Avionics Digital Edition

Making Sense of Mandates

Editor's note for the June/July 2016 edition of Avionics.

Avionics mandates are frequently a topic of conversation at our Avionics Advisory Board meetings. Even though 2020 is still four years away, it appears the industry is in a race against time to equip their fleets with some of the key proposed mandates. It is a relative minefield, but what is interesting is whether the industry can win this race against time, or whether there will be delays in modernizing aircraft. Our Associate Editor, Woodrow Bellamy III provides one of the clearest articles yet on where we are in this modernization process and covers the globe with his look at these key mandates. It is essential reading.

Also, new technologies and buzz terms are always emerging and in this edition, we look at two of them. Our Assistant Editor, Juliet Van Wagenen takes a look at the nascent wearables market, and conducts key interviews with two major airlines about their experiences so far using wearable tech to help with maintenance. It is a really interesting and insightful article you don’t want to miss. Another buzz term, which we hear a lot nowadays, is “The Internet of Things.” In this issue, contributing writer Robert Moorman talks about what this could mean from an aviation perspective.

We also take a look at the latest developments in aircraft tracking technology, which is likely to be a hot topic until we have 100 percent of aircraft able to be tracked. This is the ultimate goal and, after the tragic events surrounding MH-370, it appears as though the industry is working overtime to finally make comprehensive aircraft tracking a reality. It is a topic that in some ways now goes beyond aviation circles, and there is an enthusiasm on the part of all the stakeholders involved to make sure an MH-370 situation never happens again.

We hope you enjoy this edition, and we hope to see many of you at our Global Connected Aircraft Summit June 6 through June 8 in Hollywood, Calif. We have a large number of airlines there, as well a number of key industry players to talk all things related to the connected aircraft. We hope to see you there.