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VIDSys PSIM Providers Raise $15.6 million in Equity Financing.

July 29, 2013
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Virginia-based VIDSys, PSIM providers have announced that they have raised $15.6 in equity financing led by NewSpring Capital, with participation from previous investors, Motorola Solutions, Flybridge Capital, JVax Investment Group and Atlanta Equity.

Although it is unclear exactly how the PSIM providers will do with the new capital, a statement issued by VIDSys said, “VidSys will use these funds to help grow and scale the company on a global basis beyond our existing footprint. … We will also invest in further development of our core software … for our public sector and enterprise clients.”

Other PSIM providers are also doing well globally.  ARINC PSIM solution has become available across the world after its respected debut in the US, where they provide more than 50% of North America’s nuclear power plants with system security.

ARINC Advanced Information Management (AIM) also provides command, control and access for secure government facilities, seaports, airports and military installations where real-time situational awareness is essential for personnel, passengers and facility safety and security.

LA Students Get a Taste of Air Traffic Control

July 26, 2013
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As a part of a drive to encourage more young people to move into the field of aviation as a career, Los Angeles World Airports have sponsored a free, weeklong Aviation Careers Academy.

lax teensLocal High School students were able to use a Federal Aviation Administration simulator and direct air traffic as though they were standing in a control tower.

Each day, the students have been on field trips to aviation-based employers, such as the FAA, the Transportation Security Administration and Southwest Airlines in addition to the simulator, in order for them to take a glimpse behind-the-scenes and experience the atmosphere of the aviation workplace.

It is hoped that the Aviation Careers Academy, available to high-school and middle school students, will demonstrate to them that there are a wide range of job opportunities in aviation in addition to pilot or cabin attendant.  The future airport police, flight dispatcher, air traffic controller or engineer may be among them, but many young people are not aware that these jobs even exist.

World-wide, there is growing concern amongst the aviation community that in the future there will be a shortage of personnel.  Now is the time to get young people interested in a career in aviation.  Jobs in aviation are rarely minimum-wage and require further training beyond high school.  It is important that young people are made aware of the opportunities and are able to realise what is required in the industry.

Japanese Airports to Implement ARINC vMUSE Solutions

July 23, 2013
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Naha Airport vMUSEAs the passenger pool at Okinawa and Kagoshima airports grows, the decision to implement ARINC’s vMUSE, common bag drop and check-in solutions will help to streamline airport operations.

Mr Michael DiGeorge, MD of ARINC Asia Pacific said, “Airports in the region are demanding a common-use solution that is scalable with their operations and allows them to take advantage of all the benefits afforded at larger sites while meeting budget requirements.  As the industry’s leading innovator, ARINC is providing this solution and remains committed to meeting the needs of airports of all sizes, as passenger traffic continues to grow and airlines increase the number of destinations to meet passenger demand.”

The innovative vMUSE solutions from ARINC will reduce costs by sharing airport resources with offsite servers than can be accessed from anywhere in the world, using any device.

Previous passenger processing systems revMusequire multiple check-in facilities that are airline specific.  The vMUSE platform allows the sharing of passenger information across multiple airlines from one desk, ensuring increased flexibility in airports with limited floor space.

The common bag drop solutions offer self-service check-in that can enhance passenger experience, increase operation productivity and, in essence revenue for the airports.

Photo credit: Hyougushi / Foter / CC BY-SA

Sleepy Year for Salina Regional Aviation Refuelling

July 20, 2013
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Doug Livergood, GM of Flower Aviation at Salina Regional Airport said today that although he believes that, due to its location in the virtual centre of the nation, Salina is a great location for landing and refuelling aircraft, but activity in general and business aviation is proving slow to recover from the recession.

Regrettably, Mr Livergood had to lay off a member of his team earlier this month, as business is so slow; he admits that he has ‘had guys falling asleep.’

Over the first six months of 2013, fuel sales are down by 30% for Flower Aviation, one of two fixed base operators at Salina Airport; the other, America Jet are down in the region of 37% for the same period.

