And the Winner is...

I promised a write up of the Aviation Week and Space Technology (AWST) Innovation Challenge, and here it is. You will have to excuse my repeated use of two words throughout this post, innovation and honored. I hope you’ll understand as we experienced a pretty serious case of (as the kids call it) “geeking out” for much of the week.

Innovation. This word was on the forefront of business last week, especially during the Aviation Week and Space Technology’s Innovation Challenge events. BridgeNet was a finalist in the Software category and we won the category! We were honored to accept this award for our Volans 3D software from Aviation Week’s President Gregory Hamilton and Editor-in-Chief Anthony Velocci. Our founder and president, Paul Dunholter, accepted the award on behalf of everyone that worked on Volans. If you’ve met Paul, you know he is our very own innovation challenge, constantly game changing with, well, innovation to carry out.

What is the Innovation Challenge you ask? Aviation Week defines the Innovation Challenge as:

Aviation Week's Innovation Challenge recognizes and promotes the groundbreaking work being done by tiered suppliers within the aerospace and defense (A&D) industry. Nominees were judged on the basis of value provided to primes and subcontractors through:

• Design innovation that changes product size, weight or capability
• Simple alternatives to a complex and costly product design
• Technology breakthroughs that provide new or substantially improved performance

March 7, 2012 was the day of the Innovation Challenge Roundtable. We heard keynote speakers discuss innovation, its place in aerospace and defense industries, as well as troubles we face keeping innovation alive. The not so great news is that as budgets shrink, many times innovation pays the price, as it is typically overhead. The great news is that as humans we can’t help but create and innovate, we seem intent on finding funding for our ideas and striving to bring them to market. Some in the room had truly sacrificed everything in the pursuit of an idea; their attendance as an Innovation Challenge nominee was a testament to perseverance.

We spent the day in a Roundtable with other Innovation Challenge nominees, as well as AWST Laureates. And here goes the word honor. I really felt like a fish out of water in the room with decorated luminaries of the industry, including past Laureate winners, as well as this year’s Laureate nominees. I tried to simply be quiet and listen, as there was a lot of experience in the room from industry, academia and government. This high level discussion resulted in some valuable best practices we can all learn from, including finding creative ways to preserve innovation (how can we tie it to ROI?) at every point of the supply chain and keeping lines of communication open from the CEO to the front line employees and back.

I feel like I’m overusing the word honor, but it really was an honor to be in a room with people that are so dedicated to aerospace and defense. Many people in the room cite landing on the moon in 1969 as when their love affair with aerospace started. Personally, a flight on TWA when I was nine years old cemented my need to look skyward every time I hear an aircraft. That could also explain my affinity for red. The roar of the engines on takeoff resonated with me; to this day kids (well, I guess they are adults now) I attended elementary school with ask me if I work in aviation. Apparently I freely shared my passion with anyone that would listen! The Innovation Challenge pushed me to become involved with the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) program at my daughter’s elementary school. I look forward to fostering the next generation of kids ready to geek out in aviation.
Additional information on the Innovation Challenge can be found here.

UC Davis Noise and Air Quality Symposium Breakdown

BridgeNet had a busy week. First it was driving out to Palm Springs for the UC Davis Noise and Air Quality Symposium, then off to D.C. to participate in Aviation Week & Space Technology’s Innovation Challenge Roundtable and Laureate Gala (more on that later!).

As a committee member for the Symposium, I had the fortune to co-chair Session 4 on Tuesday morning. As the co-chair I shared responsibility in reviewing what we’d learned on Day 1. Day 1 was full of very technical presentations about NextGen; with a flurry of satellite-based procedures, our already full alphabet soup runneth over. In order to review the day, we set up a trivia with key points. Here are a few of the highlights.

---

What does OAPM stand for?

Optimization of Airspace in the Metroplex

Explanation:
According to the FAA,

“Following the recommendations of the Aviation community the FAA created an initiative called the Optimization of the Airspace and Procedures in the Metroplex (OAPM).
A Metroplex is a geographic area covering several airports, serving major metropolitan areas and a diversity of aviation stakeholders. Congestion, airport activity in close geographical proximity, and other limiting factors such as environmental constraints combine to reduce efficiency in busy Metroplexes. Watch this video to learn more.
An optimization of the air space will analyze and provide solutions to these issues on a regional scale, rather than focusing on a single airport or set of procedures. It takes into account all airports and airspace that support metropolitan area operations, including connectivity with other Metroplexes."

---

The OAPM Process includes the Study Team and Design & Implementation Team. Process tenets include: leverage of existing equipage, not going beyond an EA, and utilize existing standards. How long does this process take?

