Dec. 26, 2018

Keeping the general aviation industry connected

AEA to Host Regulatory Forum in Bogota, Feb. 8 The Aircraft Electronics Association will play host to a one-day regulatory forum in partnership with Aeronautica Civil at the Centro de Estudios Aeronauticos on Feb. 8, 2019, in Bogota, Colombia. This forum will focus on: ADS-B mandate for Colombia and available equipment solutions. Safety management systems – risk management and human factors. Colombia’s regulatory transition to the Latin America Regulations. Featuring displays by ADS-B major manufacturers. This will be a complimentary event for avionics professionals; however, advance registration is required. More...

Supply and Demand Transitions: 2018 AEA Rate & Labor Survey Reveals Rate and Incentive Increases The AEA’s annual Rate & Labor Survey reveals that the economic realities of supply and demand have joined forces in 2018. With the Federal Aviation Administration’s ADS-B mandate counting its final months to its Jan. 1, 2020, deadline, shops have increased their rates to moderate the overwhelming demand for this equipment (and other upgrades installed during the same downtime) and their finite supplies to technicians and time. With unemployment at a historic low level not seen since the Vietnam War, and with technicians of that generation continuing to retire, shops are offering increased wages and significant incentives to attract and retain techs. But finding qualified techs is not the only constraint of business growth, the survey shows. Of the shops saying their business would remain the same, half reported their facility at its maximum capacity.  More...

AEA Scholarship Applications Available Online The Aircraft Electronics Association will award more than 20 scholarships totaling more than $125,000 for the 2019-20 school year to students pursuing a career in avionics or aircraft maintenance, as well as students from AEA member companies. Since its inception, the AEA scholarship program has awarded more than $1.5 million in scholarships. Numerous awards are available, ranging from $1,000 to more than $35,000 each. The deadline to submit applications for the 2019-20 academic year is April 1, 2019. More...

Balancing Cooperation and Control in an FAA Audit Audits can be scary things. And government audits can be the scariest of all. When facing a formal FAA audit of your facility, you should strike a balance among your employees in which they are encouraged to cooperate (assisting the FAA in their endeavors) while carefully managing information flow to ensure that employees do not inadvertently give the FAA the wrong information. Be helpful. Ultimately, the best sort of government-industry relationships in aviation are ones where we are working together as partners in safety. The FAA’s job when auditing your facility is to assess your compliance to safety regulations. Helping the FAA do its job means it is helping you do yours by showing you where you can improve. More...

Nominations Open for AEA Board of Directors Election Applications are now open for AEA members interested in running for a position on the AEA board of directors. To apply, your company must be an AEA member in good standing, and you must complete an application form by Jan. 4, 2019. The applications are then reviewed by the AEA Trusteeship Committee, which then assembles a final slate of nominees for a vote before the full membership. The slate is assembled based on certain needs or areas of expertise that may be needed on the new board. More...

On the Radar: Upcoming Industry Events

AEA Europe Connect Conference Cologne, Germany Jan. 22-23, 2019 Online registration is now available through Jan. 16. Hotel reservations should be made at the Hyatt Regency Cologne. More...

HAI HELI-EXPO Atlanta, Georgia March 4-7, 2019 Find new products and business with 18,000 industry professionals. Over 1,000,000 square feet of space with 60+ aircraft on display. More...

International Women in Aviation Conference Long Beach, California March 14-16, 2019 Choose from a wide range of education sessions to expand your personal and professional development at the Long Beach Convention Center. More...

AEA International Convention & Trade Show Palm Springs, California March 25-28, 2019 Registration has opened for the 62nd annual AEA International Convention & Trade Show, the largest gathering of general aviation avionics manufacturers, distributors and government-certified repair stations in the world. It is the platform of choice for the introduction of new avionics products and services coming to the marketplace in 2019. Aviation's technology experts will convene March 25-28, 2019, at the Palm Springs Convention Center. Attendees must register by March 1, 2019. More...

AvWorks Finds Niche Serving Small Aircraft Organizations In 2012, Mark Bushrod began offering mobile aircraft service under the name AvWorks Aerospace in suburban Calgary, Alberta, after seeing a need for small aircraft maintenance and avionics. Instead of only serving individual operators, he reached out to area maintenance organizations to help provide additional manpower and expertise. “A lot of small operators have the need for maintenance, but they don’t need an entire aircraft maintenance organization,” said Bushrod, who has 20 years of aviation maintenance experience. “It adds a lot of stress to an organization to have a full-time person responsible for maintenance, a quality assurance manager and specialized mechanics.” More...

Meet the AEA Board: Kris Garberg of Appareo Members of the AEA elected Kris Garberg to its board of directors earlier this year. A private pilot, Garberg serves as president of Appareo Aviation. The Fargo, North Dakota-based company develops and manufactures solutions for ADS-B, flight data monitoring and flight training.   “My grandfather was a pilot and had a crop spraying business, Garberg said. “I always loved airplanes from a very young age. Thinking I wanted to be a commercial pilot, I attended the University of North Dakota to study airline transportation. After two years, I decided that I wanted to be more on the business side.” More...

Avionics Training and Professional Development Classes Register quickly, as most classes sell out!

Avionics Installation and Integration Training Jan. 14-16, 2019 This course is designed for technicians who have completed the AEA’s Basic Wiring & Avionics Installation Course and/or have a couple of 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/com/GPS, Garmin GTX 345 transponder and an Aspen EFD1000 primary flight display.

Pitot-Static and Transponder Testing & Inspection with ADS-B Implementation Jan. 17, 2019 Attendees will learn the proper methods for conducting pitot-static and transponder tests and inspections. 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. With so many questions surrounding ADS-B, this course will provide the answers and what you need to know to meet the mandate.

