There’s always a deal to be found at the AEA Educational Foundation silent auction, but there are only two days left to place your bids for gadgets, goodies and high-tech toys. A number of longtime supporters have shown their commitment to continue the tradition, and now all we need is YOU to login and do a little online shopping!

Between now and 10 p.m. CDT on Friday, Oct. 30, bid on your favorite item(s). Once the auction has ended, the AEA will contact the winning bidders for payment and then the item(s) will be shipped directly to you.

The annual silent auction is the single-largest fundraising activity for the AEA Educational Foundation and helps support a variety of outreach and education efforts to attract and train the next generation of avionics technology experts. Since 1990, the AEA Educational Foundation has administered scholarships for avionics and aircraft maintenance technicians and provided industry-leading technical training for AEA members. More...

Registration will open Nov. 1 for the 64th 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 market in 2021.

The event takes place March 15-18, 2021, in Dallas, Texas. Attendees must register by Dec. 31, 2020, to receive the early-bird discount price of $675 (AEA member rate) for a full convention registration. The early-bird promotion offers a $180 per person savings off the on-site registration fee. Those attendees who chose to rollover their registration from 2020 will receive a confirmation email and do not need to register again.

The attendee full registration package includes: four days of seminars and technical training sessions; exhibit hall entrance for two full days with lunch; and networking with manufacturing and distributors. The Hilton Anatole will serve as the headquarters hotel. More...

The AEA joined a broad coalition this week to express "profound concern over the Federal Communications Commission’s flawed Ligado Order that, if left in place, would upend decades of sound spectrum policy, negatively impact a significant cross-section of commercial, federal, and academic users who rely on the many different L-band satellite services, and threaten the safety of most Americans."

Nearly 80 organizations, including representatives from aviation, aerospace, agriculture, first responders, ground transportation, marine, metrological, surveying, GPS, and satellite industries, wrote to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and

Transportation, to "respectfully request your Committee’s assistance in ensuring that the Commission reconsider its decision to allow a harmful terrestrial network to be built using L-band spectrum." To read the coalition letter in its entirety, click here.

The Aircraft Electronics Association will award 23 scholarships totaling more than $100,000 for the 2021-22 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. Scholarship applications are available online, and the deadline to submit an application is April 1, 2021. More...

If you need ground support equipment such as jacks and tugs, ground power units and test equipment, hydraulics and weight scales, Carolina GSE has it all. Once you have what you need, the staff can also troubleshoot, repair and overhaul your equipment and see to it that you have the proper spare parts.

Headquartered in Greenville, North Carolina, Carolina GSE serves a broad customer base, including private aircraft owners, corporate flight departments, fixed-base operators, repair stations, military services and commercial airlines. The company handles customer service and support in Greenville, equipment and parts distribution from its center in Chicago, Illinois, and equipment repair and parts distribution from New Bern, North Carolina. More...

In November, the New Southern Sky Conference will be presented using a virtual platform for the first time to deliver a series of talks on "Making ADS-B Work." There will be global perspectives from the United States and Australia on lessons learned from their ADS-B transitions, best practice guidance for operators in New Zealand for its ADS-B transition, plus an ADS-B Grant Scheme update and Q&A.

Don't miss this one-off opportunity, Nov. 3-5, to enhance your understanding of ADS-B and what it means in New Zealand. To register your interest and receive an invite to these Microsoft Teams events, email lorcan.byrne@caa.govt.nz. More...

At first, hearing about a newfangled tool to give pilots a third eye, if you will, sounded like something out of a fairy tale. The new tool for seeing the world arrived through the magic of computer software, the result of space-based systems scanning the Earth in increasing detail blended with the application of high-speed graphics computer software in sundry computers pilots covet.

The tool: synthetic vision system. Exceedingly popular, widely available in a variety of tools and avionics, and relatively inexpensive today, SVS first emerged in the general-aviation market in the late 1990s.

As a resident function of a then-new Sierra Flight Systems integrated avionics package, the earliest form of SVS generated rudimentary wire-frame renditions of mountains, bodies of water and outlines of buildings. Similar systems in high-end turbine-powered aircraft panels helped popularize this new tool as a viable addition to the cockpit. More...

Notwithstanding the value of an investment – whether a single radio installation; a new primary flight display; or a full panel upgrade – the quickest way to ruin that investment is to use the wrong chemical cleaners.