The challenges facing the operators are put down to many factors, such as the loss of long-term clients who no longer own business jets, market competition from both national and international FBO’s, clients not ‘topping-up’ but only refuelling with essential fuel and, of course, the drop in the number of cross-country flights.

Tim Rogers, Airport Authority Executive Director commented, “The physical impact is significant for the airport authority and the FBOs, and merits attention that the airport authority board staff are giving it.”

In a bid to attract more visitors to the Airport, events are being scheduled, such as ‘Wings of Freedom’ which brought World War II aircraft, and Jaded Thunder; a military event that saw more than 500 visitors.  Later this year, America Jet has arranged a fly-in of T33 American trainer jets – America Jet currently hold the contract for military fuelling.

“We want to maintain the effort to attract and schedule military aviation unit training, civilian aircraft associations, and atmospheric and climate research missions, which all provide fuel sales opportunities for the FBO’s,” said Mr Rogers.

Head of ARINC Pledges Largest Ever Donation to Annapolis Medical Centre

July 19, 2013
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John Belcher, Head of Aerospace Technology Company, ARINC, and his wife Cathy, have pledged the largest bequest ever to the Anne Arundel Medical Center, Annapolis.

The couple will give the first $1 million to the hospital, where Mr Belcher is a member of the board of trustees, over the next few years.  The hospital plans to rename the Health Science Pavillion after the couple in honor of their generous gift.  The remainder of the bequest has been written into the couple’s estate and will be donated upon liquidation after their deaths.  It is believed that the donation could be in excess of $10 million, depending upon the value of the estate at that time.

The hospital will also found ‘The John & Cathy Belcher Society’, which will recognise people who bequeath gifts of $100,000 or more in the future.

Mr Belcher chaired the hospitals Care Like No other campaign, which funded the Health Sciences Pavillion.  He joined ARINC in 1997, was appointed CEO in 2002 and also named Chairman in 2004.  With over 30 years of aviation, IT and the defense industries experience, Mr Belcher was more than qualified to head the industry-leading aviation communication company.

ARINC Inc were the founders of ACARS messaging and provide innovative solutions to the needs of commercial and business aircraft.  They furnish the industry with messaging solutions for aircraft and airport operations, continuing with the respected reputation they have gained over the past eight decades.

South Korean Jeju International Airport to Implement ARINC vMUSE

July 18, 2013
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ARINC vMUSEJeju International Airport has followed South Korea’s other major airports in its choice to use ARINC’s vMUSE technology to improve and optimize operations as the number of passengers grows each year.

The industry-leading provider develops and delivers innovative aviation solutions that can assist airports and airlines with cost management and increasing operational flexibility with vMUSE common-use technology.

Jeju International Airport will benefit from maximized use of facility space with the vMUSE platform and will be able to access off-site servers with any device, which will in turn reduce the necessity for hardware and support requirements.

This new contract will mean that ARINC now provides its vMUSE technology for all South Korea’s International airports, allowing for interoperability and connectivity between the airports and the airlines that operate from them.  This will lead to further operational cost reductions with the allowance for host sharing between the airports.

“Our biggest problem currently is a lack of check-in counters to accommodate the number of airlines that fly through the airport. ARINC’s vMUSE will enable carriers to directly log into their Departure Control System at any counter over any device. The sharing of counter facilities will improve terminal operations, and allow both airlines and airports to welcome more airlines and passengers,” said a representative of the Airlines Operators Committee of Jeju (AOC-CJU).

ARINC are delighted to be working with Jeju and AOC-CJU.  Mr Michael DiGeorge, ARINC MD of Asia Pacific said, “South Korea is one of our strongest and most important markets in the Asia Pacific region. Being a trusted partner to all the major international airports in the country is indeed a rare honour and re-affirms our reputation as a leader in the aviation industry.”

Bangor Aviation Company Expansion Plan

July 18, 2013
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Military Mission-Critical CommuniationsC&L Aerospace, based in Bangor, Maine, provider of services to the commercial and military aviation industries, has announced plans to undertake a $5 million expansion project.