RVSM Maintenance Jan. 18, 2019 Attendees will be introduced to the regulations, documentation, test equipment and maintenance practices associated with performing RVSM maintenance. This course assumes the attendee has good operating knowledge of Federal Aviation Regulations 91.411 and 91.413.

Basic Wiring and Avionics Installation Feb. 18-20, 2019 This course is designed for certificated repairmen, new avionics technicians, aviation maintenance technicians and recent graduates interested in improving or acquiring the skills necessary to perform avionics installations. This three-day seminar employs in-depth theory and hands-on lab exercises to immerse the attendee in the best practices used to plan, manage, and install a general aviation avionics panel.

Digital Databus Theory & Analysis Training Feb. 21, 2019 As today’s modern airplanes become much more technologically advanced, so must the professionals that maintain them. The advanced avionics and instrumentation systems used in these aircraft rely on various forms of digital databus communication. Understanding digital databus theory is becoming more and more important for avionics technicians, and even A&P mechanics, to effectively test and troubleshoot these highly advanced aircraft systems.

News from AEA Member Companies

EXECUTIVE AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE has re-located to Phoenix Sky Harbor. They now have access to 40,000 square feet of hangar space and are starting to focus on larger aircraft in addition to the smaller airframes they have maintained for decades. UNIVERSAL AVIONICS announced its Top Dealers of 2018 to be Global Aviation Technologies for Americas Dealer of the Year and Scandinavian Avionics A/S for International Dealer of the Year. FLYING COLOURS CORP. has broken ground as work starts on building its largest hangar to date. The company also completed the industry’s first trio of Bombardier Challenger 650 medevac interiors; the third jet replicates the format of the first two cabins and is kitted out to meet the needs of demanding medevac operations. WEST STAR AVIATION received an FAA STC for the installation of the Mid-Continent MD93 series digital clock/USB charger in Falcon 50 Aircraft.  STANDARDAERO announced that the The Carlyle Group agreed to acquire StandardAero from Veritas Capital. The transaction is subject to regulatory conditions and is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2019. Financial terms were not disclosed.

uAVIONIX announced plans to establish an office location in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.  AVIDYNE announced that the IFD440/IFD410 FMS/GPS systems have been selected by Robinson Helicopters of Torrance, California, as a factory option for forward fit in the line of R22, R44 and R66 helicopters.   COLLINS AEROSPACE’s Pro Line Fusion avionics upgrade for Pro Line 4-equipped Bombardier Challenger 604* series aircraft has been certified by the FAA. HONEYWELL announced GoDirect Trade, a new e-commerce platform designed to improve access to new and used aircraft parts for airlines, air transport and business aviation customers by offering transparent pricing and the option to buy inventory directly from its website. KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY's POLYTECHNIC Campus is offering $500 scholarships to first responders interested in attending the small unmanned aircraft systems commercial remote pilot training course in 2019.

ELLIOTT AVIATION announced its 14th Garmin G5000 Citation Excel/XLS Garmin G5000 retrofit preorder signed agreements.  DUNCAN AVIATION announced the reopening of its newly remodeled Design Center at its Lincoln, Nebraska, facility, with nearly 900 additional square feet of space and new features. AVMAX recently sold one Dash 8-106 msn 373 to Perimeter Aviation, Canada, and leased one Embraer ERJ-145LR msn 145-240 to American Jet S.A. Argentina. ASTRONICS CORP. appointed Mark Moran to its board of directors. He will serve on the compensation committee and the nominating and corporate governance committee.

CUTTER AVIATION announced that William "Bill" Cutter passed away Dec. 11. JEPPESEN reached a new five-year contract agreement to provide fractional business jet operator Swift Air with Jeppesen FliteDeck Pro services. FREEFLIGHT SYSTEMS’s 1203C SBAS/GNSS sensor is now approved for installation with the Honeywell TRA-100B Mode S Transponder for B737 aircraft. CUBCRAFTERS will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Carbon Cub in 2019. Milestones from the Carbon Cub history will be commemorated throughout the year and will culminate in an open-invitation fly-in and reception in October, dubbed Cubfest 2019, at the company’s factory headquarters in Yakima, Washington.

Looking for a Job in the Avionics Industry? For individuals interested in pursuing professional opportunities in the avionics industry, the career listings page on the AEA website is your one-stop resource. The AEA careers page provides informational links on how to get AET certified, an avionics technician job summary and wage review, along with scholarship opportunities within the industry. Search the AEA's career listings and see what's on your horizon. Are you up to the challenge? More...

Need to Post a Job? The AEA Works for You! Is your business hiring? Looking for a new avionics technician or A&P mechanic? Want to buy or sell a business in the general aviation industry? Post these professional opportunities to a target-rich environment: the AEA's career listings website. For $200 a month, you can place a listing online AND receive a print advertisement in Avionics News for FREE! For more information, contact Lauren Garcia, AEA director of advertising, at laureng@aea.net.

About the AEA Founded in 1957, the Aircraft Electronics Association represents nearly 1,300 member companies in more than 40 countries, including government-certified international repair stations specializing in maintenance, repair and installation of avionics and electronic systems in general aviation aircraft. The AEA membership also includes manufacturers of avionics equipment, instrument repair facilities, instrument manufacturers, airframe manufacturers, test equipment manufacturers, major distributors, engineers and educational institutions.

Contact: Aircraft Electronics Association 3570 NE Ralph Powell Road Lee's Summit, MO 64064 Phone: 816-347-8400 Fax: 816-347-8405 Email:  info@aea.net Web:  aea.net

Advertising: Lauren Garcia, director of advertising Phone: 816-347-8400 Email:  laureng@aea.net Subscribe to "AEA Wired"   The "AEA Wired" e-newsletter is published twice a month by the AEA.

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