Summer Grind

After a very successful NCATT AET test review class I began the summer grind. This is the last drive for our avionics students before they complete the Avionics program and start the Airframe and Powerplant portion in the Fall. From 0700 to 1525, five days a week, they are installing autopilots, GPS's, transponders, glass cockpits and are testing weather radar and transponders. They will be finished in before August, then I will be jetting to Kansas City at the AEA headquarters for a three-day NCATT AET review course. 

Not to worry for those who are wondering about the new avionics textbooks, I am still knee deep in rewriting. In reviewing the last draft I noticed a missing element. I felt that attitude and heading indication needed to be in the first volume and I wrote a new chapter which included subjects covered in the NCATT Autonomus Dependant Navigation add-on rating. My partner (my Dad) is reading through the new chapter and we will have a completed draft by the end of this month. Stay tuned for more.

I just spent my Saturday attending an ADS-B seminar organized by the FAA Safety Team (FAAST). I learned that if all aircraft are to be modified by the 2020 deadline, every one of the avionics shops in the country would need to complete one hundred modifications per day until 2020. Based on my attendance of only nine avionics technicians, we would need more graduates, or at least more avionics shops. The presenter was asked if the FAA would be issuing waivers and he said that the FAA felt giving a ten year notice was enough warning and the FAA is not hinting at an extension of the deadline.  With the requirement that the GPS had to be WAAS compliant, one gentleman told the crowd that the new FAA mandate was going to cost him more than he paid for his airplane. Even a young pilot joked about the would-be sudden disappearance of his college fund. Those may be dramatizations, but it does look like the average modification for the minimum FAA ADS-B Out compliance would be $5500 to $7500. Not chump change by any stretch of the imagination. 

He did announce that there was some government loans available if you qualify, but of course I do not know of too many low income aircraft owners around.  Oh, and by the way, the requirements for Mode A and C transponders still stands. There was no conclusion about how the FAA would enforce or periodically require certification and I have not heard from the FAA on those issues either. I also cornered my local FAA Avionics ASI and she was nice but told me those issues and wether an Field Approval will be required. I hope not. To me if this a modification of the GPS and Transponder then this should not appreciatly effect form fit or function as the FAA defines it. 

I will post here when I know more on all of these issues. Until next time, keep them flying.

NCATT AET Study Guide

Revised NCATT AET book

The Third revision to the NCATT AET

Its finally out after some years of compiling and gathering exit interviews from test takers. The latest version on the NCATT AET Study guide is out.  If you are aware of my other books the first thing you notice is that the book cover is different. You would be right.  When you are a self publisher you have certain rules to follow.  One is that if the number of pages are changed to much, you have to start with a whole new book.  This includes a new ISBN when you order the new Test Study Guide book:

ISBN-13:

978-1484094433

ISBN-10:

1484094433

With the new test study guide there is a new worksheet book coming soon.  The new version of the study guide includes revisions to 6 areas of the 34. The new worksheets are include. These new worksheets cover; electronic voltage regulation, variactor diodes, wave generating circuits and a section on mechanical to electrical schematic interpretation. The worksheet book is still only available on my website and for educational institutions as part of their student book orders. To order the book sets you can find it on my website:

  NCATT AET Book Sets

Avionics Technician Handbooks

Progress is being made on the new Avionics Technician Handbooks that we hope to have out before the next school year. 

These are a two volume series of books designed to provide information to technicians in the same way the Airframe and Powerplant mechanics does. However my books are different in that we educate technicians in the  operations of the avionics systems in the aircraft.   These book sets also include the basic set up for and the troubleshooting of those systems scribed in both books. 

Another intent for the books is to provide Avionics Technicians with a reference source for the NCATT Add On Ratings. Specifically Radio Communication Systems (RCS), Dependent Navigation System (DNS), Onboard Safety  and Communication System (OCS) and Dependent Navigation Systems (DNS).  NCATT has also announced two new add on rating for avionics technicians for Flight Management Systems and Pulsed Radio Principles which are include in the page of these books.

With over 750 page and thousands of diagrams and photos and over 5 years to compile, we feel that this will become the only avionics textbooks used educational institutions, repair facilities and airlines. 

More information can be found;
Avionics Technician Handbooks 

Should anyone have any questions or comments please let me know here.

Thanks

Bruce Bessette 

New Day, New Year, New Future

WOW did I forget about this blog. I should be more into this, I promise to do better in keeping in touch with you .  We have been real busy with the new books and teaching.  Let me get you all caught up.

The Company

Things have been real quiet with the company due to me having a heavy teaching load at the Avionics Program at PCC in Tucson. We will be graduating the 5th class of Avionics Techs in August. BCS will still do the NCATT AET review course at the Aircraft Electronics Association in Missouri. We are planning to go back in August this year.  My schedule this year is locked up until August. I hope that my schedule will

Most all of our students from Pima have gotten very good well paying jobs after graduation. One of my students hired right into the Avionics department at Bombardier here in Tucson working on the Global Jets. The feedback I got from them is that they are very happy with her and the job she is doing.  Thank You Bombardier for giving our students a chance.

