Pilot's Guide to Avionics 2014-2015 - 6

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New avionics products introduced at AEA Convention

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S T O R Y

B Y

J O S E P H

E .

f you've heard it once, you've heard it a hundred
times: There's nothing new in general aviation .
Naysayers look at an early Beech King Air 90 and
point out its performance isn't much different from a
brand-new example . "Sure," they'll admit, "the factoryfresh airplane is a lot nicer and more capable, but the
old one can be upgraded to the same or better, and
often for less money than buying new ." It's almost a
cliché, reinforced by the fact many current-production
general aviation aircraft made their first flights during
or even before the Eisenhower administration .
Yes, perhaps the basic airframe designs and materials haven't changed much with time: The original
King Air 90 was made mostly of aluminum; so are the
current versions . But high-tech composite materials
in shapes too complex or expensive to fabricate from
aluminum are being used throughout modern airframes . Their benefits include less weight and, often,
greater strength . And many general aviation manufacturers simply ignore metal for most of their products'
structure, preferring carbon fiber or other composites .
In other words, new airframes can be lighter and
stronger than their elderly cousins . Isn't that new?
Yes, there are limits . The physical laws first written
by Newton and Bernoulli, and the ways they've been
applied by the Wright brothers and their successors,
haven't changed during the years . To send several
thousand pounds of airframe through the air, we still
need airfoils of various specific sizes and shapes,
powerplants to do the pushing and pulling, and sturdy
structures to hold it all together . That was true in

( J E B )

B U R N S I D E

1903, it was still true when Ike was elected, and it
remains true today . Barring repeal or amendment of
those natural laws - perhaps along with a few of the
human-made kind for good measure - it's likely little
of that will change this side of fuel cells, magnetic
levitation, cold fusion or warp drive .
So, the naysayers have the laws of nature on their
side, at least until airfoils and petroleum-based fuels
are replaced . But they ignore the real technological
advances elsewhere: Not everything that goes into a
modern general aviation aircraft is an airfoil or powerplant . The naysayers also didn't attend the 57th
annual Aircraft Electronics Association International
Convention & Trade Show, which took place March
12-15, in Nashville, Tennessee . Among the thousands
of avionics executives, technicians, shop owners and
aircraft operators who attended - and who benefited
from the invaluable networking, training and other
programs - there also were more than a few new
products announced . They ranged from brand-new
gadgets to go in an instrument panel - of course - to
the latest updates of existing avionics and equipment,
to new services, new solutions to old problems, and
even to new types of products .
Direct from the AEA Convention in Nashville, here
are the new products that were unveiled during the
opening session as part of the AEA's New Product
Introductions .

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Pilot's Guide to Avionics 2014-2015

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