Avionics News September 2015 - 79

POINT OF COMMUNICATION
Continued from page 4

instructors and students. I was curious and went back to
look at the Barcelona schedule. During a two-day period,
there were 11 OEM product presentations, 18 exhibitors,
and training sessions that totaled more than 12 hours
of the available 16 hours of meeting time. That's pretty
amazing! Then, add the optional four-hour SMS course,
which is a separate topic for another column, and it is
clear that the benefits of attending a regional meeting far
outweigh the cost.
One final intangible benefit of the regional meetings
is simply the opportunity to network and socialize
with fellow industry colleagues outside the hours of
the formal meeting schedule. The old adage applies;
more happens at the dinner table than at the conference
table. I always feel like I am going to a family reunion

THE VIEW FROM WASHINGTON
Continued from page 11

aerodromes and air routes/spaces, requires the
modernization of ground-based navigation systems to
the more efficient satellite-based navigation. As you can
imagine, these changes require the AEA to work closely
with the authorities to promote reasonable certification
and installation of the technologies needed to meet these
important safety and efficiency goals.
The AEA Connect event in Sao Paulo on Aug. 10
included a presentation from Brazil's Agency for
National Civil Aviation on topics ranging from the
reorganization of ANAC to the processing of STCs to an
update on the international harmonization activities. The
presentation from this meeting is available on the AEA
website.
In addition, the AEA Latin America Regional Meeting
in Bogota, Colombia, took place Aug. 19-20. During
this event, Aeronáutica Civil de Colombia, which is
the Colombian aviation authority, briefed attendees
on its new ADS-B mandate. It has chosen to align its
mandate with that of the U.S., while allowing a more
lenient use of TSO C-129 GPS rather than the higher
U.S. standard of TSO C-145 performance. In addition
to the exceptional presentation from AeroCivil, this
meeting was also attended by the Federal Aviation
Administration with a presentation from Alex Rodriguez

when I attend a regional meeting. I have so many
fond memories thanks to social activities like dinner
boat cruises in Australia, group dinners at a restaurant
overlooking a beautiful European city, watching fellow
AEA members do an impromptu jam session in Kansas
City, snorkeling and diving on the Great Barrier Reef,
plus many more.
So it's quite apparent that attending a regional
meeting is simply a must-do! Get out there and learn
something, and make some memories. I look forward to
seeing you at one of these events. q

CORY RELLING
Treasurer, AEA board of directors
Aspen Avionics

(AIR132) on the ADS-B installation challenges faced
by U.S. repair stations. By leveraging the AEA's
membership, hopefully, the FAA presentation can help
members in South America avoid some of the challenges
that the U.S. membership had to work through in the
early days of ADS-B installations.
The AEA will continue to work with the authorities
throughout the Latin American region as they strive to
modernize and harmonize the regulatory systems. The
Latin American Aviation Regulations are fundamentally
based on the Federal Aviation Regulations in the
U.S. However, the challenge is that while the words
of the regulations are very similar, as usual, the
implementation of the words are not always consistent
with the "intent" of the regulations.
Whether the state has adopted the FAA regulations or
the EASA regulations as the basis of its own regulations,
it is critical to understand the intent of each element of
the regulation. This is critical so that the regulations can
be fairly and equitably applied where the greatest risk
to safety exists. And more importantly, we don't waste
industry or government's critical resources chasing lowrisk, low-return administrative actions, simply because
we believe that some other authority might do it.
While industry develops a new technology of safetyenhancing technologies, the equipment doesn't provide
the safety benefit until it is installed and used in the
aircraft. q
avionics news

september

2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News September 2015