Avionics News April 2022 - 29

said. " We have kept a six-month backlog for the past five
years. We hope that current supply chain shortages won't
affect us long term so we can continue this trend. "
Freedom Aviation is a charter operator in addition
to an FBO and has a large maintenance shop with two
15,000-square-foot hangars. The airport has a 7,000-foot
runway and a crew of eight mechanics specialized on
maintaining business jets. Another crew of a half-dozen
mechanics specializes on piston aircraft, and six are
dedicated to maintaining Liberty University's fleet of
aircraft. Avionics work is done by a separate crew in a
12,000-square-foot hangar dedicated to that work.
One thing that helped Freedom Aviation grow was
the rewrite of 14 CFR Part 23 by the Federal Aviation
Administration covering aircraft that weigh 19,000
pounds or less and carry 19 or fewer passengers.
This changed prescriptive certification standards to
performance-based standards.
Moorefield said Ric Peri, vice president of government
and industry affairs for the Aircraft Electronics Association,
helped get Part 23 rewritten. " The rewrite brought more
affordable avionics solutions into lighter (piston, jet and
turboprop) aircraft. That helped expand our business along
with the ADS-B mandate, " Moorefield said.
One example is the Garmin GFC 500, 600 and 700
autopilots. " That is what everyone wants now along with
removing vacuum pumps and installing either Aspen or
Garmin digital flight displays, " he said. " So an autopilot
is about $15,000, but with flight displays, the installation
costs $25,000 or $30,000 in total. But you can bring your
aircraft from the 1960s to the 2020s. "
These installations go into Barons, Bonanzas and larger
Piper aircraft, including the Cheyenne twin turboprop and
the Piper Navajo Chieftan.
In his spare time, Moorefield has been a freelance
writer for Cessna Flyer magazine. He has assisted several
experimental aircraft builders so they could complete their
projects. He has served as an adjunct faculty member at
the local community college where he once took courses.
While he was with Virginia Aviation FBO before it was
bought by Freedom Aviation, he helped start an A&P
mechanic training school.
Moorefield has attended every AEA International
Convention & Trade Show since 2000 and completed
most of the aircraft electronics technician certification and
endorsement exams given at these meetings. These are
provided by ASTM's National Center for Aerospace &
Transportation Technologies with the goal of increasing
the professionalism of the aerospace workforce. The FAA
recognizes the AET certification as equivalent to formal
training when showing eligibility for the issuance of a
repairman certificate. Exams are free at AEA Conventions,
courtesy of the AEA Educational Foundation.
When he isn't working on airplanes, Moorefield is
usually home working on cars including three Ford
Mustangs. His 2016 800-horsepower Mustang won a
Street Outlaws daily driver class drag race event last
fall. His stepson, Owen, age 16, races a 1987 Mustang
modified for drag racing and finished in the top 10 in local
events. " That was pretty good because it was my first time
building a race car and my stepson's first time driving in a
sanctioned race series, " he said.
Moorefield is a private pilot with 200 hours and 600
landings at Lynchburg Airport. " I tell everyone I don't
care about flying, I like working on things, " he said. " So I
get up every day to work on things and fix things and not
necessarily to fly them. "
When Moorefield worked at Virginia Aviation, he
and Jake Thomas worked together and did the design
and development work to obtain an STC for a standby
alternator installation on the Cessna 182 and 206 aircraft.
B&C Specialty Products makes the standby alternator,
which is mounted to the accessory drive pad on the
Cessna that was originally intended for a second vacuum
pump. The other parts in the STC include an alternator
controller, a master switch and " STBY ALT ON " light.
When not working on cars and planes, Moorefield
is reading to learn new things. " If a problem presents
itself, then I want to learn all I can about it and fix it by
myself, " he said.
The next big thing in general aviation might turn out
to be electric aircraft. Moorefield is skeptical of the
general aviation industry's interest in moving rapidly to
all electric aircraft. " Maybe aircraft will become more
electric, but personally I just don't think the country is
ready for all electric transportation, " he said. " We have
had the internal combustion engines for over a century
now, and we know how to make them more fuel efficient
and cleaner for the environment. We could slow down
bringing in these electric aircraft. "
But when it comes to modifying a Mustang, he wants
all the tuning computers and special sensors he can get.
He has to be careful driving his 800-horsepower Mustang
to work because the hangar for the state police aircraft
and helicopters is next to his avionics repair hangar. q
To learn more about Freedom Aviation, visit
flyfreedomaviation.com.
avionics news * april 2022 29
http://www.flyfreedomaviation.com
Avionics News April 2022

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