predominately for parcel freight and charter flights

on the eastern and southern coasts of Australia, as

well as tuna spotting for the fishing industry. Three

Dornier 228 aircraft provide daily passenger service

for the mining industry from the companys Brisbane

base to Chinchilla, Queensland.

GAMs 60 employees help keep the fleet flying

LOCATION:

Essendon AirportHangar 1Wirraway RoadEssendon, Victoria, Australia 304

At its Brisbane Airport service center in Queensland, Australia,

GAM maintains three Dornier 228 aircra used for daily

passenger service for the mining industry.

from its bases in Essendon, Melbourne, Brisbane,

Sydney and Adelaide. Experienced technicians at the

companys Essendon and Brisbane facilities handle

heavy maintenance, while contractors provide minor

maintenance and checks in remote areas. Technicians

at other locations provide line service and minor

modifications.

Hangar and line maintenance are fully supported

and, except for gas turbine overhaul, which is

outsourced, most other components are also

5/20/2018 Avionics News 2014-07



WHAT THEY DO:GAM handles aircr

maintenance and repairs for the

companys charter operator, GAM

AEA MEMBER SINCE:2013

PHONE: 61-3-9379-1019

WEBSITE: www.gamgroup.net

EMPLOYEES:60

supported by our electrical, battery, hydraulic, wheels

and brakes shops, Jepsen said.

While technicians stay busy maintaining GAMs own

aircraft, they also take time to provide routine checks for

the Royal Flying Doctor Services eet of King Airs, as

well as other operators of Twin Commanders in the region.

The nonprot Royal Flying Doctor Service provides health

care and emergency services to rural Australia.

We also carry out full stripping, corrosion control and

painting for our eet, as well as many other customers, such

as Erickson, which operates a eet of helicopters and sky

cranes from here during the re season, Jepsen said.

Expanding into avionics, instruments

In January, GAM expanded its capabilities by adding a

50-square-meter avionics component shop inside hangar

two. The shop can inspect and service most of the typical

cockpit instruments tted to GAM Airs eet.

FACILITIES:Australian locations in

Essendon, Melbourne, Brisbane,

Sydney and Adelaide

FOUNDED:1983 by Steve Nott

Photo by Krzysztof Kaszubski

5/20/2018 Avionics News 2014-07


Technicians also help maintain GAM Airs

avionics news 2014-07

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