Avionics News June 2021 - 53

walking the grounds an exercise in pedestrian collision
avoidance. The event's success buoyed spirits and
enthusiasm that the aviation community is fully back
to normal. (See " Show Business is Back " beginning
on page 20.)
Happily, several other aviation events remain on
the calendar, among them the Aircraft Electronics
Association's International Convention & Trade
Show in Dallas, June 22-25; the Experimental
Aircraft Association's AirVenture in Oshkosh, July
26 through Aug. 1; and the world's largest businessaviation
gathering, the National Business Aviation
Association's Business Aviation Convention &
Exhibition in Las Vegas, Oct. 12-14.
None of those events happened last year, among the
many victims of the pandemic's global impact. But
many industry events charged on, albeit virtually with
digital formats. In fact, some smaller aviation events
remain on the 2021 calendar virtually rather than in
person, as it seems the next-best thing to being there is
better than nothing.
Going virtual - or not going at all
With the internet loaded with options for creating
virtual meetings, product introductions and trade-show
like display-based profiles, it's no big wonder the
pandemic brought out multiple remote events. Travel
restrictions, caution and COVID-19 paranoia drove
these efforts into a whole new category of event: the
virtual kind.
With many options available to exhibitors and
associations, there were plenty of opportunities for
companies to spotlight their products on millions of
computer screens around the globe. Just give your
audience the details needed to log into the show and
sample the virtual booths and demonstrations made
available by the companies that would normally be
investing significant funds in participating.
The only element missing, and it's an important
one, was the lack of face-to-face contact. No question,
for many people, face-to-face was the least desirable
option; ditto for their employers.
While the prospect of going virtual sounds simple
enough, delivering a pseudo convention experience to
the desired audience isn't quite as simple as typing in
a URL or clicking on a link.
MORE THAN 1,000 AEA
MEMBERS PARTICIPATED IN
THESE (VIRTUAL) EVENTS IN 2020,
EITHER LIVE OR ON-DEMAND,
TO HELP TRAIN STAFF
MEMBERS AND CONTINUE
THEIR OWN PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT.
A realistic alternative
The year 2020 was something of a bust for trade
shows and conventions across the spectrum of business
and industry. That we know. But the avoidance of inperson
contact merely shifted a plethora of events to
virtual events, connecting companies and associations
with their clientele through digital means - a shift that
continued into early 2021.
For example, the National Business Aviation
Association launched two new virtual events as
substitutes for planned in-person alternatives on the
same topics. It structured to retain much of what
draws people to similar in-person gatherings focused
on the same topics. NBAA planned both events
to bring people together with speakers presenting
educational content and other offerings as previously
planned for two in-person conferences during the first
quarter of 2021.
The goals remained the same: provide a road map
for surviving, possibly even thriving, in an everchanging
environment driven by the evolving nature
of the ongoing pandemic.
First up came NBAA's new Flight Operations
Conference, Feb. 23-25. The virtual event focused
on the same issues planned for a new in-person
conference bringing together schedulers, dispatchers
and pilots. Topics included a focus on mission
planning, including international operations, an area of
operations complicated by the varying national rules
and requirements enacted to meet pandemic-driven
health-safety concerns.
avionics news * june 2021 53
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