We have a new website that will provide access to online training courses in a variety of avionic subjects. I am starting with those subjects that are in the NCATT AET but not necessarily included in the A&P curriculum. I hope that this will lead to many subjects about avionics and maintenance. I want to finish up the textbooks and begin having a platform to be able to supplement the books with online visuals and interactions.  Check on the new website for courses and updates.
              Avionics Education Website

The Books

I have been working hard on a two volume textbook that covers all of the areas in Avionics. Originally this book was to be a single book about Avionics test equipment but as we started writing the book it became apparent that there needed to be explanations about the equipment that was being tested.  This led to a two volume set of books that covered everything from tester calibration and control, selection, regulation compliance and system functional testing.  We are hoping to debut the first volume in March and the second  by late April. We will have both books in draft form at the Chandler Gilbert Maintenance Symposium at the Williams Gateway Airport March 6 and 7th.  Come find our booth there and say hello.  I have been posting details on the main website.  You can see this here.                                                                    New Avionics Textbooks 

The latest revision for the NCATT AET book is also coming this summer. I am still offering the second edition, and if you buy from the website, I include a document that has the additional information  that will be included in the new version.  The new version will have the GROL removed so I can offer the book at a lower price. So if you want to get the information for the FCC but the book from the website.  The link is                     NCATT AET Book Sets


The Future

Now that the program here at PCC is mostly operating smoothly, I plan to reduce my load hours and begin a new chapter creating online training to give students another source of study.   Our company wants to reachout across the world and be more visual overseas. Even though the regulations are vastly different the need for knowlede about Avioncs is universal. I hope that through the websites and some personel contact with you we can provide the technical knowledge needed for a changing avionic world.

So make a comment or drop me a line. Let me know how you all are doing. 

Bruce Bessette

Avionics Certification Training Book

Update Feb 11, 2011

We have printed a first draft of the book to use in the test class. The students all have praised the current draft and made comments about how easy it is to read and that the book only has just the pertinent information. We try to keep the book to only the information needed. we have a second study session planned for tomorrow and will finish up on Sunday. I will run another day just to go over the included practice worksheets.

We are doing the final edit and hope to have the book available for sale on Amazon by the end of February or mid March. Stay tuned for more

NCATT FCC Text Book Update

As the Christmas break fast approaches I look forward to have time to work full time on the NCATT AET and FCC GROWL text book. So far the rough draft is at 76,000 words which are about 360 pages. This does not include any appendixes or glossary. I am incorporating some of the questions off of the FCC test into the text to make sure the processes are covered. I am finishing the illustrations. I am hoping that this book is user friendly and easy to navigate thru. I am still debating on just publishing the test questions for FCC element 1 or should I write a chapter that answers all of the questions directly. Everyone let me know how you would what to see. I find sometimes that publishing all of the questions and answers might be bad because you might key in on the wrong answer. Check back in 30 days and we will see where we are.

Help Save Torrey Pines

We just returned from a short family Spring Break trip to San Diego. Along with the usual day trips to La Jolla beach and Balboa Park. Sam and I also wanted to see what was out there for soaring. I had seen some information about Torrey Pines Gliderport in magazines and on the internet, but we really wanted to see the operation for ourselves. Before our trip, I had spoken with Steve, who is a member of the Associated Glider Clubs of Southern California (ASCSC) about making arrangements to visit Torrey Pines. I also found out that Steve's son had recently visited the TUSC operation at El Tiro.

We arrived at Torrey Pines on Thursday and toured the launch/landing area. The entire Torrey Pines operation exists on about 10 acres. Sand is the prevalent surface with chunks of broken asphalt outlining a long since used runway. The winch is normally placed on the top of a mound that overlooks the beach about 200 feet below. However, since the winds and visibility were dismal on the day of our visit, the winch was parked behind a shack located next to the parked Blanik.

With the western view consisting of an open ocean, the eastern view was more than a little crowded. The area is owned by University of California at San Diego and they are in the process of constructing a new 10 to 15 story complex at what would seem right at the end of the runway. However, a view of the landing zone revealed that the building was not aligned with the current runway and not really much of a factor. My point of contact, Steve, told me that they only land to the west on very windy days and usually land downwind from the ocean. The landing zone is actually a gulley, high on the ends and low in the middle and about 1,000 feet long. Low performance gliders do very well at Torrey, but gliders with higher landing speeds require more precision.

Even though the weather did not cooperate with us on this trip, I was told by Steve and viewed on videos on the web, that when winds are up, the flying is some the most spectacular in the country. Torrey Pines is the last shoreline operation left in North America. This site has been in operation since at least the late 1920's or early 1930s. Torrey Pines has protected status as a National Historic Site, but that is for the location and not the operation.

Steve told me that AGCSC has to make annual application for a permit to fly. This permit is good for only the months of March and April of that year, when the spring winds are most advantageous. Steve also told me that it was becoming more difficult each year to get enough pilots and crew out to Torrey Pines to run operations for the period of time to justify the permits. In a nutshell, if AGCSC doesn't show enough interest in flying at Torrey Pines, UCSD may no longer issue permits for glider operations. My immediate thought was to inquire if other clubs could help keep Torrey Pines flying? Steve's answer to me was an enthusiastic "Yes!"

With that I would like to see if an exploratory group from TUSC can be formed to plan a road trip to Torrey Pines, to see if we can help this historic glider operation keep going. This club has organized trips and camps in the past and I think that this effort would be well worth the trip. I plan to submit an article to the Thermal and will use this blog to organize this worthwhile effort. It would be sad to wake up one day and discover that another historic soaring site was lost because we weren't aware that we could help.