FLYHT Solidifies Capabilities, Acquires Water Vapor Sensing System From SpectraSensors

Strategic Acquisition Bolsters Competitive Position and Creates Cross-Selling Opportunity for FLYHT Software

FLYHT Aerospace Solutions Ltd. announced it has acquired the Water Vapor Sensing System (“WVSS-II”) product line from SpectraSensors Inc (“SpectraSensors”).

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The WVSS-II is a sensor installed on aircraft and provides water vapour measurements in near real-time throughout an aircraft’s flight. These observations directly benefit weather forecasting and improve weather support to aviation.

The acquisition includes manufacturing assets, inventory, aviation-specific intellectual property, and a license to SpectraSensors’ Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (“TDLAS”) technology for use in the weather and aviation markets.

There are broad use cases for WVSS-II data. For airlines, forecasters rely on WVSS-II data to determine the location and timing of fog, cloud formation, altitude of cloud ceilings, and precipitation types; this information is critical to determine safe conditions for aircraft travel. Beyond airlines, this data enables industry organizations to provide more accurate weather and climate forecasts leading to increased societal and economic benefits.

A recent NOAA study showed that these aircraft-based observations are critical for rapidly updating numerical weather prediction models and reducing numerical weather prediction forecast error up to 15-20%. This improvement has the potential to save airlines money by avoiding air traffic delays, which have raised annual airline operating costs by over $8 billion in the U.S. alone. Weather accounts for 70% of all air traffic delays within the U.S. National Airspace, and almost two-thirds of these delays are potentially avoidable.

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“The addition of the WVSS-II sensor to FLYHT’s airborne weather observation capabilities enhances our already strong commitment to the collection and dissemination of global weather for the meteorology community,” said Captain Mary McMillan, FLYHT Board Member. “As a former airline pilot, I believe our growing suite of formidable weather tools, which monitor the changing climate and help improve weather forecasts, provide significant and growing benefit to the industry and individuals. Our aviation customers directly benefit through optimized flight plans which save fuel and ultimately reduce the global carbon footprint.”

The WVSS-II product will enhance FLYHT’s weather business by adding additional hardware, integration and recurring revenue sources to its existing Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data Reporting (TAMDAR™) and Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay (AMDAR) programs.

John Schnake, General Manager at SpectraSensors noted, “We are excited to find a good partner in FLYHT where the WVSS product line will continue to provide value to the aviation and weather community.  By divesting this product line, SpectraSensors will focus on growing our TDLAS technology in our core Oil & Gas and Chemical industries.”

The WVSS-II will be fully integrated with FLYHT’s AFIRS and EDGE products to provide real-time aircraft-based observations into FLYHT’s software products.

“WVSS-II data is integral to FLYHT’s Actionable Intelligence software product suite rollout,” said Ryan Pepper, FLYHT Product Owner, Flight Dispatch. “Accurate in situ weather data is key to FLYHT’s real-time optimal flight level and routing product development roadmap. Airlines installing WVSS-II, along with the AFIRS Edge product, will have access to unprecedented amounts of data to drive flight crew decision-making and pre-planning functions. This provides not only an enhanced level of safety but also significant fuel cost savings. We will integrate our JetBridge™ technology with WVSS-II data, and are looking for creative ways to use this accurate information to provide increased capabilities for our customers. This data, along with data collected by the AFIRS family, is ripe for use in FLYHT’s machine learning applications being developed in conjunction with our customers.”

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