Spidertracks To Host Safety Workshop In Kenya

Spidertracks will be conducting a free flight tracking workshop at the Aero Club of East Africa, Wilson Airport, Nairobi on the 28th of September. The workshop will focus on real-time tracking as part of safety management and gives examples of how small aircraft companies can increase the safety and productivity of their operations through the utilisation of this technology.

Hosted by spidertracks' CEO Dave Blackwell in conjunction with Laurie Moore from Litson and Associates, the workshop aims to decrease the knowledge gap around the technologies that are available, and clarify misconceptions about both their cost of acquisition and cost of operation.

"Spidertracks' mission is to increase the safety and operational efficiency of aviation businesses and their people. We do this in a number of ways, including through educational sessions for operations staff and pilots," he says.

This half-day workshop begins with an introductory to flight tracking segment for those with limited knowledge on the topic. It will cover the different types and classes of tracking solutions, from hand held products like SPOT, to portable products like spidertracks and BlueSky Network and Indigo Sat to installed products such as SkyConnect and ADS-B. The pros and cons of each will be discussed along the way. The second part of the workshop will be more focused on spidertracks. It will cover both technical and user-based aspects of the system and will discuss the practical application of the features in an aviation context. This segment will be particularly useful for our existing customers and those who are considering spidertracks for their fleet management solutions.

Mr Blackwell adds that aviation anywhere in the world can at times be dangerous but our responsibility as safety providers is to provide the best tools to allow for safe flying.

"Aviation anywhere in the world can be dangerous. Given the remote, and often volatile, characteristics associated with flying within Africa, we would like to do our part to ensure that every operator has the best opportunity for safe operation."

Spidertracks has had a long standing relationship in the African aviation market through Litson and Associates and have recently employed a full-time customer services representative in South Africa to ensure African customers can receive the best local assistance from us.

Spidertracks is a New Zealand-based company that specialises in real-time satellite aircraft tracking. The Spider is a lightweight, compact, fully portable device weighing only 5.5 oz (160g) that integrates all the necessary tracking and safety components inside a single compact box. The Spider sits on the glare shield of an aircraft and uses the Iridium satellite network to send real-time flight data such as airspeed, altitude, heading, and latitude/longitude. This data is then displayed by spidertracks on web-based and mobile applications.

Spidertracks will be in Addis for an AfBAA presentation on the 24th September and are making the most of the short trip by reaching out to other operators while there. There are also workshops planned for aviation operations in Johannesburg and Maun on the 29th and 30th of September.

To register for the free event, head to www.spidertracks.com/workshop