It is hoped that the planned expansion will turn the company into a one-stop service centre for aircraft owners and operators within military aviation.

The company intend to spend $1.8 million in a project to upgrade its 17,000 sq ft hangar into an aviation paint shop facility and plans maintenance hangar improvements to the tune of around another $3 million.

If the facility expansion and upgrade plan goes ahead as planned, the resulting work will open up opportunities for around 50-70 jobs.

New Multi-Million Dollar Fuel Station Approved for Fort Wayne Airport

July 16, 2013
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The Fort Wayne-Allen County Airport Authority has given the go-ahead for plans to be designed for a new aviation fuel station.  The fuel station is expected to be in the region of $4 and $5 million for construction cost, with design budget set at a maximum of $500,000.

The fuel station will be a major improvement for Fort Wayne Airport and will help to put the airport on the map for refuelling, giving the airport direct control over fuel, which is currently served by a fuel farm owned and managed by Atlantic Aviation.

Although contracts and designs are expected later this year, it could be years before the construction is finished and the fuel station is operational.

According to Scott Hindermann, executive director of the airport, local money will be used as the new station will not be eligible for federal funding.

In the aviation industry, fuel management can be critical to the continuation of operations for many airlines, both commercial and private.  Often, a large part of flight planning, the costs for fuel need to be managed for optimum productivity and also for the growing concerns about environmental impact.

 

Bookajet Signals Business Aviation Growth

July 16, 2013
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business aviation Bookajet

Bookajet, leading supplier of executive jets to celebrities has announced the first signs of growth in business aviation since the beginning of the recession.  This growth is a welcome move for the business aviation industry and is likened to the property sector by the MD of Bookajet, Mr Jonathan Clements, who adds, “We are pleased to say we are starting to come out of what has been a very flat and challenging time in Europe.”

It appears that charter demand in business aviation is on the increase and the arrival of new additional aircraft to the fleet has meant the creation of new jobs in the UK.

Bookajet was established in business aviation in 2003 and has bases throughout Europe, in Italy, France, the Netherlands and in Russia that deal with the charter of private jets; overseeing more than 40 aircraft, management and sales.

The newest addition to the fleet is the Gulfstream 4, a luxury executive private jet capable of long-range flight.

Private and business aviation is a steadily growing sector and is competitive, with more and more emphasis placed upon comfort and connectivity.  It is critical that business aviation stays ahead of the game in terms of affordability, maintaining high standards and allowing passengers the same levels of business availability in the air that they have on the ground.

Communications providers must remain cost-effective while offering a range of services that are combined to keep the cabin as efficiently connected as the flight deck to maintain serviceability in this competitive sector of business aviation.

TAG Aviation Move Towards UK’s First Paperless Flight Deck with iPad Flight Planning App

July 15, 2013
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TAG Aviation Use iPad Flight Planning AppUK operator, TAG Aviation has said that it plans to replace the traditional flight bag with the use of iPads and an iPad flight planning app, making them the first UK business aviation operator to move toward the paperless cockpit.

A surprising difference is made to the weight of the aircraft and subsequent fuel consumption with the heavy flight bags on board, as minute calculations are made during the flight planning process.  The innovation of the iPad flight planning app reduces not only the paper consumption, but also the fuel costs making it an all-round winner for business aviation if you add the benefit of streamlined efficiency on the flight deck.

“The introduction of paperless technology will ensure that pilots have up-to-date, essential information at their fingertips.  Flights manuals, manufacturer’s documents and aeronautical flight charts can be updated at the touch of a button instead of the time-consuming and wasteful process of manually updating hard copies,” said Russ Allchorne, Vice President of Flight Operations Europe at TAG Aviation (UK). “At TAG Aviation, we are committed to identifying ways to pioneer standards in flight operations and wider business aviation practices to improve efficiency, safety and our environmental footprint.”

Many communications providers now offer the iPad flight planning app with the aim of reducing costs while maintaining effective and efficient flight management.  ARINC Direct, industry-leading business aviation solutions provider are able to incorporate the iPad flight planning app into their tailored communications and flight support services for business jets.