According to David Tulis in an AOPA article titled Improper disinfectant appears to damage two Skyhawks, “An aircraft renter with a distillery-produced sanitizer meant well, but improper disinfecting techniques damaged the instrument panels of two Cessna 172s at Florida’s Atlas Aviation and required costly repairs.”

Today, everyone is focused on disinfecting around the coronavirus. We see it at home, work, the grocery stores and even around aircraft. But unlike the countertops in your house or the shopping carts at your favorite stores, aircraft, and the products used in aircraft, are special! More...

Unarguably, summers provide jet aviation with its most dramatic temperature swings through the course of an otherwise routine flight. The aircraft experiences a temperature swing from the oven-roasting heat of a 120-degree airport ramp to a minus 60 degrees or colder in the bone-chilling-cold-soaking at Flight Level 510 – and back again at landing.

Less severe are the temperature swings experienced by aircraft typical of the piston-powered set. Normally aspirated piston-powered aircraft rarely fly at altitudes where summertime temperatures fall to the same degree. It may be 120 on the ramp, but at typical cruising altitudes, temperatures still remain comfortably above freezing.

But inside the heat-soaked cabin during summer, avionics temperatures easily reach into triple digits. In the winter, avionics in a cold-soaked cabin may fall well below freezing levels until power starts to warm the electronics. More...

Thom Duncan, president of Thom Duncan Avionics in Fayetteville, Tennessee, has been fixing electronics since childhood. Since opening a shop at the Fayetteville Municipal Airport in December 2018, he has led a rapidly growing business that specializes in avionics for single- and twin-engine aircraft. Get to know one of aviation's technology experts in this episode of AEA Amplified.

Learn more about the ever-changing world of avionics technologies from industry professionals and aviation enthusiasts. Subscribe to AEA Amplified on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Podbean, iHeart Radio or Spotify. More...

The Federal Aviation Administration recently published Version 1.0 of the Urban Air Mobility Concept of Operations in coordination with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and industry partners. According to the agency, the document’s goal is to provide a common frame of reference to support the FAA, NASA, industry, and other stakeholders to mature to specific UAM implementation methods and detailed operations procedures.

The ConOps is a crucial step to safely integrating UAM traffic into the national airspace system, especially as many manufacturers of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft continue a strong push for commercial operations in this decade.

An opening letter from Steve Bradford, the FAA’s chief scientific and technical advisor for architecture and NextGen development, calls the ConOps document an “initial stage of work in progress.” More...

There are as many as 310 electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft in development to carry passengers or air cargo, including some in flight test and others in a concept stage in the race to provide urban or advanced air mobility.

The list of 310 compiled by the Vertical Flight Society includes some in prototype and others in concept stage and a few that have already dropped out of the race. Meanwhile, 60 have joined the hunt since January despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Some are already being flown for certification and testing, but huge hurdles remain for entering service.

Not the least of these challenges in big cities is adding the vertiports on the top of skyscrapers needed to allow air taxis to operate from a network of facilities. And who, for that matter, will pay for the vertiports and who will handle the liability insurance? Some experts believe that operators won’t crack the big-city passenger markets first. Air cargo faces fewer obstacles, and production model air vehicles are in the works. More...

Transmission line is the generic term for the wire or cable that carries the signal to the radio from the antenna and vice versa. There are several types of transmission line, but we only use one type for nearly all avionics applications. When failing, transmission lines can present confusing symptoms, and it’s a good thing for technicians to understand some transmission line theory.

With the possible exception of weather radar, all avionics radio systems use coaxial cable as transmission line. Coaxial cable is a shielded wire with special insulation between the center and outer shielding. All insulation is dielectric, but in coaxial cable, the insulation between the inner conductor and the outer shielding is carefully designed. As a result, we refer to the insulation between the inner conductor and shielding as dielectric instead of insulation. More...

The AEA Pilot’s Guide is a consumer’s directory loaded with educational articles, timely information and data about the ever-changing world of avionics technologies. In addition to a complete directory of AEA-member government-certified repair stations, avionics manufacturers and distributors located in more than 40 countries, the publication features educational articles to help pilots and aircraft owners make better buying decisions. Individuals residing in the United States may request a free copy while supplies last. More...

In addition to unveiling the 2020-21 edition of the AEA Pilot's Guide, the AEA introduced its Pilot's Guide Showcase, an all-new digital stage highlighting everything from features and functions of the latest avionics equipment to the installation and service available from AEA member repair stations.

