Avionics News July 2022 - 17

As we close out the second quarter of 2022 and begin the
third, the AEA will host a virtual meeting of its government
and industry affairs committee, which is a standing committee
that makes recommendations on the strategic direction of
the government affairs program and assists the association
in supporting its goals and objectives by reviewing draft
documents, supporting information inquiries, and assisting
various civil aviation authorities as needed.
is often different than the agencies' perspective.
The month of June brought the opportunity to moderate
a panel at the Connected Aviation Intelligence Summit
titled " Connected Business Jets: Enabling New In-Flight
Applications. " This conference in Reston, Virginia,
provided an outlook for the aviation technology ecosystem.
One of the questions asked of the panelists was: " Where
is the use of connectivity for business aviation trending
toward within the next two to three years? " I found the
conference to be enlightening and hopeful in the vast scope
of new opportunities introduced, especially the anticipated
time to market for new these technologies.
The panel, with one exception, included representatives
from AEA member companies: Gustavo Nader, chief
strategy officer of Gogo Business Aviation; John A. Rible
IV, manager of cabin connectivity at Collins Aerospace;
and Michael Skou Christensen, senior vice president of SD
International at Satcom Direct. Each of these presenters
gave an insightful vision of the immediate future in the
connected business jets with topics from the office in the
sky to cockpit integration to the effect of the connected
aircraft on maintenance. Overall, it was an informative
conversation. The fourth member of the panel was Steve
Newell, chief strategy officer at NXTCOMM, an antenna
developer using advanced technologies to develop and
market electronically controlled antennas. His insight into
the continued micronization of antenna technology was
promising for the use of connectivity into smaller business
and general aviation aircraft.
In addition, four of the five ASTM International
committees that I serve on recently had their semiannual
meetings: F37 on light sport aircraft; F38 on UAS;
F44 on general aviation aircraft; and F46 on aviation
personnel. The F39 committee on aircraft systems is set
for its midyear virtual meeting in July.
As I write this month's column in early June, I sit in my
" Newark Airport office " waiting for a flight to Germany
for a week at the AEA office in Cologne, Germany, for the
semiannual EASA EM.TEC meeting, the first face-to-face
event at EASA headquarters in two years. The event includes
discussions about avionics, maintenance and staffing issues
affecting the AEA's European membership.
Following the week in Cologne, I will attend the annual
FAA/EASA International Aviation Safety Conference in
Washington, D.C. The conference brings together regulators,
aerospace industry representatives, and other stakeholders
from around the world to share aviation safety information,
address current areas of mutual concern, and identify future
collaborative opportunities with the global community. This
year, I will moderate a panel discussion on the evolution of
aircraft maintenance with a focus on the latest developments
and innovative approaches of aircraft maintenance and
regulatory oversight methodologies. The panel will discuss
what tomorrow's common challenges are pertaining to
new maintenance concepts and the maintenance of novel/
innovative aeronautical products.
Once I get to break away from the regulatory agenda
of the first half of the month, I will make a visit to AEA
headquarters to update virtual training sessions that were
originally recorded over a decade ago. In particular, look
for an updated version of the Aircraft Wiring Inspections
course, where we investigate the wiring inspection standards
contained within FAA AC 43-13.1a and ASTM standard
F2696-14, titled: Standard Practice for Inspection of Aircraft
Electrical Wiring Systems, which the FAA accepted as an
acceptable means of compliance on Dec. 30, 2014.
The second training course to get a facelift will be
Architecture of an Alteration. This training evaluates an
Continued on page 60
avionics news * july 2022 17
Avionics News July 2022

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