3 years

Explanation:
Again, according to the FAA,

“The Optimization Plan consists of two types of teams.
Study Teams, made up of controllers, pilots, airport operations and technical team, will analyze a Metroplex’s operational challenges and situations and explore the opportunities.
Study Teams will make recommendations based on the individual needs of the airspace and the users. Design and Implementation Teams will execute the optimization and Airspace projects identified as top priorities for specific Metroplexes. A key characteristic of both types of teams will be the inclusion of industry, a cross-section of FAA expertise, and labor.
Prototype Study Teams completed work at Washington D.C. and North Texas in late 2010. The first mature Study Teams have just finished up at Charlotte, NC and Northern California. Houston, Atlanta, and Southern California Study Teams will complete their work by the end of 2011.
Design and Implementation Teams begin work will be able to provide very detailed information on expected enhancements and committed improvements in the airspace and procedures areas.
This transformative change in the management and operation of how we fly will create a more predictable system, save fuel, and lower carbon emissions.”

---

There are two types of RNP waypoints: fly-by and fly-over. What percentage of the RNP points are fly-by?

90%

Explanation:

An aircraft is not required to fly directly over a fly-by waypoint. A turn commences within a determined distance of the waypoint. For fly-over waypoints, aircraft are required to fly directly over the waypoint; an aircraft starts its turn once it reaches the waypoint.

---

Greener Skies initiative in part reduces radio transmissions with the use of RNAV procedures. At ATL (Peachy Skies), how much of a reduction was there in radio transmissions with the implementation of RNAV?

40-50%

Explanation:

Radio transmissions can be reduced due to reduced vector instructions given by ATC. In one example, for typical arrival there were 11 radio transmissions; under Peachy Skies, that was reduced to 2.

---

I had an outstanding lineup of speakers; Ray Bishop, CEO/Manager of Jackson Hole Airport started us off, followed by Tom Nissalke of Atlanta-Hartsfield International Airport, Chad Leqve from Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport, and Captain Brian Townsend with US Airways. The speaker panel expertly took what we’d learned on Monday about NextGen procedures, including WAAS, RNAV, RNP, RNP-AR, PBN… you get the idea, and applied it to their airport. This session tied together technology with efforts on the ground to mitigate noise, including noting how NextGen procedures changed the size and shape of noise contours, as well as how the community reacted to the changes.

The takeaways from this session included:

• Include community buy-in to the process of implementing new procedures early in the process.
• Communication is key between all stakeholders - FAA, airlines, ATC, and the community
• Airlines are equipped and ready to fly NextGen procedures, keeping in mind fuel and time reduction.
  

Is there a doctor in the house?

One of our longest tenure staff members, Paul Ziegler, completed a personal milestone this year; as of November 17, 2011, Paul is Dr. Ziegler, D.B.A.! We'd like to extend a hearty congratulations to Dr. Ziegler on his outstanding accomplishment. Dr. Ziegler started at BridgeNet in 2003 with a Bachelor of Mathematics under his belt. He went to graduate school, earning a Masters of Science in Information Systems; he continued pursuing his goal of higher education by applying to a doctorate program in finance at Anderson University. This month, Paul earned his Doctor of Business Administration, D.B.A. in finance. His area of study was naked short selling, a field of study that is very applicable to the current financial issues.

Dr. Ziegler was able to accomplish this all while working full time as BridgeNet's Senior Software Engineer (including expanding our Texas office) and raising three wonderful children with his wife, Peg. Ever humble, Dr. Ziegler plans to keep us plebs in line by continuing to serve as the Senior Software Engineer, leading the VOLANS efforts.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dr. Ziegler's dissertation abstract, for those of us who'd like more information on naked short selling:

PREDICTORS OF NAKED SHORT SELLING: ANALYZING DELIVERY FAILURES IN U.S. STOCK MARKETS

A short sale exists when a seller borrows securities from a current owner who is willing to lend shares for immediate sale. The short seller believes the price will drop, only to then return the borrowed shares at a future lower price. Academics have long held that short sales are an important part of market efficiency while also providing increased liquidity. Market regulators, corporate executives, and politicians, however, often see short selling as the cause of excess volatility. In distinction to a normal short sale, a so called “naked short sale” exists when the seller offers shares for which they have no legal title. Eliminating naked shorting would require either abolishing short selling altogether or greatly impairing the speed of the market.

There have been significant regulatory changes by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in recent years to curb abusive naked short selling. A 2009 study by the U.S. Government Accounting Office (GAO) has suggested that abusive naked shorting has been reduced by the new regulations and suggested certain factors which might characterize firms targeted by naked short sellers. The purpose of this study is to determine if these factors are in fact useful in predicting naked short selling and to what extent they might have analytical power.

