Avionics News March 2016 - 77

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THE VIEW FROM WASHINGTON
Continued from page 11

talking about supporting your customers with a documented infrastructure that is
built in support of their mandate. The independent competition generally lacks that
documented infrastructure.
And then, there's the qualifications of the technician. Without focusing on the
capability of each technician, which would be an impossible task, let's focus on
the documentation that supports the customers' need to show compliance to "their"
regulations.
The regulations state that "No person may perform maintenance, preventive
maintenance or alterations on an aircraft other than as prescribed in this
subpart and other applicable regulations, including Part 43 of this chapter."
(14 CFR 91.403(b)) Part 43 states that "The holder of a mechanic certificate
may perform maintenance, preventive maintenance and alterations as provided
in Part 65 of this chapter." (14 CFR 43.3(b)) But then, the limitation of Part
65 are directly applicable to avionics and specifically new technologies.
The first limitation for the mechanic is the inability to maintain instruments.
14 CFR 65.81 allows that a certificated mechanic may perform or supervise
the maintenance but specifically excludes "any repair to, or alteration of,
instruments." In today's world of modern "glass," any glass displaying the
attitude, altitude or operation of the aircraft or any aircraft system is, by
definition, an instrument and, therefore, outside the scope of a mechanic's
maintenance authority.
The next limitation regards qualifications, knowledge and experience.
Again, paragraph 65.81 states that the mechanic may not approve for return to
service, any aircraft or appliance, or part thereof unless "he has satisfactorily
performed the work concerned at an earlier date." The regulations do allow
a mechanic who has not performed that work at an earlier date, to "show his
ability to do it by performing it to the satisfaction of the administrator or under
the direct supervision of a certificated and appropriately rated mechanic,
or a certificated repairman, who has had previous experience in the specific
operation concerned."
There are two significant concerns for the customer. First, the FAA does
not have the resources to enforce this requirement, and second, there are
no recordkeeping requirements within Part 65 to assist the owner/operator
in ensuring their independent maintenance provider actually meets the
requirements. When utilizing a maintenance provider without a certified
organization for the installation and maintenance of new technologies, such as
primary flight displays, integrated electronics and ADS-B, it is clearly a buyerbeware marketplace.
While designing, developing and maintaining a certified maintenance
organization is labor intensive, costly and generally time consuming,
the "value" of the repair station is, in fact, the manuals, training and
documentation requirements that satisfy the airworthiness requirements of the
owner/operator - your customers - whether they know it or not!
So the next time you have a conversation with someone who challenges
your "prices," I hope you can explain your "value." Beware of the owner/
operator who only shops price!
Most importantly, I hope understanding the value of the repair station can
help you find the time to run your business. q

Aero Air .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 86
Aero Standard .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 87
Aircraft Electronics Association .  .  .  .  .  . 35
Aspen Avionics  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 22
Astronics  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 27
Avionics Specialist Inc.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 45
AVweb .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 72
Bragg Avionics .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 87
Becker Avionics .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 56
BendixKing .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 33
Cal Labs  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 87
Capital Avionics .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 66
Carpenter Avionics .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 87
Chaparral Avionics .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 87
Cobham Aerospace Communications .  .  . 61
Cobham AvComm  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 53
Connell Aviation Group .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 67
Corporate Angel Network .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 73
DAC International,
A Greenwich AeroGroup .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 28
Dallas Avionics .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . IFC
Dean Aircraft Service .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 86
EDMO  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . BC
Equip ADS-B .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 36
Flight Display Systems  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 48
FLYING Magazine .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 88
Garmin .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 3
Georgetown Instrument Services .  .  .  .  . 60
GlobalParts.aero  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 5
Gogo Business Aviation  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 23
L-3 Aviation Products .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 29
Mayo Aviation  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 87
Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics . . 49
Millennial Technologies  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 81
Nason Associates  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 69
Nav-Aids Ltd. .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 68
Pacific Southwest Instruments .  .  .  .  .  . IBC
ProCal Laboratories .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 87
Southeast Aerospace .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 76
Tech-Aid Products .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 87
Tri-Star Technologies .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 15
Tri-State Aero .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 86
True Blue Power  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 1
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Avionics News March 2016
