AEA's 2006 Gathering Was An Active And Thought-Provoking Affair

With many annual tradeshows, 'it' is all about what's NEW in terms of products and companies... but with the just-concluded AEA 2006 Convention, 'it' was more about the legislative agenda ahead of an industry that is awash in change and saddled with a bureaucracy that has little hope of keeping up with the meteoric progress being made on the technical front.

AEA is more than a trade show... it is foremost, a training event... with nearly 100 hours of dedicated training sessions covering everything from specific avionics systems to marketing and regulatory issues. Events like the G1000 training session (shown below) were so well attended that they not only took up one of the larger classrooms available, but extra chairs had to be brought in to handle an overflow crowd.

Training has become a major mission for AEA... undertaking a number of programs to make sure that their members; be they shops, technicians, suppliers or manufacturers, stay on the legal side of the legislative and certification process.

Particularly laudable efforts have been made in regards to the repair station network that keeps much of this nation (and the world) flying. Recently, AEA conducted the first in a series of seminars designed to help Part 145 repair stations of all types develop and manage their required training programs. The one-day seminar was designed to take the complexity and confusion out of the regulatory guidance material and demonstrate cost-effective and efficient measures to comply with the new rule.

In addition to leaving with a better understanding of the scope of the new rule and the best methods to comply, workshop attendees received a free copy of AEA’s newly released Repair Station Training Program Development CD. The CD, which includes access to AEA’s exclusive Repair Station Training Program Development Tool, dissects the inspector’s guidance material, breaks down the Advisory Circular and writes the shop's training program for them.

Mind you, an association tradeshow is also a good time to do a little bragging...and AEA has the right to do so on several fronts. It was the 510th issue of their magazine, though, that was singled out  for special honors in front of the hundreds of folks who jammed the opening session of AEA 2006. The April 2006 issue of Avionics News, the official publication of the Aircraft Electronics Association, marked the 510th issue of the magazine. It also marked the beginning of a celebration of the magazine’s history at the 49th annual AEA International Convention & Trade Show, as well as the planning for the 50th annual AEA Convention in Reno, Nev., in 2007.

In the same manner in which AEA has grown and evolved, so has the Avionics News magazine. What once served AEA membership as a “newsletter” to assist members with their businesses has developed into the largest magazine in the general aviation industry dedicated to avionics. Avionics News keeps the industry connected to the latest trends, training, technology and regulations, as well as connected with one another.

But... why was AEA celebrating the 510th issue of Avionics News instead of the 500th issue? It’s simple: AEA wanted to celebrate the magazine’s history with as many of its members and readers as possible, and what better time to celebrate than at the annual AEA convention in April, which coincided with the 510th issue of Avionics News. AEA’s celebration honoring the milestone was therefore dubbed “AN510.”

The annual event is also a gathering point for the industry to come together and speak jointly of the issues that face them and the potential solutions that the association is pursuing. This is where the action was in terms of the year 2006... where AEA President and VP of Gov't and Industry Affairs, Ric Peri, made it clear that AEA was actively involved in all things legislative and regulatory -- but not before AEA Prez Derks set the tone for the day by declaring that the FAA's inclination toward adopting user fee funding mechanisms was not necessary since the FAA's current funding was actually increasing... NOT decreasing.

Ric (shown above) led most of the pivotal industry sessions and updates on a number of regulatory programs... both here in North America as well as overseas. Peri noted that aspects of the Part 145 Repair Station program were destined to "be turned on its ear," and briefed a rapt audience of his concerns and efforts on such matters. Peri encouraged AEA members to speak up if they were to find that they were not getting FAA services due to excuses regarding budgetary constraints... a common response from some FAA staffers when they were not able or willing to assist with certification matters. Peri noted his displeasure at the fact that the FAA continued to limit repair station certificate applications due to "resource limitations." This has resulted in serious delays in the certification of new operators and an escalation in the expense the industry incurs in getting such programs operating.

The FAA's Wes Ryan spoke for awhile, at the invitation of AEA and started saying quite a bit... much of it welcomed by the audience... especially in terms of his apparent agreement with the need to seek additional ways to share delegation authority... with the FAA taking on more of an oversight role while compliance becomes (more and more) an industry responsibility... so long as safety was not, in any way, compromised. It was also suggested that changes were forthcoming in "Major Alteration" programs to reduce subjectivity.

