Spidertracks Rewind 2020: A Year in Review

It’s rewind time again. We’re back to round out 2020, and what a year it has been!

Despite all the ups and downs, there were some pretty fantastic highlights and awesome achievements made in 2020. 

Join us on the reflective journey as we look back on the year that was…‍

COVID-19’s Impact on Aviation ‍

There’s no denying it. It’s been a difficult year - for economies, businesses, communities, and families. 

COVID-19 has impacted all of us in some way in the aviation community, with many general aviation businesses still facing challenges.

We’ve been proud to support our friends and partners during this time – staying closely connected and offering customers flexibility to help them through the turbulence. We’ve been so impressed (but not surprised) at how resilient you all are, and want to thank you for your continued support and communication during this time. 

So as we welcome in a hopefully more ‘normal’ 2021, we’ll be toasting our fantastic customers and looking forward to supporting your business in the new year.

‍We Didn’t Slow Down...‍

In terms of tech innovation, the Spidertracks team has (figuratively) been on steroids! 

In January, we launched our latest ground-breaking hardware (Spider X) at HAI Heli Expo.

But that was just the beginning. We’ve been working hard to revolutionize your safety & efficiency by making Flight Data Monitoring (FDM) and FOQA easily accessible for general aviation. 

With our latest Virtual FDR™ innovations announced this year (Insights and 3D Flight Replay), Spidertracks provides so much more than just a dot on the map. Our aim is to help mitigate risk, enhance safety, and drive efficiency – without the cost and complexity. You can now review flights in stunning 3D, access powerful and actionable safety & operational reports, and more.

Our software platform also continued to evolve with major updates including an enhanced user interface, great new features such as ‘favourites’, and improved weather overlays.

In recognition of these announcements, we were named as finalists for 'Company of the Year' at the NZ Hi-Tech awards this year. 

The team Aviator Group took full advantage of these new solutions, where they added two Airbus H135P3H earlier this year - an impressive machine, with the Helionix flight deck and 4-axis Autoflight System on board.

A special thank you to our launch customers who partnered with us in releasing our latest developments - Blue Hawaiian Helicopters (Official Launch Customer for Spider X) and Maverick Helicopters (Insights Launch Customer).

We greatly appreciate the support for these innovations we have received so far, and look forward to continuing to support your journeys around the world!

‍Continent Coverage‍

There were some pretty awesome adventures undertaken in 2020, and in some areas where there’s little to no cellular or ADS-B coverage! ‍

Gael Le Martin has been flying over the Central African Republic and protecting its wildlife (covering a modest land area of 17,600 km² might we add!); Chuck Schroth ventured through the coastal region known as the Alexander Archipelago in Southeast Alaska, transporting people and goods via the scenic route; and the team at ASESA continued to cover the entire landscape of Mexico (1.973 million km²) from their base in Ciudad del Carmen!‍

Safer with Safety‍

We’ve had some pretty amazing conversations as well. We spoke with industry leader Chris Young on the topic of safety, and had Kodey Bogart of KB Solutions, LLC. – Safety Management, guest write one of our recent eBooks on some of the risks associated with Lithium-ion batteries.‍

‘Tis the Season‍

That’s all folks. What a year it has been! 

From the team at Spidertracks – stay safe during the holiday season, and we look forward to hearing about all your adventures in the new year and beyond.

P.S - Cake, anyone? This Spider X cake was developed in-house by our superstar baker - Pam:

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