NEW ORLEANS, La. — James Temple from Temple Electronics in Arcola, Texas and avionics company Garmin were honored Monday morning as the Aircraft Electronics Association Member and Associate Member of the year, respectively at the 65th annual Aircraft Electronics Association International Convention and Trade Show in New Orleans.
James Temple: AEA Member of the Year
Temple runs Temple Avionics, which was founded in 1973 by James’s father, Marshall. James Temple began working with his father at the age of 13 and continued working in the family business all through high school.
In his 20s, Temple attended training classes offered by Honeywell, BendixKing, and Universal Avionics. His skill set included bench working nav/coms and autopilots for aircraft and other avionics. In the 1980s, he started to take over the day-to-day operations of the business, and in 1993, he took over the business full-time when Marshall retired.
Temple accepted the award at the AEA Awards presentation held Monday morning ahead of the New Product introduction session. In addition to providing sales, service, and installation of avionics for a variety of aircraft, Temple Avionics also contributes to the aviation community by sponsoring the Marshall Temple scholarship through the AEA Education Foundation.
Garmin: AEA Associate Member of the Year
For many pilots, the name Garmin is synonymous with GPS aviation. The GPS navigation giant was established in 1989 and is located in Olathe, Kansas.
Garmin is known for its cockpit technology that has been used in the automotive, marine, and aviation means of conveyance. Garmin has also entered the outdoor and fitness market.
The company has developed several safety-enhancing technologies, including Garmin Autoland, a certified autonomous system designed to allow an emergency landing without human intervention with the push of a button.
The system, which earned Garmin the 2020 Robert J. Collier Trophy and the 2021 FLYING Innovation Award, was developed to be activated in the event of pilot incapacitation—a passenger can press the button and save the day.
In the summer of 2021, Garmin continued its development of safety-enhancing technology with Smart Glide, a system designed for single-engine aircraft that when paired with compatible avionics such as GTN Xi series navigators, provides assistance to the pilot who has experienced an uncommanded loss of engine power by recommending a suitable airport estimated to be within glide range. In addition, Smart Glide provides critical information to the pilot and optimizes select avionics settings to reduce the pilot’s workload in a high-stress situation.
Garmin is known for its service and support, and no fewer than 15 members of the Garmin team went up on stage to accept the award. The company, which has been a member of AEA since 1990, is a sponsor of events at AEA International Convention & Trade Show as well as AEA Connect Conferences held throughout the year.
Garmin also contributes to the AEA silent auction and to scholarships offered through the AEA Educational Foundation.
