Page 27 - World Airnews Magazine January 2021 Edition

DRONES AVIONICS

DRONES FOR GOOD SOFTWARE SOLUTION FOR

BUSINESS AVIATION

ecently it has been demonstrated
Rthat drones can help save deer in
Switzerland . Now it has been shown that

drones and artificial intelligence may also

show promise for the conservation of farm- viation Data Solutions has launched a unique airport pric-

land bird nests. #dronesforgood Aing calculator and handling pricing manager platf orms.

Farmland bird species are declining over Following nearly three years of development, both platforms are

most of Europe. Birds breeding on the currently undergoing beta testing with a select group of bizav opera-
ground, are particularly vulnerable because tors and handling agents in the UK and Europe before going ‘live.’

they are exposed to mechanical operations, The airport pricing calculator is the first publicly available com-

like ploughing and sowing, which take place bined airport and handling cost calculation system, enabling oper-

in spring and often accidentally destroy nests. ators to instantly calculate the cost of any aircraft in its fleet to visit

Locating nests on the ground is proving any airport on any itinerary with any combination of services.
to be challenging to the human eye and is sion is hampered by vegetation and objects on tor crops and maximize production efficiency. The concept for the APC was born out of company founder and

highly time-consuming. the ground. Therefore to make this an efficient Studies like this one can help pave the managing director Adrian Parsons’s personal experience working in

Researchers in Finland have flown a system, we thought that the camera could be way to integrate bird nest detection within charter sales at one of Europe’s largest business aviation operators.

drone carrying a thermal camera over flown using a drone and artificial intelligence the drone borne sensors used in precision During his time there he regularly experienced significant issues

agricultural fields to record images. These could help to analyse the resulting thermal agriculture, and automate a system for and inaccuracies resulting from a lack of accessible and structured

were then fed to an artificial intelligence images. We have shown that this works. saving those nests. airport and handling pricing data. “While we are not a powerhouse FBO Group, The Global Trek Avi-

algorithm capable of accurately identifying “The system performed best under cloudy "The conservation community must be “I knew what a game-changer it would be for operators to quickly ation group, runs two fantastic, independent, busy UK FBO’s at Bel-

nests, a first step to aid their protection. and cold conditions, and on even grounds," ready to embrace technology and work and easily incorporate actual airport and handling charges into char- fast International Airport and Cardiff International Airport, Wales.

Researchers tested the system in South- said Andrea Santangeli, an academy of across disciplines and sectors in order to ter quotes.” said Adrian. Our high-quality service levels are the same, whether customers ar-

ern Finland near University of Helsinki's Finland fellow at the Finnish Museum of Nat- seek efficient solutions. This is already hap- “I decided to combine my past experience in software develop- rive in a Cessna 172 or a Gulfstream G650. We have always adhered

Lammi biological station, using wild nests ural History Luomus, university of Helsinki. pening, with drone technology becoming ment and my business aviation domain knowledge to take on this to a fully transparent operations model - no hidden fees, out of hour

with eggs of the Northern Lapwing. rapidly popular in conservation. A next and challenge, and we are very proud of how it all came together.” fees or call-out fees, which has lauded us with positive feedback

from our customers. Working with ADS, I’m convinced we’ll see
"We have been involved in conservation of DRONE TECHNOLOGY BECOMING most challenging step will be to test our Currently APC boasts pricing data coverage for more than 700

ground-nesting farmland birds for years, and RAPIDLY POPULAR IN CONSERVATION system in different environments and with airports and over 350 handling agent stations, with more than 915 more traffic bookings coming in with us, through the platform.” Q

realised how difficult it is to locate nests on It is possible to map in near real-time the different species. Our auspice is that this unique methods of charging for over 220 services at these locations.

the ground. At least at high latitudes, the tem- spread of diseases on crops in agricultural system will be, one day, fully integrated In addition, ADS has built a comprehensive aircraft and engine

perature of these nests is typically higher than areas using drones with various sensors. into agricultural practices, so that detecting dataset covering all business aviation types from single-engine tur- AIR RESCUE DJA...

that of the surrounding environment. Hence, The latter is an integral part of precision and saving nests from mechanical destruc- boprops up to the Embraer Lineage 1000.

