December 07, 2017 - No. 095 In This Issue Logos Technologies Wins Coveted Aviation Week Award for Redkite Sensor Istanbul based company named International Niche Aviation Technology Company of the Year DHS Flags Chinese Drones as Security Risk Triumph to combine Precision Components and Aerospace Structures units Millennials Changing the Face of Business Aviation RAA urges US FAA to improve aviation safety China Airlines receives A350 XWB aircraft powered by biofuel mix DeTect installs DroneWatcher at ECP NEW SUPERSONIC COMMERCIAL FLIGHT FROM BOOM COULD GO FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO TOKYO IN UNDER 6 HOURS Erik Lindbergh, grandson of famed aviator, unveils VerdeGo Aero air taxi venture Logos Technologies Wins Coveted Aviation Week Award for Redkite Sensor FAIRFAX, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Logos Technologies announced today that it has been selected by Aviation Week & Space Technology for a 2018 Annual Laureate Award for its work on Redkite, a lightweight wide-area motion imagery (WAMI) system for airborne platforms. "We are honored to have our Redkite WAMI sensor recognized as the Best New Defense Product," said John Marion, president of Logos Technologies. "The Aviation Week's Laureates Awards have a long history of recognizing the very best in the industry." Though weighing less than 35lbs, Redkite can image in real time a city-sized area (over 12 square kilometers) at once-detecting, tracking and recording all significant movers within the scene. It can also record, store and archive up to eight hours of this data for forensic analysis. Redkite can support hundreds of users on the ground, allowing them to select up to 10 different real-time and recorded video feeds from within the system's expansive coverage area and view them on desktop screens, tablets and other mobile devices. "This is what makes Redkite such an effective tool for national defense, homeland security and disaster relief missions," Marion said. Redkite comes in two variants: a platform-agnostic podded version that can be mounted externally to planes, helicopters, and unmanned aerial systems (UAS), and an integrated version adapted to the payload bay of Group 3 UAS, such as the Integrator built by Insitu. In both cases, the WAMI sensor needs to be small, lightweight but powerful-and it is for this work in successful continued miniaturization that Logos is being honored. "Logos Technologies and all of the winners were selected by Aviation Week Network editors who reviewed dozens of nominations, embody the spirit of exploration, innovation and vision that will inspire others to strive for broad-reaching progress in aviation, aerospace and defense," said Aviation Week & Space Technology editor-in-chief Joseph C. Anselmo. Logos Technologies, along with other winners of the 2018 Laureate Awards, will be honored on March 1, 2018 at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC., at which point a Grand Laureate will be announced in each of the four categories: Business Aviation, Commercial, Defense and Space. About Logos Technologies Founded in 1996, Logos Technologies LLC is a diversified science, engineering and technology company specializing in the fields of advanced sensors, wide-area motion imagery, advanced analytics and processing of large, multisource datasets. Logos serves government customers, including the Department of Defense, Intelligence Community and Department of Homeland Security, as well as a range of customers in commercial and international markets. Learn more at www.logos-technologies.com. 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It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 100. http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171205005924/en/Logos-Technologies-Wins- Coveted-Aviation-Week-Award Back to Top Istanbul based company named International Niche Aviation Technology Company of the Year Founded in Istanbul in 1994, Hitit, a provider of new generation airline, airport and travel industry software products and services, has been awarded as International Niche Technology Company of the Year at the 12th Annual ACQ5 2017 Global Awards. Moreover, Hitit's CEO Nur Gokman has become the Gamechanger of the Year. Nur Gokman, CEO of Hitit said "I want to thank Acquisition Finance Magazine on behalf of the entire Hitit team for accomplishing this pride. This is our second award in 2017 and we believe that this is a well-deserved outcome of being a well-known company in the airline and travel IT industry, we have been working hard for 23 years. I have also been awarded as Gamechanger of the Year by ACQ5. This is a very expressive honor for me, but I wouldn't be able to achieve it if it wasn't for our successful, devoted and energetic team of two hundred employees." She added that: "The fact that we have been recognized as one of the influencers in the industry today means, that we have succeeded in building a connection between understanding the market needs and developing state-of-the-art technology. Hitit's new generation and user-friendly Passenger Service System (PSS) is competent to define actual passenger needs and adapts to personalized offers for customers after passenger profiling and segmenting. With our solutions, airlines can liberate themselves from industrial boundaries and adapt their business model to a customer-centric structure of distribution channels. This is one of the most important gamechanger factors which Hitit has offered to the market." ACQ5 (Acquisition Finance Magazine) is a leading