Avionics sales might have had a slow start to the year with a drop in first-quarter numbers reported, but companies attending this week’s Aircraft Electronics Association show in Orlando have been optimistic about diversifying their offerings of cockpit systems and improvements on existing products. While last year’s wave of new ADS-B products seems to have tapered off, a walk through AEA’s exhibit hall shows that manufacturers have been ramping up the competition by upgrading avionics capabilities, beefing up digital units such as transponders, flight instruments and angle-of-attack indicators, and promoting cabin-connectivity systems to meet the growing demand for in-flight Internet and route planning tools.
First-time exhibitors were among those appearing in the sold-out trade show. Mark Korin of Alpha Systems, who has been in the industry for 20 years, brought his display to AEA for the first time. Korin said his expansion into larger passenger aircraft makes the show a good venue to connect with companies that would be interested in installing Alpha Systems’ angle-of-attack displays. Astronautics Corp., which has traditionally specialized in instrumentation for military rotorcraft and transport-category aircraft, recently joined AEA to connect with dealers to help the company expand into the commercial market, including retrofits for legacy business jets. The company’s new offerings include its RoadRunner system, a slide-in digital replacement for its mechanical attitude and directional gyros. “We’ve had some interest already,” Astronautics’ Dan Barks said in the opening hours of the trade show. It would be surprising to see industry sales continue to drop this year, he said. “I don’t see the market softening at all,” he said. “The economy is still moving along.”
