What is Avionics?

A response to the Misunderstood Activity
created by Sean Morrison (@SeanMorrison)

Number of views: 380

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What is most misunderstood about my discipline is what the term “Avionics” means.  I try to explain it many ways and it usually doesn’t translate well.  The name comes from “Aircraft Electronics,” which still doesn’t explain the career I have chosen for the last 20 years but it is a start.

Many years ago, Avionics Technicians would troubleshoot an electrical issue on an aircraft, narrowing the issue down to a computer or indicator, open the component, isolate further, and fix it. Most things at the “electronics” level are now sealed inside proprietary boxes in complex systems which are illegal to open, let alone troubleshoot and fix on an electronic component level. Our focus has transitioned from the micro to the macro as systems and integration on aircraft developed in sophistication, while reaching higher and higher levels of reliability. We now install, troubleshoot, fix, test, and certify, every system on an aircraft with a wire attached. This covers all the systems from power generation, all computers, pressurization and HVAC, Autopilot with Autoland, to wheels and brakes with speed, pressure, and temperature sensors. So, when someone asks me now what “Avionics” is, I tell them it is complex and hard to teach!