Columbia Aircraf: 300 Worker Lay Off Due To Garmin G1000 Issues

"Larry Dighera" wrote in message
news




GARMIN G1000 PROBLEM AFFECTS GA DELIVERIES
(http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195931)
A problem with a component of the Garmin G1000 glass panel, a popular
choice for avionics in many general aviation aircraft, has stalled
production and delayed deliveries at factories around the country as
Garmin searches for a fix. The problem stems from a sudden increase in
failure rates in recent flight tests of new GRS 77 AHRS (Attitude
Heading Reference System) units used in G1000 installations, Garmin
said on Tuesday. A component failure in the GRS 77 results in a loss
of attitude information on the primary flight display. "After
communication with Garmin's OEM partners and the FAA, it was
determined that in all G1000 installations, continued safe flight can
be conducted with the stand-by attitude indicator and other available
instruments," the company said in a statement. "If pilots should
experience a failure of the GRS 77 AHRS, they should follow standard
procedures and refer to the standby attitude indicator."
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195931

COLUMBIA LAYS OFF 300, CITES GARMIN G1000 ISSUE
(http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195932)
At Columbia Aircraft in Bend, Ore., the company announced on Monday ()
that it would halt its production line and lay off about 300 workers
until problems with Garmin G1000s could be resolved. Although Garmin
says the AHRS problem does not require limitations on use of the
aircraft, Columbia spokesman Randy Bolinger told AVweb that,
nonetheless, "the FAA will not allow us to complete Certificates of
Airworthiness with a known defect. The FAA will allow us to certify
the aircraft already on the assembly line for VFR only." Columbia said
in its statement that the production line will "grind to a halt" until
a fix is found and parts shipments are restored.
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195932

GARMIN SNAFU ALSO AFFECTS OTHER AIRFRAMERS
(http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195933)
At Cessna Aircraft in Wichita, Kan., production has continued despite
the G1000 problems, Director of Corporate Communications Doug Oliver
told AVweb on Tuesday. "We anticipate a resolution from Garmin
literally any minute," he said. However, deliveries of single-engine
piston aircraft are suspended until the issue is resolved. "Mustang
deliveries were originally suspended as well," Oliver said, "but due
to its lower production rate its avionics systems were installed some
time ago, before the suspect batch was produced. This has, of course,
been confirmed through testing and approved by the FAA." Oliver said
he doesn't anticipate any impact on production at Cessna. At Diamond
Aircraft, spokeswoman Heike Larson told AVweb that production will
continue.
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195933

Scary!!!

"Roy Smith" wrote in message
...
In article .com,
wrote:

You better hope that Garmin does a lifetime buy on critical end-of-
life components to be able to support it for decades to come. All big
avionics companies do this as a matter of course since their product
life-cycles tend to outlast commercial electronics by many
generations. Processors and memory ICs tend to be the parts that have
the shortest life-cycles and need to be stockpiled.

Not just stockpiled, but jealously hoarded and rationed.

A bunch of years ago I was doing a repair job on a piece of lab equipment
which had an embedded process control computer made by HP. One of the
eproms had been damaged. I tried to order a new eprom from HP but was
told
they were no longer available. It took a while, but when I finally got to
the right person and explained to them that I had a piece of dead gear and
needed this part to fix it, the answer suddenly became, "Oh, of course
we've still got a few stashed away and can sell you one".

Depending on the IC it can read, identified and/or programmed. I can read
and dump over 11,400 diffrent devices. I can even bypass security locks on
some microcontrollers, pals & gals. I miss the days or repackaging dies
becuse it was a once off unit and some monkey burnt /broke off the solder
lugs hahahaha them were the days. Or the days of People thinking they can
hide the identy of an IC by grinding off the numbers just lock it in the
programer hit auto find done 90% of the time it found it.

Most the time parts are good it's workmanship and assembly thats the issue.

"Mike Isaksen" wrote in message
news:wTBxi.3779$5y3.3374@trndny07...

"Neil Gould" wrote ...

And where (at what levels) do you see the G1000 system as being modular? I
see the "system" as almost a "single box", and when components fail or

Key word: Component

Now, if Garmin is tied to and using only single source vendors for those
COMPONENTS, then it's a bad bet. Now, if there's a ton of companies
world-wide (including Garmin) who can DUPLICATE those components, it's a
whole different story.

Recently, Matt Barrow posted:

"Mike Isaksen" wrote in message
news:wTBxi.3779$5y3.3374@trndny07...

"Neil Gould" wrote ...

And where (at what levels) do you see the G1000 system as being
modular? I see the "system" as almost a "single box", and when
components fail or

Key word: Component

Now, if Garmin is tied to and using only single source vendors for
those COMPONENTS, then it's a bad bet. Now, if there's a ton of
companies world-wide (including Garmin) who can DUPLICATE those
components, it's a whole different story.

Point of clarity: I didn't write any of the above content (please edit
with a bit of care, Matt)!

If a module's design is dependent on a single-source vendor of components,
then that will be a determining factor in the longevity of that module.
OTOH, most of the modules' functions can be accomplished in multiple ways
using various sets of components, so I wouldn't expect this to be much of
an issue.