corporate magazine news site. Serving the finance sector since 2003, ACQ5 provides its global audience of over 168,000 subscribers with the information behind the headlines. ACQ5, the English-language magazine news portal, is read exclusively by senior executives holding power and authority at major organizations. The magazine is intended for CEO's & CFO's as well as other corporate finance and private equity executives from all around the globe. https://ftnnews.com/news-from-turkey/33451-istanbul-based-company-named-international-niche- aviation-technology-company-of-the-year.html Back to Top DHS Flags Chinese Drones as Security Risk An unclassified memo from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) alleges that Chinese UAS maker DJI is "providing U.S. critical infrastructure and law enforcement data to the Chinese government ...[and] is selectively targeting government and private owned entities within these sectors to expand its ability to collect and exploit sensitive data." DHS also alleged that DJI was leveraging its lower manufacturing costs "combined with illegal dumping tactics" to give it monopoly power in the U.S. "As a result, U.S. companies have fewer options and are more likely to purchase DJI UAS." The memo was drafted this past summer but widely released only last week. DJI-Dà-Ji?ng Innovations Science and Technology, headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong-is one of the the largest manufacturers of recreational and commercial drones worldwide. Its models include the Phantom and Mavic Pro. It holds an estimated 50 percent share of the overall North American market and nearly 70 percent of the North American market for UASs priced between $1,000 and $4,000. It also has technology partnerships with powerhouses including Sony, owns a majority interest in Swedish camera maker Hasselblad and offers its units for sale in Apple stores. Competitors have alleged that the company engages in dumping and other unfair trade practices. In late November, DJI issued a strong statement rebutting the DHS memo. "The bulletin is based on clearly false and misleading claims from an unidentified source" and shows "a fundamental lack of understanding of DJI, its technology and the drone market." DJI's statement also refuted claims of dumping, "DJI does not sell products at a loss or cheaper in the United States than in China." It also disputed charges that its drones are equipped with facial recognition software or that it widely shared data with the Chinese government. LIMITED DATA SHARING To the extent data is shared with the Chinese government, the company said, it has done so to comply with "location-specific rules and policies within China" related to registration and no-fly zones. "In compliance with Chinese regulation, DJI utilizes the user's IP address, GPS location, and MCC (mobile country code) ID to determine if a drone is being operated in China. If so, DJI provides the customer with features necessary to comply with Chinese regulations and policies. Otherwise, DJI provides no information about or data collected by the drone to the Chinese government." However, the company did say that its advanced new products have "Active Track" algorithms that "can track the movement of the shape of the face or the shape of the person to facilitate control of the drone or movement of the camera." It also acknowledged several actual or potential recent security breaches including compromise of its secure web certificate and the DJI website, receiving a report that its Amazon Web Services server repository was accessible by unauthorized parties. In both cases, DJI said, it promptly fixed the problems. The company also noted that it maintains a "Bug Bounty Program" that pays security researchers to identify potential vulnerabilities in DJI's technology. Nevertheless, the DHS memo notes that the U.S. Army has stopped using DJI products due to "an increased awareness of cyber vulnerabilities associated" with them. Earlier this year the U.S. Navy issued its own memo on "operational risks" associated with operating DJI vehicles. Despite the U.S. military's misgivings, DJI is establishing a foothold with U.S. law enforcement and contractors and companies with critical security and infrastructure links. DHS pointed out that a DJI Inspire UAS is currently used by the Los Angeles County Sheriff and on site by a contractor currently building DHS's own National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan, Kansas. It also noted that DJI's current U.S. infrastructure customers include American Water, Union Pacific Railroad and American Electric Power. The company is also targeting water utilities in Chicago, Los Angeles, New Jersey, and New York; and railway companies in Omaha, Los Angeles, and Dallas. DHS asserted that DJI's target client list "appears to focus on the account holder's ability to disrupt critical infrastructure. The DHS also alleged that the Chinese government could use DJI data to "disrupt and degrade" the U.S. food supply and to surreptitiously evaluate assets planned for purchase. The DHS concluded that data gleaned from DJI systems could be used by the Chinese government to conduct physical or cyber attacks against the U.S. or shared with terrorist organizations or other parties to strike the U.S. