Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

Garmin retained its spot at the top of the 2012 AIN ­Avionics Product Support Survey cockpit avionics rankings, with ­readers giving the avionics manufacturer an overall average rating of 8.3 this year, down 1 percent from last year but again the only company rated in the eights. Rockwell Collins, which jumped to second place with a rating of 7.8, saw its score climb 1 percent compared with last year’s fourth-place rating. Universal Avionics came in third this year, scoring an overall average of 7.7, down 3 percent from last year and its 2011 second-place finish.&nbsp;


Honeywell’s cockpit avionics rating climbed 1 percent this year, and Honeywell moved up from sixth place last year to fourth this year. Avidyne maintained its fifth-place position, ­scoring the same 7.5 rating as last year. Also with the same rating as last year was Honeywell’s Bendix/King division, which moved from seventh place to change Honeywell to fifth, because of the tie. While more companies were listed in the overall average chart last year, some companies didn’t receive enough ratings this year to be included.


Seven cabin avionics manufacturers received enough ­ratings for inclusion in this year’s results, and topping the list again is Aircell, climbing 1 percent to reach 8.0, the sole cabin ­electronics company with an overall average rating in the eights. Flight ­Display Systems is catching up, however, and made a strong jump this year to 7.9, up 4 percent over last year and climbing from fourth to second place. Rockwell Collins also saw an improvement in the cabin electronics category, with a third-place 7.6, up 3 percent over last year’s fifth-place ranking.&nbsp;


Rosen dropped slightly, moving down 1 percent from third to fourth place this year, with an overall average rating of 7.6. ­Honeywell’s score moved up 1 percent to 7.5, putting the ­company into fourth place, up one from sixth last year. Magnastar, which continues to be supported by Teledyne Controls, saw the largest leap in the overall average rating this year, up 13 percent to 7.1, a fifth-place finish compared to last year’s last-place ranking. Thrane &amp; Thrane dropped 1 percent to 7.0 this year.&nbsp;

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