One of the more enjoyable aspects of such affairs is the opportunity that they present in terms of recognizing the powers-that-be that populate the industry. A series of awards were presented to do just that. The most prominent of the awards given this year, the 2006 AEA Lifetime Achievement Award, was bestowed upon John Winter, a well-known figure in the general aviation industry. He began his aviation career in the late 1950s with a degree in electrical engineering, then received a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Yale University.

In the early 1960s, Winter (above center, with AEA Chairman Michael OLeary-Left, and Paula Derks-Right) helped develop one of the first gyros for aviation during his tenure as chief engineer at Aviation Instrument Manufacturing Corp., known as AIM. He purchased Mid-Continent Instruments Co. in 1980, and relocated the company from Houston to Wichita, Kan. Gradually growing the company from providing only instrument repair into both instrument manufacturing and repair, the company enjoyed significant growth throughout the 1980s and ’90s. Today, the company has 170 employees and a branch office in Van Nuys, Calif. He served on the AEA board of director as a regional director, advancing to the office of treasurer from 1994 to 2000. Winter was named AEA’s Member of the Year in 1995. His company, Mid-Continent Instruments, was named AEA Associate Member of the Year in 2001.

AEA also recognized the FAA's Nick Sabatini (below), FAA associate administrator for aviation safety, with the AEA Industry Partnership Award. The AEA Industry Partnership Award was given in recognition of Sabatini’s efforts in implementing the FAA Customer Service Initiative. The CSI has been well received by AEA membership, and Sabatini has played a vital role in the creation and success of this program. The FAA’s Customer Service Initiative addresses AVR customer service expectations — what FAA’s customers can expect from the FAA when conducting business with any AVR office, and what FAA asks of them in return. The goal is to promote a positive environment between the regulators and industry.

Sabatini has been the FAA associate administrator for aviation safety since 2001. He oversees a work force of more than 6,100 employees in the FAA’s Washington headquarters, nine regional offices and more than 125 field offices throughout the world. He is responsible for the certification, production approval, and continued airworthiness of aircraft, and the certification of pilots, mechanics and others in safety-related positions.

By using the CSI procedures, industry is encouraged to use a special review checklist in handling disagreements with its regional regulators without fear of retribution. Since its inception in 2003 by Sabatini, positive feedback has been received from AEA members in working with the initiative.

AEA's 2006 member and Associate member of the Year awards were given to Ray McDonald (below) and Sandel Avionics, respectively. Ray's work at Castleberry instruments, BF Goodrich and Pacific Southwest Instruments provided him a breadth of experience that few persons could equal and his work made him a well-known figure all across the avionics industry. Today, he is the VP of Customer service for Pacific Southwest Instruments.

Sandel was awarded Associate member of the year in respect for its trail-blazing work in developing one of the first successful EHSIs, the SN3308... an instrument that went onto become one of the most popular of its kind and soon generated the largest installed base of EHSIs in the industry. Sandel has since upgraded that system with the recently introduced SN3500 EHSI.

In preparing for its 50th anniversary in 2007, AEA has also announced the dates and locations of the annual AEA International Convention & Trade Show through 2011. AEA's 50th anniversary celebration will take place at one of the association's most popular convention sites - Reno, Nev.

From 2008 to 2011, AEA members and exhibitors will have the opportunity to return to other familiar and popular convention sites when AEA converges on Washington, D.C., Dallas, and Orlando, Fla.

The following is the schedule of future AEA annual conventions:

• 2007 (50th anniversary): Reno, Nev., from March 28-31, at the Reno Hilton.
• 2008: Washington, D.C., from April 23-26, at the Gaylord National.
• 2009: Dallas, Texas, from April 1-4, at the Gaylord Texan.
• 2010: Orlando, Fla., from April 7-10, at the Gaylord Palm.
• 2011: Reno, Nev., from March 30-April 2, at the Reno Hilton.

ANN looks forward to covering each of these events... stay tuned for more info.

FMI: www.aea.net