Newsletter - January 2012 | Maxcraft Avionics Ltd.

On one particular flight the pilot had hammered his plane into the runway really hard. The airline had a policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the passengers exited, give a smile, and a "Thanks for flying XYZ airline."

In light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment, but no one seemed annoyed. Finally everyone had gotten off except for one little old lady walking with a cane.

She approached and asked conspiratorially, "Sonny, mind if I ask you a question?"

"Why no Ma'am, what is it?"

"Did we land or were we shot down?"

QUICK LINKS

406 ELT Registration

Maxcraft Avionics Ltd.

Manufacturing Corp.

REBATES

Save $1,000 for each purchase of a Flight Display. When you purchase a Flight Display (SVT), you also qualify for an additional $500 saving on the GTN650 series, or $1,500 on the GTN750 when purchased with a Flight Display (SVT).

These rebates are a limited time only, ending Jan 31, 2012.

Call us to get more details on your savings and on your ultimate upgrade!!

______________________

$1,000 Instant Savings on Evolution Pro PFD Glass when purchased with Evolution Synthetic Vision

Click here for more information:

Aspen's Visionary New Year Deal

LET US KNOW

Have a joke you would like to share?

Send us an email and we will feature your joke in the upcoming newsletters.

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Happy New Year!

new years

Our staff would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and a healthy and prosperous 2012!

News Flash! Maxcraft is growing!

Instrument shop has expanded

Maxcraft is pleased to announce a significant expansion to our instrument repair shop. With a growing customer base, we made the decision to expand our repair capabilities across the board.

We are happy to introduce two new members to our team Oliver and Francisco. Oliver Bienz is now our Instrument Repair Services Manager and Senior Technician and Francisco Ruiz is now our Instrument Repair Services Senior Instrument Technician.

Together they have decades of experience. With their knowledge and expertise on instrument repair, they are a significant asset to Maxcraft Avionics.

Instrument pic 5

In order to meet all of our customer needs, the following are just a few of the expanded instrument repair capabilities on both fixed wing and rotorcraft:

- remote and panel mount gyros

- navigation instruments

(HSI, CDI, RMI, ADI)

- flight instruments (airspeed, attitude, altimeter, etc.)

- engine indicators (pressure, temperature, RPM, etc.)

- accessories (tach generators, clocks, fuel flow

& quantity indicators etc.).

Gyro shop To offer the best customer service, we are now more responsive and our turnaround times are faster. Along with our improved repair capabilities, we have also increased our stock of inventory (over a million dollars) to better serve you. In addition, we now offer free pick up and delivery for our local commercial customers in Vancouver, Langley, Boundary Bay, Delta and Abbotsford Airports using Sea Island Courier.

For questions or enquiries in instrument repairs: contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or tel: 604-465-3080 ext 240

New Products!

AEM AMS42U Audio Panel

Anodyne Electronics Manufacturing Corp. is releasing a new variant of the AMS42 series Audio Controller. The AMS42U offers a 5th RX switch to the dedicated Dual Channel Audio Controller with VOX ICS operation.

AMS42U

The idea of launching the AMS42U was actually driven by comments we received from the US Forest Service (USFS) Avionics group last year, specific to contract requirements regarding the need for five comm radios and a duel channel audio panel to fully manage those radios.

The AMS42 has been the 'incumbent' audio panel for many helicopter operators for years. With the increased demand for comm radio support,

AMS42

the AMS42 does not fully satisfy the requirement. With the AMS42U, the operators are now compliant with five full comm operations.

Upgrading from the AMS42 to the AMS42A is simple 'plug and play'.

Aspen Announces New, Higher Resolution Terrain Database for Evolution Flight Displays

Aspen-Evolution Aspen Avionics is pleased to announce the availability of a new terrain database from Jeppesen for Aspen's Evolution Flight Display product line. This new database improves the resolution of the terrain data used in the Evolution System and offers an improved customer experience for the Evolution MFD, notably in markets outside of the United States.
Canadian Aspen Evolution Synthetic Vision (ESV) customers will be happy to note the higher resolution (3 arc seconds) for the U.S. also applies to lower half of B.C.!

In addition this expands the ESV operation area beyond the borders of the continental United States to provide full worldwide ESV coverage.

In the Hangar

C177B Cardinal

Michelle Thompson flew into Maxcraft with her young son Andrew from Langley, and left her precious aircraft in our hands.

c177 light

Previous to that day, Michael and Michelle (both pilots) came in and discussed about updating their outdated panel for better reliability, situational awareness and have future IFR operating capabilities.

They had made the decision to replace mechanical gyro's, outdated VFR GPS and a failing multi-function display. Their decision was to install the Aspen Primary Flight Display (EFD Pro 1000) and a Garmin Touchscreen GPS/NAV/COMM Navigator (GTN 750), which brings enhanced situational awareness to their panel and significant ease of operation.

