SkyNet Aviation has hosted Queensland State Minister the Hon. Stirling Hinchcliffe for a demonstration of its world-leading ADS-B, REACH Day of Operations and LASAW solutions.
As the centrepiece of the visit to SkyNet Aviation’s head office (Brisbane, Australia), Minister Hinchcliffe, the Queensland State Minister for Tourism Industry Development and Innovation, was led through a live technology demonstration by SkyNet Aviation Managing Director, Jon Davis.
The official purpose of the visit was an inspection of the effects of the Ignite Ideas Fund grant that SkyNet Aviation won in May 2020. These grants were set up to support local businesses undertaking projects with strong commercialisation prospects that will also strengthen and diversify the Queensland economy – especially those that can benefit regional areas. Safe to say, SkyNet Aviation’s solutions are a perfect example.
Accompanying Minister Hinchliffe for his inspection were representatives of the Royal Flying Doctor Service – Queensland section, which has been using SkyNet Aviation’s solutions to provide aircraft traffic and operational management across outback Queensland for the past 18 months.
As the visit moved into the demonstration phase, Davis led the group through a review of the full capabilities of what SkyNet Aviation offers.
“The Minister wanted to get an understanding of what we could do,” Davis says.
“It is one thing to read about our solutions, it is another thing to see them working on live data in a real-world Operational Control Centre.
“While the results of the Ignite grant were clear, the Minster also wanted to build awareness of the technology being used by the Royal Flying Doctor Service and what is also available to all Queensland aviation operators.”
In the demonstration, Davis began by showing the live data being generated by the 40 specialist ADS-B receivers that SkyNet Aviation had deployed across outback Queensland. With these emplacements, the Royal Flying Doctor Service – Queensland Section has a live view of the position of each of its 20 aircraft as they travel over both the coastal towns and cities and deep into the vast and largely uninhabited inland.
For RFDS, the SkyNet Aviation solution allows them to improve patient outcomes through more efficient, effective and responsive management of their air and ground fleets. Essentially, less waiting time for patients. Today, SkyNet Aviation has quickly become a core part of their day-to-day operations.
“This is home-grown technology and I think it is fair to say that Minister Hinchcliffe came away both pleasantly surprised and impressed that a Brisbane company has been leading the world in aviation technology for over 20 years,” Davis says.
Minister Hinchcliffe was especially interested in how SkyNet Aviation filled in the previous “blackspots” in aircraft tracking coverage and also in how efficiently and inexpensively SkyNet Aviation could build out coverage in places for the specific needs of people, businesses and organisations with particular aviation needs.