Historical daily delivery failure data, a prime indicator of naked short selling, was gathered along with firm and stock trading characteristics. A combined data set for the first half of 2011 was created for over five thousand stocks from the AMEX, NASDAQ and NYSE exchanges. The results showed that the average daily trading volume, market capitalization, percentage of ownership by institutions, and open short positions strongly predicted delivery failures. Listed options for a stock, insider ownership percentage, and the number of outstanding shares were not significant in predicting delivery failures. This study indicates that naked shorting is not a random effect in the market and can be predicted by easily observable variables, implying that further regulatory action might be required.

ACA Conference

Last week was the annual Association of California Airports conference held in South Lake Tahoe, California at the Inn by the Lake. The picture is the view I woke up to each morning, a great way to start the day. This was the second year BridgeNet attended the conference (my first), and again it was a great gathering of airport managers, staff, Caltrans, FAA, and industry consultants. I can sum up the conference with this phrase used by a conference attendee: “You have to stay ahead of the aircraft.”

How can we stay ahead of our aircraft?

I wasn’t able to be up there on the day the conference started, but was able to enjoy the second and third days. The first session of the second day focused on how to be a good Public Information Officer for your airport, and the second session of the day was on social media. Much of the PIO presentation, excellently delivered by Michael McCarron, Director of Community Affairs at San Francisco International Airport, is applicable to those of us who aren’t in direct contact with the media. A great tool Mike shared with us is to create a small card with facts about your airport that include the good, bad, and ugly and be able to recite them at any time.

• The good: list three good things about your airport.

• The bad: list three bad things about your airport. Why? Because at some point you will be asked a question that can be hard to answer.

• The ugly: list three things about your airport you never want to talk about. Why? Having an answer to hot button issues helps you stay ahead, anticipating media or citizen questions.

The second session focused on social media. It takes a lot of prep work and continually updating your skill set to stay ahead of this aircraft! But once you dial in your heading, you are going to land on the numbers every time by keeping up your social media skills. How have I kept up these skills? By getting caught in the social media session…tweeting about the meeting. I’m not sure if the book’s been written on tweeting while meeting. There are a few tools to make getting into social media easier. A key tool is using a social media manager such as HootSuite. The social manager acts like a dashboard, with information about all of your social media outlets in one location.

After attending this year’s conference, there will surely be an arm wrestle to determine who from BridgeNet attends next year! To find out more about ACA, visit their website at www.calairports.com

I'll Take 1 Reauth with a Side of Construction

What a week this has been for the FAA. Our graphic artist was at the Oakland International Airport last week and fortuitously took this shot of the new tower under construction while on site to take pictures for their new noise abatement website (coming soon!). Just one of the many project across the nation that were halted on Monday because the reauthorization bill was not passed.

Let's get our FAA friends back to work and pass the FAA reauthorization bill!

BridgeNet, vacation edition

It is summertime, I hope everyone has been able to take some time to enjoy the season. We've gone from the majestic redwoods in California to the shores of Outer Banks, NC and through the corn fields of Iowa. While we were off sleeping under the stars and finding our family roots (apparently, one of us has Martians in the family...), there is actual work to be done. More on that later, after our post-vacation haze wears off.

In actual aviation news, today is a historic day for AMR, parent company of American Airlines. AMR announced the largest aircraft purchase in history, purchasing 200 Boeing 737 and 260 Airbus A320 aircraft, in an effort to retire its MD-80 fleet. Last count AA operates approximately 275 MD-80 aircraft. The MD-80 aircraft has been in service since late 1980 and is one of the louder aircraft in the commercial fleet. This massive aircraft purchase supports airport forecasting that determined a substantial reduction of older, louder Stage 3 aircraft for new generation Stage 4 aircraft will occur in the near future. It is an exciting day for AMR, as well as for many communities that will see real relief in the form of new, efficient engines that allow for a quicker climb-out and have the ability to fly satellite-based approach and departure procedures with ease.

Field Notes

In the past year when I travel, I've taken to walking terminals instead of waiting at my gate or the closest watering hole. It breaks up the monotony of waiting while clocking a few miles, depending on the size of the terminal. I think it probably started on a trip with my young children; I got so used to chasing them around I forget to stop when I travel solo!

Walking the terminal is great for an aviation geek such as myself because you come across nuggets of information tucked away in real estate not usable for commercial ad space or seating. More and more, airports are using this space to showcase their efforts to become sustainable, or even carbon neutral. At a recent SLC layover, I did my usual walk and found a screen dedicated to the airport's environmental stewardship. Airports are generally willing partners in the effort to reduce aviation's impact on the environment. The industry represents 2% of global emissions from all industries. In the past, the industry took a defensive stance of "it's only 2%, what else do you want from us?!" to "it's 2%, how can we be carbon neutral in our lifetime?" At Atlanta Hartsfield, they made recycling as easy as throwing away trash. The airport sorts the trash and recycling material for you, using just one common bin instead of multiple recycle bins.

When you're on the road, share your stories of how airports are reducing their environmental impact in the industry.