Neil

Sounds like a good excuse to layoff 300 people. It doesnt take that many to
install the G1000. I would say columbia is in trouble. JMHO

"Larry Dighera" wrote in message
news




GARMIN G1000 PROBLEM AFFECTS GA DELIVERIES
(http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195931)
A problem with a component of the Garmin G1000 glass panel, a popular
choice for avionics in many general aviation aircraft, has stalled
production and delayed deliveries at factories around the country as
Garmin searches for a fix. The problem stems from a sudden increase in
failure rates in recent flight tests of new GRS 77 AHRS (Attitude
Heading Reference System) units used in G1000 installations, Garmin
said on Tuesday. A component failure in the GRS 77 results in a loss
of attitude information on the primary flight display. "After
communication with Garmin's OEM partners and the FAA, it was
determined that in all G1000 installations, continued safe flight can
be conducted with the stand-by attitude indicator and other available
instruments," the company said in a statement. "If pilots should
experience a failure of the GRS 77 AHRS, they should follow standard
procedures and refer to the standby attitude indicator."
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195931

COLUMBIA LAYS OFF 300, CITES GARMIN G1000 ISSUE
(http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195932)
At Columbia Aircraft in Bend, Ore., the company announced on Monday ()
that it would halt its production line and lay off about 300 workers
until problems with Garmin G1000s could be resolved. Although Garmin
says the AHRS problem does not require limitations on use of the
aircraft, Columbia spokesman Randy Bolinger told AVweb that,
nonetheless, "the FAA will not allow us to complete Certificates of
Airworthiness with a known defect. The FAA will allow us to certify
the aircraft already on the assembly line for VFR only." Columbia said
in its statement that the production line will "grind to a halt" until
a fix is found and parts shipments are restored.
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195932

GARMIN SNAFU ALSO AFFECTS OTHER AIRFRAMERS
(http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195933)
At Cessna Aircraft in Wichita, Kan., production has continued despite
the G1000 problems, Director of Corporate Communications Doug Oliver
told AVweb on Tuesday. "We anticipate a resolution from Garmin
literally any minute," he said. However, deliveries of single-engine
piston aircraft are suspended until the issue is resolved. "Mustang
deliveries were originally suspended as well," Oliver said, "but due
to its lower production rate its avionics systems were installed some
time ago, before the suspect batch was produced. This has, of course,
been confirmed through testing and approved by the FAA." Oliver said
he doesn't anticipate any impact on production at Cessna. At Diamond
Aircraft, spokeswoman Heike Larson told AVweb that production will
continue.
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195933

On Sat, 18 Aug 2007 21:01:40 -0700, "Aluckyguess" wrote:

Sounds like a good excuse to layoff 300 people. It doesnt take that many to
install the G1000. I would say columbia is in trouble. JMHO

Then again, if they can't deliver any airplanes because they can't complete the
avionics installation, it makes little sense to keep *building* airplanes.

Ron Wanttaja

On Sat, 18 Aug 2007 21:01:40 -0700, "Aluckyguess" wrote in
:

Sounds like a good excuse to layoff 300 people. It doesnt take that many to
install the G1000. I would say columbia is in trouble. JMHO

If the Garmin issue prevents aircraft from being delivered, perhaps
the lack of revenue impacts Columbia's ability to meet their payroll.

GARMIN RESOLVES G1000 ISSUE, MANUFACTURERS RELIEVED
(http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195978)
A problem that stalled shipments of Garmin G1000 avionics last week
(), affecting deliveries of some piston aircraft, has been resolved,
Garmin said on Monday. Garmin has resumed shipments of the GRS 77 AHRS
(Attitude Heading Reference System) units, which were the cause of the
snafu, used in G1000 installations. "All affected aircraft
manufacturers will begin receiving GRS 77 units immediately so that
they can resume aircraft deliveries," Garmin said. Production of the
GRS 77 will increase incrementally as Garmin ramps up the production
line. The AHRS problem was caused by a production process change by a
component supplier, Garmin said.
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195978

On Fri, 24 Aug 2007 11:40:21 -0500, "Neil Gould"
wrote in
:

Recently, Larry Dighera posted:

GARMIN RESOLVES G1000 ISSUE, MANUFACTURERS RELIEVED
(http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195978)
A problem that stalled shipments of Garmin G1000 avionics last week
(), affecting deliveries of some piston aircraft, has been resolved,
Garmin said on Monday. Garmin has resumed shipments of the GRS 77 AHRS
(Attitude Heading Reference System) units, which were the cause of the
snafu, used in G1000 installations. "All affected aircraft
manufacturers will begin receiving GRS 77 units immediately so that
they can resume aircraft deliveries," Garmin said. Production of the
GRS 77 will increase incrementally as Garmin ramps up the production
line. The AHRS problem was caused by a production process change by a
component supplier, Garmin said.
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195978

Thanks for the update, Larry. It seems to me that Columbia's layoff may
cost them more than if they simply retained the employees for the
duration.

Neil


Well, if the payroll costs of 300 employees averaged $25/each,
Columbia will have saved $7,500 for a five-day layoff. I'm not sure
about the costs of laying them off and bringing them back to work, are
you?

Recently, Larry Dighera posted:

GARMIN RESOLVES G1000 ISSUE, MANUFACTURERS RELIEVED
(http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195978)
A problem that stalled shipments of Garmin G1000 avionics last week
(), affecting deliveries of some piston aircraft, has been resolved,
Garmin said on Monday. Garmin has resumed shipments of the GRS 77 AHRS
(Attitude Heading Reference System) units, which were the cause of the
snafu, used in G1000 installations. "All affected aircraft
manufacturers will begin receiving GRS 77 units immediately so that
they can resume aircraft deliveries," Garmin said. Production of the
GRS 77 will increase incrementally as Garmin ramps up the production
line. The AHRS problem was caused by a production process change by a
component supplier, Garmin said.
http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#195978

Thanks for the update, Larry. It seems to me that Columbia's layoff may
cost them more than if they simply retained the employees for the
duration.

Neil