Located at PilotsGuideShowcase.net and specifically designed for avionics consumers such as general aviation pilots and aircraft owners, the digital platform features product demonstrations, how-to videos, select tutorials via recorded flight demonstrations and spotlights AEA's network of technology experts. More...

Join more than 1,000 AEA members who have already streamed or downloaded these free regulatory webinars to help train their staff or continue their own professional development. Ric Peri, AEA vice president of government and industry affairs, brings his vast years of experience and expertise to conduct a series of regulatory webinars essential to repair station and business operations.

In addition to providing relevant content, these courses include direct questions from the audience answered in real time. If you are looking to stay up-to-speed, AEA members may login with their member password to watch these sessions on your desktop or mobile device at AEA.net/webinars.

Congratulations to Gerald Ferriss of The Home Depot Aviation, who won a $100 Visa gift card, courtesy of Southeast Aerospace, for being the first person to submit the correct answer in this month's Mystery Make and Model challenge featured in the previous issue of AEA Wired. The unit is an Avionics West EC-200.

Avionics technicians can put their "inside" knowledge to work in the next issue of AEA Wired. Stay tuned for the next Mystery Make and Model challenge!

Basic Wiring & Avionics Installation (sold-out)

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.

ADS-B Configuration, Testing & Troubleshooting (10 seats remain)

This course is designed for currently employed repair station personnel and installers of ADS-B systems. Approximately 7% of all general aviation ADS-B installations are non-compliant based on the FAA’s ADS-B Performance Monitoring System. This course focuses on the proper configuration and testing of ADS-B installations to ensure your installation meets the performance requirements and regulations. Also included are troubleshooting tips and tricks that will help you resolve the common problems found in ADS-B installations.

Digital Databus Theory & Analysis Training (7 seats remain)

As today’s modern airplanes become much more technologically advanced, so must the professionals who 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.

Certified Repair Station Training (6 seats remain)

This weeklong course provides an interactive environment to learn, understand and implement the regulations that govern repair station design and operations. Current quality managers, technicians, mechanics, and repairmen who are involved in the management of a repair station as well as individuals looking to establish a 14 CFR Part 145 repair station should attend. This program will review the regulations applicable to a U.S.-certificated repair station engaged in maintenance, preventive maintenance and alterations of U.S.-registered aircraft, components or accessories.

PFD Installation & Integration (15 seats remain)

This course is designed for technicians who have completed the AEA’s Basic Wiring & Avionics 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 GTX 345 transponder and dual Garmin GI 275 primary flight displays.

Bench Basics 101 (15 seats remain)

This course is designed for technicians who have completed the AEA’s Basic Wiring course and/or have a couple of years of basic avionics installation practice, familiar with basic soldering skills and are looking for experience in LRU bench testing and avionics flight line testing. ADS-B transponder systems, nav/ILS and VHF comms will be the focus of study. Technicians will fabricate a general-purpose test panel, a bench test harness, and a transponder test harness that they will use in the course.

NAV/COMM Equipment Service Training (15 seats remain)

This course is designed for technicians who have completed the AEA’s Bench Basics 101 course and/or have a couple of years of basic avionics installation practice and are looking for experience in LRU bench testing and avionics flight line testing. NAV/ILS will be the focus of study.

Transponder Service Training (15 seats remain)

This course is designed for technicians who have completed the AEA’s Bench Basics 101 course and/or have a couple of years of basic avionics installation practice and are looking for experience in LRU bench testing and avionics flight line testing. ADS-B transponder systems, NAV/ILS and VHF comms will be the focus of study.

Pitot-Static & Transponder Testing & Inspection with ADS-B Implementation (15 seats remain)

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.

For individuals interested in pursuing professional opportunities in the avionics industry, the job listings page on the AEA website is your one-stop resource. The AEA jobs board 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 job listings and see what's on your horizon. Are you up to the challenge? More...

Is your business hiring? The AEA jobs board makes it easier for AEA members to find their next avionics technician, quality manager, inspector, sales representative or engineer.

AEA members may submit a free job posting after entering their username and password at AEA.net/Jobs. Member companies that optionally choose to upgrade their job posting for a premium will have preferred online placement and also will be published in the next edition of Avionics News. For more information about premium job listings, contact Rachel Hill, AEA advertising executive, at rachelh@aea.net.