Avionics News January 2012 - 58

MEET GARRY JOYCE

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ly when I think back to that 13-year-old kid who didn’t know what he wanted to do. It’s been a lot of hard work, of course. What was your first exposure to the AEA? I don’t recall the year, maybe 1999, but I went to a regional meeting. You know how it is when you face issues with a regulatory agency and you don’t know where to turn for answers? I went to the regional meeting with these kinds of frustrations and listened to what some of the people were talking about. I discovered they all were having the same issues. It sort of blew me away when I realized I was being so insular with the problems I was having. I also realized the AEA’s value in speaking with one voice to regulators on issues. That’s been one of the driving factors for me in wanting to join the association’s board of directors. One of the hardest things is motivating members and convincing them to become more active. We all have the same issues, so let’s use someone like Ric Peri, AEA’s vice president of government and industry affairs, to go to European regulators and sort things. It’s very important to have the AEA involved in activities like this, because it’s impossible to overestimate how good the membership is. Even if it’s just for two or three days a year, getting people together at a regional meeting to talk about issues they have and how they’re progressing is such a good benefit for the industry. Based on your interactions with U.S.-based AEA members, how is your situation different in the UK? I think there are a lot more certification issues in Europe than there are in the U.S. It’s not that there’s more paperwork, it’s just more difficult to get the hardware on the aircraft in Europe than in the U.S. Most of the manufacturers don’t have a European base, and maybe they don’t quite get that, sometimes. It’s one of the most frustrating things. While I understand standards and certification processes have to be met, at the end of the day, the most important thing is that the product gets on the aircraft. That’s the biggest difference between the U.S. and Europe. For instance, in the U.S., if you wanted to fit a multifunction display, chances are the manufacturer has a supplemental type certificate and an approved model list. In the U.S., if the aircraft is on the AML, you’re good to go. Install the product, write up an FAA Form 337 and the job is done. Not in Europe. Currently, Europe won’t
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accept an AML, so we have to obtain approvals by type, which means each installation is a separate STC. This quite often puts the costs of the job out of the customer’s reach. Remember that we maintain an FAA repair station certificate and frequently work on N-registered aircraft. In fact, approximately half of the aircraft we work on are N-registered. So, we understand the regulations from both sides. That is the key difference between U.S. regulations and European. We’re chipping away at it, and it’s one of the things Ric Peri and I spend a lot of time on. But, then we come back to needing the membership to speak with one voice to EASA. We’re getting there, but it’s still a long way off. We know it’s not going to happen overnight. What’s the primary benefit to your organization from the AEA membership? I think it’s having someone in the industry with whom we can talk and find solutions. EEDirect, the association’s members-only marketplace for buying, selling or comparing prices on thousands of products and parts, is another great benefit. It’s very important to my business to have the data on avionics and parts prices. I can’t remember the last time I was on EEDirect and couldn’t find what I needed. What’s going to be the next big thing for the avionics industry in Europe? The way forward for avionics is glass panels. Getting those products on the aircraft makes everything simpler and improves situational awareness for the pilots. I don’t know how much more integrated the systems can get, but obviously the retrofits now are mimicking what the OEMs were doing 10 years ago, and that’s good. It’s definitely the way to go, from a safety standpoint and from an operating-cost standpoint. I’m afraid instrument repairs are going away, though. You almost have to be a watchmaker these days to have the skills to repair instruments, and those guys are gone or going away. Certainly, no one is being trained to do that kind of work. It’s just not what the younger generation wants. Ultimately, I don’t know what’s around the corner. I’d like to think some of the manufacturers are going to invest in what I call “simpler avionics.” There are a lot of general aviation aircraft out there still requiring just a basic nav/comm. I’d like to think one of the manufacturers will take on that challenge and manufacture radios for the smaller end. We all love the moving maps, but you’re cutting out maybe 90 percent of the GA market

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january

2012

Avionics News January 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News January 2012