General Aviation Avionics Sales on The Rise

According to Aircraft Electronics Association(AEA), sales have reached a total of $1.14 billion for the first 6 months of 2017. The numbers show a 2.7 percent increase from the first half of 2016.

The dollar amount reported includes: all business and general aviation aircraft electronic sales -- including all component and accessories in cockpit/cabin/software upgrades/portables/certified and noncertified aircraft electronics; all hardware (tip to tail); batteries; and chargeable product upgrades from the participating manufacturers. 56.2 percent of these sales came from the retrofit market (avionics equipment installed after original production), while forward-fit sales (avionics equipment installed by airframe manufacturers during original production) amounted to 43.8 percent of sales.

"It's encouraging to see a positive increase in year-over-year sales for two straight quarters, something we haven't experienced since 2014," said AEA President Paula Derks. "The retrofit market has seen the biggest growth in sales with a 26.3 percent increase compared to a year ago, which has helped offset a decline of 17.3 percent in forward-fit sales from this time in 2016."

WireMasters recently returned from EAA Oshkosh AirVenture 2017 recently where you could feel the excitement and passion behind these strong numbers surrounding general aviation. This year has been an incredible one for the avionics market, and it continues to evolve. Boeing’s new avionics business is said to Focus on the Future, while Oshkosh unveiled New Avionics Flying Cars.

One change coming to the avionics market that could be a result of this growth is the new Automatic dependent surveillance – broadcast (ADS-B) technology. As of January 1, 2020, the FAA has defined that aircraft operating in airspace defined in 91.225 are required to have an Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) system that includes a certified position source capable of meeting requirements defined in 91.227. ADS–B is a surveillance technology in which an aircraft determines its position via satellite navigation and periodically broadcasts it, enabling it to be tracked. This marks a foundation for NextGen as avionics makes the official move from ground radar and navigational aids to a more accurate way of tracking using satellite signals

To see the official AEA Release for this data-Click Here- https://www.aea.net/newsitem.asp?ID=875