we thought that thermal cameras could assist. agriculture, a new way of crop production that tion will become a fully automated part of Aircraft types are broken down into variants, which includes key Insure now with

“A small pilot study indicated that thermal vi- makes large use of drone technology to moni- food production," said Santangeli. Q data on weight, noise and emissions metrics. DJA Aviation.
“This is key to accurate cost calculation,” said Adrian, who also

flies an Eclipse 500.
In creating this new platform the biggest challenge ADS has faced is

NEWS gaining the trust of handling agents. “It is imperative they feel com-

fortable disclosing their price lists to us, which is completely under-

standable due to the highly sensitive nature of this data” says Adrian.
EMBRAER BIRD STRIKE free tool primarily designed to enable handling agents to host and con-
ADS tackled this concern with the introduction of the HPM platform, a

trol access to their pricing data for use in the APC platform whilst em-
arrived in the Congo in August last year. flights since 2018. The new 50-seat Em- ploying multi-layered security measures to ensure the highest standard

It had only been in the sky a handful of braer jet is aimed at assisting Mwant to of GDPR-compliant data protection. In addition to its primary function

n Embraer E145 operated by times for MwantJet before the incident expand its network. The airline hopes to as a gatekeeper, HPM is designed to bring other significant benefits DJA Aviation is the longest-established aviation insurance

broking specialist in the South African insurance market and a

AMwantJet was climbing out took place. Planespotters.net reported offer commercial flights to over ten local to users at no cost, such as increased efficiencies through reduced market leader in developing customised insurance products for
destinations within two years.

of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic the jet was parked, probably for repairs enquiries that require manual processing, increased brand awareness the aviation industry. We employ more than 30 staff and utilise
to take place.

Just as MwantJet took delivery of its
through the promotion of handling stations on the APC platform.
of Congo when a bird collided with the The jet is the airline’s only commercial first commercial aircraft, its competitor this great depth of aviation insurance knowledge, skill and

Importantly, it works in conjunction with and complements the

windshield, causing it to crack. The air- aircraft, although it does have one Hawk- Congo Airways also added an Embraer handler agent’s existing operations software infrastructure as a expertise to manage our clients’ aviation insurance portfolios.

craft safely returned to Kinshasa’s N’Djili er 850 XP for private flights. aircraft to its fleet. booking system to pass confirmed handling bookings made through

airport just minutes later. The plane had MwantJet is based at Kinshasa N’Djili The airline updated an existing deal the APC platform, providing further efficiency gains.

only recently joined the Mwant fleet. airport in the Democratic Republic with Embraer to swap two E175s for the The ADS team have been busy securing the participation of key

One of Africa’s newest airlines had al- of Congo. larger E190s. According to FlightGlobal. handling agent brands prior to the launch of the service, with notable
ready been involved in another unfortu- The airline launched in a year plagued com, the airline hopes the larger capacity names including OMNI Handling, United Aviation, German Aviation

nate incident. MwantJet received certifi- by the pandemic and so, like many others will allow it to step into the spaces pre- Service and Swissport Executive Aviation. CEO Omni Handling Ricardo

cation to fly in May last year and received around the world, has shifted its to cargo viously served by the struggling South Pereira said, “We are finding Aviation Data Solutions’ Handling Pricing PROUD SUPPORTER OF

THE SOUTH AFRICAN

its first aircraft in November last year. and domestic flights. According to its African Airways. Q Manager to be a simple and user-friendly platform that efficiently GUIDE-DOGS ASSOCIATION

The airline’s only jet is new to Mwant but website, it also offers charter passen- facilitates a handling request submission together with the pricing

is actually almost 19 years old. ger services and has a few scheduled Article (shortened) courtesy: https:// information for the client. The principle is to seek a reduced workload Defining the Right Approach to Aviation Insurance

The aircraft, registration 9S-AYE, came operations. simpleflying.com/embraer-wind- and increased handling bookings, with new customers. OMNI Han-

from Skyworld Aviation in the UK and The airline has been operating private screen-smashed-africa/ dling is proud to be on board in this project since its inception and we www.dja-aviation.co.za | Tel: 0800 FLYING

are co-operating closely with Adrian Parsons and the ADS team.” An Authorised Financial Service Provider FSP No. 15808

World Airnews | January 2021 World Airnews | January 2021
— 24 — — 25 —