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2017-12-05/dhs-flags-chinese-drones- security-risk Back to Top Triumph to combine Precision Components and Aerospace Structures units US-based aero parts manufacturer Triumph Group has announced plans to merge its Aerospace Structures and Precision Components divisions into a single business unit. The combined unit will be named Aerospace Structures and is expected to come into operation by 1 January 2018. Precision Components' current executive vice-president Pete Wick will be the new executive vice- president of the new unit. From the last quarter of fiscal 2018, Triumph also expects to report its financial results under three market-focused business units, including Integrated Systems, Product Support and Aerospace Structures. Triumph Group president and CEO Daniel Crowley said: "Aerospace Structures and Precision Components have each made significant strides in their operational turnarounds and now have solid foundations for growth. This is the right time to combine their operations so that we can accelerate their turnaround to deliver value for our shareholders and customers. "Since launching our transformation efforts, the businesses have stabilised, performance is improving, and backlog is growing. The business units' abilities to achieve key performance objectives are closely linked, they share many of the same customers and suppliers, and have substantial inter-company work on common programmes. "As a single business unit, we are confident that we will leverage their combined resources to make them more cost competitive and enhance performance." Triumph is currently involved in the designing, engineering and manufacturing, as well as repairing and overhauling of various aircraft structures, components, accessories and systems. The company caters to a wide range of the global aviation industry such as original equipment manufacturers of commercial, regional, business and military aircraft and related components, in addition to commercial and regional airlines, and air cargo carriers. https://www.aerospace-technology.com/news/triumph-combine-precision-components-aerospace- structures-units/ Back to Top Millennials Changing the Face of Business Aviation "Business aviation needs to address the growth of Millennials' impact on the market," Embraer Executive Jets president and CEO Michael Amalfitano said last week at the Corporate Jet Investor Miami conference. This generation, he noted, is spawning a new ecosystem-"business aviation as a service." While business aviation users span four generations, Amalfitano pointed out that jet owners are mostly Baby Boomers and Generation Xers. "However, we have seen a shift from ownership to access, since the 1960s," he said, adding that this trend is accelerating as Millennials enter the workforce and thus become potential business aviation users. According to Amalfitano, Millennials prefer to buy services rather than products. "They want experiences," he said, "and will make price-driven decisions based on an experience desire." This generation's heavy use of digital technology means this is a requirement for any business-aviation- as-a-service offering, he stressed. Across the generations, business aviation users are more informed than ever and "want more unique choices, more customization, more personalization and an overall higher level of service," Amalfitano said. He noted that the industry is meeting this demand with help from charter broker apps such as Victor and Avinode; and from business-aviation-as-a-service providers that include Surf Air, JetSuite and Wheels Up. https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2017-12-05/millennials-changing-face- business-aviation Back to Top RAA urges US FAA to improve aviation safety The Regional Airline Association (RAA) has requested the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approves additional safety-enhancing structured training pathways for Part 121 airline first officers. The proposal requires FAA to modify 14 CFR 61.160 and authorise more pathways. It is expected to increase structured training under the first officer qualifications (FOQ) rule. The FOQ rule was implemented in 2013 to provide structured training pathways that are approved in limited circumstances. RAA represents 22 North American regional airlines. It noted that empirical data supports that structured training pathways are effective in producing skilled pilots. The creation of additional structured training pathways is expected to improve aviation safety as well as ensure consistent supply of proficient pilots in the future. RAA president Faye Malarkey Black said: "Improving aviation safety and reopening the pilot career path are not mutually exclusive objectives. "We urge the FAA to review the available data and carefully evaluate additional pathways, approving them where they will enhance safety." Currently, there is a growing shortage of commercial airline pilots in the US, primarily driven by regulatory obstacles and high training costs. The unavailability of trained pilots to serve all routes throughout the US is gradually leading to a decline in the regional airline industry. RAA added that if the current situation continues, several US commodities that are transported through flights may lose their air connectivity as a whole. https://www.airport-technology.com/news/raa-urges-us-faa-improve-aviation-safety/ Back to Top China Airlines receives A350 XWB aircraft powered by biofuel mix Taiwan-based China Airlines has taken delivery of a new A350-900 aircraft powered by a combination of traditional and sustainable biofuels from Airbus. The plane flew from Airbus' delivery centre in Toulouse, France, to Taipei, Taiwan, in a flight that used a 10% blend of sustainable jet fuel. The delivery