Avionics News January 2014 - 12

In this monthly column, Ric Peri of the AEA's Washington, D.C., office, informs members of the latest regulatory updates.

B Y

R I C

P E R I
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

Government and Industry Affairs:

The Year in Review

L

ast month, I was having a discussion with a few
As for the hats? The primary roles are advocacy
Aircraft Electronics Association members, and
and consultation. But since you are reading this on the
they asked what life in Washington, D.C., was
pages of Avionics News, you are aware of one of the
like. They weren't really interested in the city itself - you
secondary roles: the writer's hat. On a continuing basis,
can read about that in most national and international
we advocate, specifically, for the avionics industry (AEA
newspapers - but rather my AEA life in the nation's
membership) and quite often for the repair station and
capital. For the record, living in Washington is like living
aviation maintenance industries, in general (the AEA
in any large metropolitan area: all the good; all the bad;
membership's industry) before the international regulatory
but with the added benefit of the D.C. industrial complex
bodies, as well as occasionally advocating before the
of politics.
political bodies.
But this year in review column was
written to discuss and recap what the
T h e A E A , i n ge n e ra l , p ro v i d e s h u n d re d s o f h o u r s o f t ra i n i n g
AEA government and industry affairs
a n n u a l l y f o r o u r m e m b e r s h i p . T h e t o p i c s ra n ge f ro m t h e
office does on a regular basis. I often
get the question to explain what we
u p c o m i n g n e w A v i o n i c s I n s t a l l a t i o n & I n t e g ra t i o n T ra i n i n g
do. My answer usually starts with
C o u r s e o ff e re d t h i s m o n t h a t t h e A E A h e a d q u a r t e r s t o t h e
the various hats you wear in this
d o z e n s o f t o p i c s c o v e re d a t t h e a n n u a l A E A I n t e r n a t i o n a l
type of job. Like the rest of the AEA
C o n v e n t i o n & T ra d e S h o w i n M a rc h .
membership, the staff tends to wear
lots of hats. All businesses require the
same skills; the smaller the business, the more hats you
As a writer, this is the 152nd monthly "View from
wear. The AEA is a small business, and the D.C. office is
Washington" column that I've written since I joined the
a satellite office of the AEA's international headquarters
AEA staff in 2001. In addition, I'm responsible for writing
located in Lee's Summit, Mo., which means all of the
the monthly "Frequently Asked Questions" feature, and
normal office duties are self-managed.
with the help of the AEA international regulatory team,
This review is focused on the AEA's regulatory affairs
the monthly regulatory updates. As time permits, I will
activities; the association, as a whole, could easily double
contribute to other trade publications on avionics or
the pages of the review, the functions attended, the
aviation maintenance topics. The communication tool of
member services offered and the accomplishments.
writing is intended to leverage the work of advocacy and
12

avionics news

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january

2014
Avionics News January 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News January 2014
