Gangbusters Redux

Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside

Wednesday, September 21, 2022 at 12:59 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

An industry veteran refutes the editor's claim, asserting that significant regulatory reforms, including a complete rewrite of FAA Part 23 for small aircraft, have occurred and are contributing to General Aviation (GA) sales growth.
These reforms simplified approval processes for safety-enhancing systems and, coupled with philosophical shifts at the FAA and EASA (e.g., NORSEE policy), have enabled a period of unprecedented avionics innovation.
The focus of these changes has been on affordable safety-related systems for smaller, owner-flown aircraft, where the need for improvement was greatest and the largest sales increases are observed.
The author argues that these recent improvements in certification practices directly contribute to increased activity across new aircraft sales, used aircraft sales, and upgrades, validating the initial assertion by Pete Bunce.

See a mistake? Contact us.

In your Editor’s Log in the July 2022 issue, “Gangbusters,” you comment on remarks made by Pete Bunce of GAMA on GA aircraft sales growth this year. You state that “Bunce attributes at least some of his industry’s sales growth to ‘regulatory reforms…that enable new technology and new aircraft and entrants.” You then proceed to discount Pete’s analysis, claiming that “there really haven’t been any ‘recent’ changes” and, inconsistently, that “even if there were, it takes time for such upheavals to ripple through the certification and production process.”

As one who was there, let me assure you that you’re wrong.