DALLAS — Aspen Avionics received the 2009 AEA Associate Member of the Year honor during the 52nd annual Aircraft Electronics Association International Convention and Trade Show in Dallas from April 1-4. Aspen Avionics President John Uczekaj accepted the award at the AEA Annual Awards Luncheon.
The Aircraft Electronics Association represents more than 1,300 companies from throughout the world specializing in maintenance, repair, and installation of avionics and electronic systems in general aviation aircraft. The AEA membership also includes manufacturers of avionics equipment, instrument repair facilities, instrument manufacturers, airframe manufacturers, test equipment manufacturers, major distributors, engineers, and educational institutions.
A nominating committee — made up of AEA member representatives, including the previous year's winners — was created to prepare a slate of nominees for the annual award. Once the slate of nominees was assembled, it was sent to the full AEA membership for a vote — which means Aspen Avionics truly is being recognized by its peers for its service and participation in the industry and in the AEA.
The 2009 AEA Associate Member of the Year nominees were: Alto Aviation, Leominster, MA; Aspen Avionics, Albuquerque, NM; Flight Display Systems, Alpharetta, GA; Matrix Aviation, Wichita, KS; Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, IA; and Universal Avionics Systems Corp., Tucson, AZ.
Aspen Avionics was founded in 2004 by aviation enthusiasts Peter Lyons and Jeff Bethel. The company's first product, certified in November 2005, is the AT300 Hazard Awareness Display, a combined terrain awareness display and vertical speed indicator. The creation of the AT300 led to recognition by Aero News Network as one of the Top 10 Products in 2005.
Aspen's flagship product line is the Evolution Flight Display system, a glass cockpit system for certified general aviation aircraft. The Evolution EFD1000 Pro Primary Flight Display and the EFD1000 Multi-Function Displays give pilots everything they need in a full-featured glass cockpit for GA aircraft.
Today, Aspen Avionics is led by John Uczekaj, with a team that includes Mark Ferrari, Doug Cayne, Brad Hayden, Gus Kyriakos, Kyle Farley, Anson Gray, Scott Smith, Robert Blaha and Pete DeFanti, as well as Aspen's recently appointed board member, Phil Boyer, past president of AOPA.
Aspen Avionics recently received Flying magazine's Editors' Choice Award "for bringing glass to the masses." Last year, Aero News Network named Aspen's EFD1000 one of its Aero-Products of the Year, and the company was among the top 100 elite companies in 2008 to receive a Red Herring North America winning nod.
"We are passionate about the general aviation community and about serving the needs of this community," says Lyons.