represents the inclusion of the second airline to a programme that sees the combination of traditional and sustainable biofuels. Airbus New Energies head Frederic Eychenne said: "Today's delivery demonstrates once again that biofuels are a reality today. "We are moving towards the regular use of new and sustainable energy sources in our industry, helping to meet the commitments of the international civil aviation community." Airbus has collaborated with Air Total to carry out the sustainable fuel option programme for delivery flights. Air Total has also installed a biofuel station adjacent to the Airbus delivery centre in Toulouse, which has so far delivered a total of 21 aircraft since its opening in May last year. Airbus is planning to introduce the sustainable fuel option programme for delivery flights to its facilities based in Hamburg, Germany, and Mobile, US. China Airlines chairman Ho Nuan-Hsuan said: "China Airlines is proud to have taken delivery of its first aircraft to be partially powered by sustainable biofuel. "This reflects our clear commitment to reduce the impact of aviation on the environment and to be among those airlines leading the way to use alternative fuel sources. "With the A350 XWB in our fleet, we are already significantly reducing our carbon footprint and we are excited that this can be extended even further with the use of new biofuels." The newly received aircraft is the tenth A350-900 operated by China Airlines. https://www.aerospace-technology.com/news/china-airlines-receives-a350-xwb-aircraft-powered- biofuel-mix/ Back to Top DeTect installs DroneWatcher at ECP WEST BAY - New specialized equipment that detects drones and birds that could become a safety hazard to aircraft is up and running at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport. DeTect, a Panama City-based technology firm, has installed and tested several projects at the airport that enhance aviation security and safety. Among them are its dual function "MERLIN" Aircraft Birdstrike Avoidance Radar and a drone detection and defense system called DroneWatcher DSR. Parker McClellan, the airport's executive director, said the technology is "cutting-edge," and he knows of no other airport in the country that has the equipment. "What it does is two-fold," McClellan said. "For the company, it gives them real-time data to help them develop products that enhance aviation safety and security. And for the airport, we are the beneficiary of having that advanced technology which allows us to create a better situational awareness for the pilots." In addition to detecting drones, the DroneWatcher DSR also functions as a bird radar system, providing real-time bird-aircraft strike risk alerts to airport flight safety managers. Drone incursion alerts and bird strike risk alerts are provided to airport users via web displays and through automated text messaging. McClellan said he can't recall a drone ever being seen over the airport, but "What you don't want is an airplane and a drone to meet each other in the air. Whether it's birds or drones, the drone system will identify when there is a drone in the area of the airport, and we can ensure that it's not going to interfere with safe operation of aircraft around the airport." McClellan said the airport went into a partnership with DeTect a little more than a year ago, allowing the company to install and test its products. The airport currently houses about $550,000 worth of DeTect equipment. "(Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport) is the first airport in the US to install a comprehensive bird and drone detection system," DeTect's President and CEO Gary Andrews said in a statement. "We are pleased that our technology is being used to create probably one of the safest airports in the country." DeTect is based in Panama City but also has offices in California, Washington, D.C., and London, England. The company has sales and technical support staff based throughout the United States and Canada. http://www.newsherald.com/news/20171205/detect-installs-dronewatcher-at-ecp Back to Top NEW SUPERSONIC COMMERCIAL FLIGHT FROM BOOM COULD GO FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO TOKYO IN UNDER 6 HOURS Travelers could soon fly at supersonic speeds on commercial airlines that zip from San Francisco to Tokyo in under six hours, following a $10 million investment by Japan Airlines into the Denver- based startup Boom Technology. Boom plans to build jets that travel at 1,450 mph, or 2.2 times the speed of sound, and operate them in a partnership with Japan Airlines by the mid-2020s. Japan Air has agreed to purchase up to 20 jets, according to a Tuesday announcement, and will work with the startup to help develop the aircrafts for commercial use. Japan Air is the second company to announce its plans to go supersonic with Boom, after Virgin Atlantic Airways pledged to buy the first 10 Boom jets earlier this year. The aircrafts will seat 45 to 55 passengers, and will be capable of flying from New York to London in about three hours, traveling about 5,178 miles before it needs to refuel, the company said. The plan is to offer business class accommodations and keep tickets at business class prices, despite a massive cut in travel times. Boom isn't the first company to push for faster travel speeds. Concorde, a French-British airline, traveled at supersonic speeds for nearly three decades until 2003. The pricey flights came to an end because of high costs, noise complaints and a crash in 2000 that killed 113 people. New regulations will