Avionics Engineering and Maintenance Groups to Find Synergy at 2009 Conferences

Annapolis, Maryland—The two organizations that “Set the Standard” for design and maintenance of aviation electronics (avionics) will be putting their heads together next week—literally.

The Airlines Electronic Engineering Committee (AEEC), and Avionics Maintenance Conference (AMC), have decided to co-locate their annual meetings in 2009, a year which also happens to be their 60th anniversary. AEEC and AMC will run conferences side by side next week in Minneapolis, MN, with a joint welcome session Monday, March 30. The keynote speech will be given by Delta Air Lines Vice President Stephen Gorman.

Attendees at the two parallel conferences will include engineering, maintenance, and management professionals from airlines, aircraft manufacturers, electronics suppliers, service providers, and aviation regulatory authorities. Membership response to the side-by-side meetings has been very positive, with more than 700 pre-registrations received.

In addition, over 40 suppliers will be available to offer information and technical advice, taking advantage of the joint conference venue to cover both audiences at once at their exhibit tables and hospitality suites.

“Holding both meetings at the same time is a response to changing times and changing economics,” says Mike Rockwell of ARINC Industry Activities, the organization that provides support for both the AEEC and AMC.

“Parallel meetings in one location are clearly more efficient for the many companies that want to attend both conferences each year,” says Rockwell. “But beyond the cost savings, a big benefit will be more synergy. Attendees will be able to easily migrate between the AEEC and AMC meetings, to get the information they need. They can listen to subcommittee reports on standards development, questions and answers on maintenance issues affecting life cycle costs, and symposia covering a range of topics. In short, they can gather many new ideas and exchange solutions in just four days, at one location.”

AEEC Executive Secretary Mike Russo and AMC Executive Secretary Sam Buckwalter are enthusiastic. “Of course, we will do an evaluation after the meetings are over, but we believe we will see some real benefit and cross-fertilization of ideas and best practices by bringing the engineering and maintenance sides together,” say Russo and Buckwalter.

The AEEC and AMC annual meetings are serious working sessions, often wrapping up a full year’s effort on complex issues. AEEC subcommittees finalize dozens of new industry standards and supplements which are considered for adoption. AMC attendees work their way through hundreds of questions distributed in advance of the open sessions concerning performance and reliability of fielded equipment. The participants’ answers provide essential cost-saving guidance for all avionics maintenance organizations.

ARINC Incorporated, a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, provides communications, engineering and integration solutions for commercial, defense and government customers worldwide. Headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland with regional headquarters in London and Singapore, ARINC is ISO 9001:2008 certified. 

Release: 09-027

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