Avionics News May 2018 - 42

LEFT: Technician Stephen Hayley checks production drawings during a major installation.
RIGHT: Technician Karrar Madlool installs engine transducers on MISix Aviation's Piper Seneca II.

MISIX AVIATION SERVICES
Continued from page 41

"I think it's a great thing for anyone working on
airplanes," Scott said. "It offers a better understanding
of what it's like from a pilot perspective. I keep warning
everyone who comes to work for us that aviation is
addictive. You better be careful."
High demand for STCs
Recently, MISix introduced several of its STCs to
the U.S. market, including ADS-B for the Bombardier
CRJ and the Dash 8, as well as a new radar and
multifunction display for Dash 8-series aircraft. MISix
also developed an STC for installation of the Garmin
G950 on the Metro III.
"Our first U.S. customer for the G950 is the U.S.
Navy," Scott said. "We're in the final stages of getting
the FAA familiarized with the STC. They've just
completed the flight testing in Texas. They're reviewing
documents to make sure it meets all the regulations in
the U.S. It's been a long process - about two years. The
man-hours are through the roof. I don't even like looking
at that number, but the Garmin solution to that Metro is
stunning. It's beautiful."
There's customer demand worldwide for MISix's
STCs, according to Scott, with requests coming in from
as far as Colombia, South America, and Belarus in
Eastern Europe.
"We have a request to help on a bunch of 757
installations for a commercial operator this spring and
summer, so we'll be doing that," he said.
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2018

Moving to warmer weather
One of the biggest moves on Scott's list is opening an
MISix maintenance facility in the United States. During the
last year, he has traveled to several U.S. states, including
Florida, Oregon, California, Arizona and Pennsylvania.
"We want to expand into a bigger market," he said.
"There are almost as many aircraft registered in Florida as
there are in the entire country of Canada."
In order to make the move, Scott needs to explore U.S.
immigration laws regarding green cards and visas, and
understand FAA regulations so he can best translate his
expertise and experience.
"It's all a huge learning curve," he said. "The hard part for me
is the differences in the industry. I have an AME avionics license
in Canada. It's like an A&P license but for avionics. That doesn't
exist in the U.S. In Canada, you go through a two-year college
program, and about 2 ½ years of apprenticeship in the avionics field. Then, you get your avionics ticket. That allows you to
sign out airplanes and work at an AMO like ours. In Canada, an
outcome is an outcome. A GPS is a GPS. It doesn't matter if it's
in a Dash 8 or a Cessna 150."
Scott hopes to have his U.S. business registered and employees ready to go by the first quarter of 2019. In the meantime,
he's also working to inspire the next generation of technicians
by educating young students about aircraft maintenance.
"I host kids now and then to come and learn about
airplanes," Scott said. "I've taken some flying. They have no
idea that this is a possible career path. I'm trying my best to
expose younger people to this addiction of mine - avionics
and aircraft. I think it's a lot of fun. I've been doing this for
more than 30 years now, and I'm still learning new stuff
every day. I think it's very rewarding." q

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