Avionics News June 2013 - 16

F R O M
R I C
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A EA V I C E P R ES I D E N T O F G OV E R N M E N T & I N D U ST RY A F FA I RS

The Aircraft Electronics Association’s 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 AEA’s 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 avionicsnews@aea.net.

UNITED STATES

News & Regulatory Updates
AEA Supports Passage of Small
Aircraft Revitalization Act of 2013
Proposed Legislation Reflects Part 23 ARC Efforts

With the introduction of the Small Aircraft
Revitalization Act of 2013 (H.R. 1848) on Tuesday,
May 7, it appears the collaborative effort during the past
18 months by the Federal Aviation Administration Part
23 Reorganization Aviation Rulemaking Committee
(ARC) has paid off and resulted in proposed legislation.
U.S. House Representative Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.)
introduced the bipartisan-supported bill, which would
update and streamline burdensome regulations on the
general aviation industry and thereby improve safety,
decrease costs and free private-sector innovation. The
bill is co-sponsored by Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.), Sam
Graves (R-Mo.), Todd Rokita (R-Ind.) and Rick Nolan
(D-Minn.).
“The Aircraft Electronics Association has taken an
active role in the Part 23 ARC and helped craft the recommendations on maintenance and retrofit of the existing general aviation fleet, as well as the certification of
the next generation of avionics and safety-enhancing
electronics,” said Paula Derks, AEA president. “The
AEA commends Mr. Pompeo’s leadership by introducing a bill that encourages the acceptance and use of
consensus standards. The AEA also has been active with
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ASTM International in developing consensus standards
for the next generation of nonessential, nonrequired
safety-enhancing avionics technologies.
“General aviation safety can be improved by modernizing and revamping the regulations for this sector
to clear the path for technology adoption and costeffective means to retrofit the existing fleet with new
safety technologies. As general and business aviation
has suffered from the Obama administration’s constant
rhetoric during the past five years, this bill gives general aviation a much-needed boost and will help those
products be more efficiently certified for general aviation installations.”
The AEA played host to the FAA Part 23 ARC’s
working group twice in 2012 at its international headquarters in Lee’s Summit, Mo. Members of the ARC
were charged with creating a progressive, tiered certification system – from low-complexity, low-performance
airplanes all the way to high-complexity, high-performance airplanes – so small recreational airplanes won’t
have to be designed and certificated under the same
regulatory requirements as heavier, more complex,
and higher-performance aircraft. The focus was on
improved safety, reduced cost and promoting innovation. Part 23 outlines FAA certification standards for
most light civil aircraft weighing less than 12,500
pounds.
The Small Aircraft Revitalization Act of 2013 incorporates many of the ideas brought forth by the ARC’s
working group, which included Ric Peri, AEA vice
president of government and industry affairs. The bill
would require the FAA to implement the ARC recommendations by the end of calendar year 2015.

Avionics News June 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News June 2013