Avionics News November 2015 - 69
Jerry Gordon converted a Volkswagen bus to a traveling avionics shop when he owned his first avionics shop in Plymouth, Michigan. Gordon used it for service calls to the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. avionics shop, so I contacted the owner and arranged a meeting. We made a verbal deal to build and operate a new shop. I wish it would have been in writing, as we later disagreed on the details of the agreement. It involved part ownership of the avionics department. It was a nice place to work, however, as I was given an entire hangar for the shop. I drove our little golf cart to the main office one day and parked by a Citation jet with a few people talking in a group nearby, which included John Travolta and Olivia Newton John. Now, the new thing was Loran-C for boats. I reviewed a small, self-contained model, and wondered about using one in airplanes. They were so new and intriguing; I proceeded to contact my Federal Aviation Administration inspector for discussion about installing one in an airplane. He told me as long as the installation met the requirements set forth in the regulations, he would approve it. The size of the Loran-C was the same as the Narco Mark 12. I was able to slide the unit in a Narco dust cover, which was mounted properly. I performed the G-force tests on the mounting and wrote the 337 form. The FAA got wind of what I was doing and immediately told our inspector there would be no boat radios mounted in the airplanes. By this time, I had submitted the form to our inspector, who told me he wouldn't approve it. I reminded him he had said he would approve it if it was done according to the regulations, and he reluctantly gave me the approval of what I think was the first Loran-C in a small general aviation aircraft. I was so proud of the accomplishment that I wrote the story for Private Pilot Magazine, and they bought it. This was when Monte Mitchell, the president of the Aircraft Electronics Association, called and told me what a great technical writer I was. I was embarrassed but got over it when he wanted me to write for Avionics News. This was the start of a series of articles called "The Technician's Notebook." When I approached the owner regarding part ownership in the shop, he developed selective memory. I was not happy, so I decided to build my own shop. I had a little cash saved to buy the test equipment and inventory from a previous shop. The owner died, and I made a deal with his widow. Looking over the area, San Jose was appealing. Reid-Hillview Airport had more than 600 aircraft based there and only one avionics shop. I thought there were enough aircraft to support two shops, so we moved to San Jose and built another one. It was good to have a shop of my own again. I rented a nice office with enough space for a sales office and had bench space for repairs. No hangar was available, so our installations took advantage of the California weather and were done on the ramp by our back door. When inclement weather approached, we used a set of four vertical poles cemented in four buckets with a tarp over head. It worked fine but was not necessary most of the time. I had no problem with having another shop on the airport. Most of my customers welcomed a choice, and I welcomed the business. This was during a time when computers became necessary for any business. I bought a color computer from Radio Shack, telling my wife I better get with this technology before it gets too far advanced for me to Continued on following page avionics news * november 2015 69