require Boom planes to be more stable while flying at supersonic speeds, and Boom will go through several stages of testing before producing a fully functional jet. The jets will be smaller to simplify safety regulations and construction. The company successfully completed wind-tunnel tests in January, and will be aided by Virgin Galactic for future supersonic testing. Learning from Concorde's deadly mistakes, the Federal Aviation Administration now requires lower emissions and a quieter boom when traveling at supersonic speeds. The $10 million investment is significant for Boom since the company has little reputation in the aviation world and no federal funding. But the company will need many more major investments in the coming years in order to develop, test and produce the 76 planes it has on order. As of this latest investments, Boom has raised about $51 million in funds from private investors. "The future needs friends," Boom CEO Blake Scholl tweeted ahead of the funding announcement. "Pioneers who stick their necks out, take a stand, support the new, the half-born, while uncertainty remains and the risk of failure is still quite real." Boom hired former Airbus executive Bill James as its vice president of production operations while the company moves ahead to select a site for a production facility. The company is in talks with about 20 airlines to sell the plane, according to a Bloomberg report. Domestic supersonic flights are banned across Europe and the United States because of the noise pollution, but for intercontinental flights that are primarily over oceans or countries without a ban on supersonic aircrafts, the reduced flight times could be an attractive option for travelers. Boom is planning to test its designs on a one-third scale model, dubbed the "Baby Boom," in late 2018. http://www.newsweek.com/boom-supersonic-jets-japan-airlines-commercial-flights-735200 Back to Top Erik Lindbergh, grandson of famed aviator, unveils VerdeGo Aero air taxi venture A new entrant in the market for electric-powered air taxis is getting a boost from one of aviation's oldest family names: Erik Lindbergh, the grandson of pioneering pilot Charles Lindbergh, is announcing the formation of a venture called VerdeGo Aero. VerdeGo Aero is headquartered at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University's MicaPlex incubator in Daytona, Fla., but the younger Lindbergh provides a strong Seattle-area connection. He's lived on Bainbridge Island for decades, and serves on the board of directors for Raisbeck Aviation High School near Seattle's Museum of Flight. Lindbergh serves as president of VerdeGo, which is developing a hybrid-electric, vertical-takeoff- and-landing aircraft that can be flown autonomously or by a pilot. Lots of other companies are working on similar vehicles, variously known as personal air vehicles or flying cars. The list includes Airbus' Vahana venture, which is testing an air taxi in Oregon, as well as Uber and its aviation partners, Terrafugia and Kitty Hawk, China's EHang, Switzerland's Passenger Drone, Germany's Volocopter and Lilium, Slovakia's AeroMobil and Japan's Cartivator Project. Kirkland, Wash.-based Zunum Aero, meanwhile, is developing a new class of hybrid-electric airplanes for regional passenger service, with backing from the Boeing Co. It's too early to say how many of those ventures will bear fruit - or whether VerdeGo Aero will be among the winners. But in today's announcement, Lindbergh said the "flying car" is a concept whose time has finally come. "Our global economy has been stuck in a traffic jam for decades, but the technology is here to make the dream of 'flying car' transportation a reality," he said. "Use your smartphone to book your Personal Air Taxi, and your trip to a verti-port across town will take minutes instead of hours. At VerdeGo Aero, we are building the first safe and efficient short-range vertical takeoff and landing aircraft for the millions of people stuck in traffic in cities around the world." The company said it was forming a customer council of aircraft operators to flesh out its plan for electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) air taxis. Eric Bartsch, VerdeGo's chief operating officer, said the goal is to create a service "with an aircraft that is safe, quiet and comfortable for passengers, while being profitable and reliable for local airlines operating fleets of eVTOL aircraft to create urban air travel networks." VerdeGo's chief technology officer is Pat Anderson, director of the Eagle Flight Research Center at Embry-Riddle. Lindbergh is an adventurer, naturalist and artist, but it's his aerospace background that has brought him the most attention. In 1996, he helped launch the foundation now known as XPRIZE, which gave an early boost to the commercial spaceflight industry with a $10 million competition. To raise the competition's profile, Lindbergh retraced his grandfather's epic 1927 solo flight from New York to Paris in 2002. And when SpaceShipOne won the Ansari X Prize in 2004, Lindbergh was in on the celebration. He's still a member of the XPRIZE board of trustees, but over the past decade, Lindbergh has increasingly turned his focus to accelerating the development of the electric aircraft industry. For years, the Lindbergh Foundation awarded its own prizes to recognize innovations in the field. Now Erik Lindbergh and his partners are aiming to take the prize in a commercial races that's certain to heat up. https://www.geekwire.com/2017/erik-lindbergh-verdego-aero-air-taxi/ Curt Lewis