Nicholas Byron Cavadias

Nicholas Byron Cavadias
Born	(1929-02-08)8 February 1929 Galgaun, India
Spouse	Juliet Cavadias
Children	4 children; 5 grandchildren

Nicholas Byron Cavadias (February 8 1929) vision and dynamic leadership in the development of flight simulation through commitment to technological innovation, excellence and total team effort for nearly forty years has significantly enhanced civil and military aviation safety and economy world wide, and has been of outstanding benefit to Canada.

Early Years

Nicholas Byron Cavadias was born of Greek parents on February 8, 1929 in Galgaun, India. He received his high school education in Greece and his engineering training at the University of Southampton]] and the London City and Guilds Institute.

His career from the beginning was in the application of electronics to aviation. He started as a radio engineer for TAE Greek National Airlines in 1946. In 1950 he moved to the U.K., and in 1953 he enlisted with the Royal Air Force where he became a ground radar specialist, stationed on a ship, home base Plymouth.

CAE Years

Cavadias immigrated to Canada in 1956 and joined the engineering department of Canadian Aviation Electronics Ltd.(CAE), a Montreal-based company, designing, manufacturing and servicing avionics equipment for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). He became president of that company 18 years later.

The company entered the flight simulation field early in the 1950's when Canada purchased a fleet of CF-100 all-weather fighter planes for the RCAF, and needed flight simulators to train its pilots. Success there, and the cancellation of the Avro Arrow, positioned CAE to provide the simulator for the CF-104 Starfighter in the early sixties. Promoted to Project Manager, Byron displayed imagination and team spirit on the highly successful F-104 Starfighter flight simulator program, which supplied 32 systems to Canada and its NATO allies from 1960 to 1963. In 1961, CAE established its first off-shore subsidiary simulator company in Germany, CAE Electronics GmbH.

CAE Industries was formed in 1963, and Canadian Aviation Electronics became CAE Electronics, the principal subsidiary of the new parent company.

This period following the highly successful F104 program was one of prosperity and expansion for CAE Industries but one of difficulty for CAE Electronics as it sought to find replacement business. Employment declined to about 500 people.

Byron continued his rise at CAE Electronics, displaying excellent program management and leadership. He was appointed Manager of Manufacturing in 1963, and promoted to Vice President Operations in 1967 with responsibility for engineering, manufacturing, program management and quality assurance. Byron used his technical abilities, good business sense, pragmatism and hands-on management style to significantly improve productivity and quality in the simulators and other company products.

His appointments in 1973 as Executive Vice President and in 1975 as President of CAE Electronics Ltd. allowed his knowledge, vision, drive and enthusiasm to be applied to all company operations and activities. As President, Byron focused the company effort on simulation and initiated a period of unprecedented growth.

Airlines around the world in the early sixties had begun to recognize the cost-effectiveness of simulator training for pilots. CAE not only had superior technology, but Byron's personal knowledge of the product and his commitment to excellence and to customer satisfaction contributed to the company's success in the new market. Over the years, CAE pioneered breakthroughs in motion systems, control forces and visual systems, and used technology developed for flight simulation to open doors to other products and markets.

Byron's personal efforts developed relationships of trust and mutual respect with key people in the German Ministry of Defence and the Luftwaffe which led to pivotal follow-on sales. This led, subsequently, to CAE's dominance of the German Military Flight Simulator market which continues to the present day. He has been closely identified with the company's growth and endeavours in the fields of commercial and military aircraft flight simulation, space and air traffic applications, nuclear power station simulation, oil field automation. Power generation, transmission and distribution automation, machinery control systems for naval ships and airborne magnetic anomaly submarine detection systems were also fields of endeavour. All of CAE Electronics' product areas benefited from this technology powerhouse.

The company, with Byron in command, grew to become the number one force in the international commercial flight simulation business. From years of military contract work he developed in his team the know-how and patience to do business successfully with large companies and government agencies, and he personally, knew many of the senior airline executives, pilots, engineers and technicians in customers' training departments.

While CAE Electronics grew with international airline customers, Byron showed how his company's technology could be applied across training and tactical requirements with Canada's Air Force. He ensured the closest level of cooperation and communications so that he and his team were never out of touch with the military requirements and mission. The introduction of flight simulators for complex aircraft like the CF-18 Hornet, the Lockheed Aurora and the C-130 Hercules enhanced flight safety and reduced wear and tear on valuable airframes. Byron continually emphasized the importance of the Canadian programs, both with the airlines and the military, enabling the company to make the strides in development which were so necessary for competitiveness in the export market and international credibility.

CAE's share of the world market for commercial airline flight simulators under his leadership increased from less than 3 percent to over 60 percent. It exports over 90 percent of its simulators, used to train pilots around the world for over thirty airlines in over thirty-six countries. Canada's Ministry of State for International Trade recognized the importance of these exports to the Canadian economy and the creation of jobs in the community in 1984, and in 1989 the company won the Canada Export Award for Special Achievers, presented by External Affairs.

Byron was promoted in 1990 from President of CAE Electronics to Senior Vice President, Aerospace and Electronics Group of CAE Inc., the Toronto-based corporate parent. It was responsible for four companies including the USA-based CAE-Link Corporation, the Germany-based CAE Electronics GmbH, CAE Electronics Ltd. in Montreal and Northwest Industries in Edmonton, and for earning revenue of over one billion dollars annually.

Post-CAE years

Byron Cavadias retired in 1994, after having had a profound and sustained impact on aviation in Canada and around the world over his 38-year career with CAE. He presented an open door policy to both employees and customers. His abilities and work habits set an example to others and he developed a strong team spirit within CAE. Cavadias was known to have breakfast with employees at all levels, freely discussing, uninhibited by position, focusing only on the solving of challenging issues. Such efforts resulted in many world firsts, like the 1983 Boeing 757 simulator which was the first new generation simulator ever to be airline FAA certified prior to aircraft certification. He was a formidable competitor who did his homework and kept an excellent team around him.

Byron was active in the Canadian aerospace industry outside of CAE. As a Director of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada, he was respected for his thoughtful contributions to serious policy issues affecting the industry's infrastructure, productivity, technological capability and its space activities. His international perspective and his love for Canada often made the difference between gridlock and effective action. He contributed to Canadian government policy as a member of the Consultative Committee on the Electronics Industry and to New Brunswick's government while on the Advisory Board for Science and Technology. Cavadias was awarded an Honourary Doctor of Laws degree by Concordia University in Montreal in 1985 which recognized his ongoing encouragement of links between industry and the university community as a vital factor in personal and corporate growth.

He has been recognized personally, in 1988 by the Commander in Chief of the USAF Military Airlift Command for outstanding contribution to their C-5 simulator program, and in 1990 by NASA for outstanding cooperation between government and industry on the Crew Station Research program. In 1990, he was the recipient of the C.D. Howe Award presented by the Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute.

Honours and legacy

• Honourary Doctor of Laws degree from Concordia University (1985)
• C.D. Howe Award (1990)
• Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame (1996)

References

• Oswald, Mary, They Led the Way, Wetaskiwin: Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, 1999. ISBN 0-9684843-0-1

External links

• Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame
• CAE