Cedar Rapids-based Rockwell Collins had a 14 percent decline in sales for the third quarter. Clay Jones, president and C-E-O of the avionics company, says the decline was predicted due to a “significant downturn” in the aviation industry, and a difficult marketplace.Rockwell Collins’ sales to companies that make commercial aircraft were down 21 percent. But 287 million dollars worth of government contracts pushed up volume so the decline in sales wasn’t quite so dramatic. One of those new government contracts is with the U-S Army for development of a special radio system.Jones says the contract means the company’s now a player in the ground-based communications market. Rockwell Collins also landed a contract to provide communications devices for the helicopters used by U-S Special Forces.