Which is surprising, still. Modern military aircrafts will have their GPS loaded with crypto to not be spoofed/jammed.

Seems like a missed opportunity from Ukraine if that's the case.

"Bomb this location!!" "Da!"

Bombs own troops

Why is the sound quality of airpane intercoms so poor? Decent microphone and DSP noise filtering have been around for a while.

Do you work on the flight simulation side too? I believe there is overlap given how accurate sims are supposed to be.

Sorry eh, my hoser brain missed that while I was oot having a dart

I still sometimes get that sound in my headset from cellphones. It's not a big problem though, just an inconvenience.

The pay is certainly not glamourous, unless you play your cards and get on with a big company and a good position. But even then, I've always thought that were underpaid for the work we do (the good ones) and the toll it takes on our bodies.

That being said, I've never questioned my career choice. I've wanted to be an avionics tech since I was old enough to walk, and I love my work more than a paycheck can say. I'm extremely privileged to have a wonderful fiance who allows us to have dual income, so we are both comfortable at the moment. That being said, if we ever did decide to uproot I have no doubt the earning potential of both her and I would play a part in where we decide to go.

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I use my education every day, and I also use all of the on the job training I've gotten since day one of beginning my career. I did a lot of box swapping with the airliner, but in my job now I'm always challenged with troubleshooting, fixing snags, install decisions, and relying on my knowledge to complete my work. While box swapping is a part of my job, a lot of it is also finding damaged wiring, tracing pitot/static leaks, and understanding the software that this equipment is running and being able to configure it.

I heard that Mohawk College in Hamilton has a great avionics program too.

More like Eh-vionics up north, am I right? -American Avionics Tech

Are avionics and aviation electronics different in Canada? Seems odd to add that to your job description. I'm an AME (Aviation Mechanic, Egress) but I don't say I'm an AMERICAN AME. Asking for a friend

A vast majority of systems can be tested on the ground using test boxes that simulate radio NAV signals, handheld VHF radios, and airspeed/altitude. Our test procedures are almost always included in the install documentation, so as long as we follow that we are allowed to let the plane fly as is.

That being said, autopilot and a number of other systems do need flight tests, and so at the end of most major installs we have a test procedure that we fly with the pilot who either owns or operates the aircraft.

I am not a licensed pilot, so I never get behind the controls. My boss is though, so occasionally he will taxi and perform engine run tests with us but its the owner who always does the final flight test. This also gives them an opportunity to ask any questions they might have for me, and get situated with the new system while the installer is there with them.

That's awesome! I'm glad that you were able to find a stable employer!

I’m an AME like you, but i have an M license and not an E license like yourself. How do you feel about pay and benefits as an AME in Canada? Ever thought about switching trades for higher pay and better benefits or moving to the states for the same reason?

I was laid off from my previous employment with the national carrier in Canada when covid hit, but airlines are very volatile with their employment and lay-offs/recalls are commonplace. Private aviation sector has been booming in my experience, and I've never been concerned with losing my job at my current employer.

To add to this, avionics are required to pass DO-160 environmental testing, which includes interference. So that testing should show that the equipment can't be interfered with by outside signals of X power. If they do interfere, then that's an indication that the testing was done incorrectly or didn't pass.

I'm also in Alberta! There's really not much to it, it's a 2 year diploma course followed by 2 year apprenticeship with a company of your choosing. The best way to start is ask the schools about open houses! They'll give you a tour of their facilities and all sorts of info that you can use, plus you can talk to the instructors and get a feel for the industry. If you're in Alberta the two schools you'd most likely be looking at is SAIT (Calgary) and BCIT (Vancouver). I'm a graduate of SAIT so please if you have any questions, DM me and we can get more into details!

Not difficult at all! The caveat is you'll need to go to a technical school... BCIT, SAIT, and Canadore all have avionics specific programs and they'll get you well on your way. They start you from the ground up, so any electronics or mechanical background will give you a great advantage.

These schools also have open houses, so please reach out and see if it's something you'd be into! We need all the capable hands we can get.

The only thing I can come up with is space vs ground based navigation. Most old planes will not be equip with built in GPS (I admit I don't know what equipment these jets have) and only use VOR or ADF technology. VOR and ADF are both ground based radio navigation tools, so easily sabotaged by destroying a radio tower, meaning your planes lose navigation. GPS, though, is space based and a lot more difficult to disrupt. If I had to guess this is the reason... It's also a lot easier to preplan and map a GPS plan, as you don't need to worry about tuning VOR beacons and switching the nav source.

Chips make my stomach hurt. I'm a saltine cracker kind of dude, sorry to disappoint.

The fella who we were doing this for was a native English speaker who lived in Ontario, so English only was perfectly acceptable haha!

Not at all, in fact once you get above a few thousand feet above ground level, the cell towers simply wouldn't reach you. Contrary to what you might think, cell towers are very directional and don't propagate particularly well. That's why you don't get signal in valleys etc. Same goes for in the air, there's no point in pointing the dishes UP, so you have almost no signal at all unless it's some bounced waves off of mountains

That’s expensive … which makes me wonder. What proportion of that price is realised/incorporated in the price of brand new aircraft sold by the manufacturer with a G1000 preinstalled?

For example if I bought a brand new plane for $600k which came with a G1000, I assume that the G1000 isn’t representing literally half the cost of the entire aircraft…

They are cheap, reliable, and easy to install. Especially when you are talking about a 40+ year aircraft

Phones interfering with speakers is irrelevant to the topic at hand