With the go ahead from Michael and Michelle, maxpanel duracoat 2

Will and his team did the installation of the systems requested. To match the look of the new equipment, Michelle and Michael opted for refinishing their panel. The aircraft was in such great shape, the panel wouldn't be complete without being recoated and engraved to match. It was all done with the Maxcraft MaxPanel Duracoat finish.

The Maxcraft team then topped off the installation with a new Kannad ELT 406, to replace the existing 121.5 unit out back and new instrument lighting to enhance the panel and ease night flight operations.

The Cardinal is now a safer and more reliable aircraft for the Thompson family to enjoy.

CGMGS full plane

Technical Side...

Altimeter & Transponder 2 Year Checks

- Who Needs Them?

Some aircraft owners seem to be completely unaware of their responsibility to comply with CARs Standard 625 Appendix C - Out of phase Tasks and Equipment Maintenance Requirements. This document spells out specific maintenance requirements for engines, propellers, tachometers, ELTs, magnetic compasses, altimetry devices and transponders.

Ensuring that these checks are carried out is an aircraft owners responsibility and not the responsibility of an AME hired to perform the annual inspection. If these checks are not completed as required by the CARs an aircraft is technically no longer airworthy. The altimetry and transponder system checks seem to be the most frequently over looked items on the list.

All transponders must be tested every 24 months and altimetry devices on aircraft that fly in designated "Transponder Airspace" must be calibrated at intervals not exceeding 24 months.

http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/civilaviation/regserv/cars/part6-standards-a625c-2460.htm

Vendor Profile

AEM logo

"A new company with an old soul."

Anodyne Electronics Manufacturing Corp. (AEM) started in the fall of 2009, when Northern Airborne Technology (NAT, now part of Cobham) elected to close manufacturing operations in Canada. This created an opportunity for a 100% employee-owned, vertically integrated company to emerge with an incredible amount of skill, experience and capability.

Located in Kelowna, BC, AEM is a leading designer and manufacturer of aircraft audio systems, intercoms, tactical FM radio systems, external PA systems, audio amplifiers, audio adapters and remote switch assemblies. In December, 2010, after completing a licensing agreement with Cobham they became the only provider of many of the former NAT products, after completing a licensing agreement with Cobham.

AEM also designs and manufactures a diversified range of illuminated panel and integrated information display products (per SAE AS7788 and MIL-STD-3009) for the aerospace and transportation markets, supplying direct to aircraft completion centres and major original equipment manufacturers throughout the world.

"The truest measure of our work is the customers we serve. For small industrial clients and large OEMs alike, our greatest strength is our ability to adapt to our customers' needs and to deliver the highest levels of workmanship, quality, reliability and service."

Highlights and Capabilities;

Company celebrated 2nd birthday on October 13, 2011
Team has grown from 47 to 77 employees
Facility has expanded from 18,000 to 32,000 sq ft. (3,000 sq metres)
Sales have grown 40+% over the last year
Vertically integrated design and manufacturing capability, with CAD/CAM and SM equipment
Illuminated panel fabrication per SAE 7788 and MIL-STD-3009
ISO9001/AS9100B registration and certification
Transport Canada Approved Manufacturer & Maintenance Organization
EASA Part 145 Maintenance Approval
Workmanship to J-STD-001
Registered under the Canadian Controlled Goods Program

Who's Who at Maxcraft?

Who is Oliver? oliver

Our featured employee of the month is Oliver Bienz. Oliver's role at Maxcraft is as an Instrument Repair Services Manager and senior technician. He oversees the entire repair/overhaul process of cockpit instruments; navigation, engine indication, flight indication, barometric pitot static indication and remote gyroscopic units as well as varied accessories, including electrical and fuel indication instrumentation.

Oliver and car crop

Oliver has been working on instruments and equipment for close to 30 years now and is still learning something new every day.

Oliver's favourite thing about aviation is his appreciation of the engineering designs and high quality of instrumentation and its evolution throughout the history of aviation up to and including the present. The early pre-WWII years of open cockpit era aircraft and their gauges are part of his special interest.

Whilst working as a watchmaker, Oliver's interest in aviation was piqued. His mechanical and automotive aptitude and interest in applied physics are what led him to his fascination with aeronautical instrumentation. He trained and certified as a watchmaker with a 3 year diploma at George Brown College.

Olivers Norton crop Oliver was born and raised in Don Mills, a suburb of Toronto. Oliver has lived in BC for 22 years and for the last 14, has been married to his lovely wife, Tammy. His passion is British sport cars, motorcycles, cooking, and his hobby restoration and repair business of collector and antique automotive instruments.

Oliver joined the Maxcraft team, quite proudly and without reservation in December 2011. He is looking forward to being a part of Maxcraft's exciting growth and a long, interesting and fulfilling career here with the Maxcraft team.