AEROTRAC :: Tracking for Aviation, Marine, Vehicles and Special Events

Flight and Engine Time Reporting - NEW!

January 15th is going to be a big day for us - we are officially going live with our brand new Flight and Engine Time reporting service. If you own a Flightcell DZM or a NAL 9601 LP terminal and have connected it to engine run sensors (e.g. oil pressure switch) and airborne sensors (e.g. strain gauge or collective) TracPlus now gives you accurate engine and flight time reporting for each aircraft in your fleet. What's more, you can also create individualised PDF reports to email straight to your customers with their invoices. You asked for it, and we are delighted to deliver!

SAR Watch - Automated Flight Following - NEW!

On January 15th, we will be also officially go live with our new SAR Watch Service for automated flight following (AFF) of aircraft. As many of you will know, we have consulted far and wide as to how an AFF service should work, and we have listened. Unlike other AFF services that only look for missed consecutive reports and will not activate in some instances (e.g. pilot incapacitation on the ground), we have developed an advanced continuous monitoring system to ensure the very best service possible. SAR Watch is available for a flat fee of just $5 per aircraft per month. And, for those times when you forget to cancel SAR Watch, not only do you get an TXT alert to your cell phone, you can also cancel direct from your cell phone! No more having to go back to the hangar, or having to find a computer in a hurry!

MDT for Satamatics and NAL terminals

And that's not all! On the 15th, we will also be shipping our new and improved Message Head (MDT860). After months of exhaustive testing, the Message Head has passed with flying colours (no pun intended) and now supports both the Satamatics 201 and the NAL 9601 Iridium terminal. The MDT860 brings dramatic new functionality to your existing NAL or Satamatics terminal, including global text messaging, time and distance based tracking, SAR Watch activation and deactivation, points of interest and so much more!

"Our" Duo Discus crew placed equal first in the Two Seat category in the Grand Prix. See results Congratulations to Mal & Peter. We were able to monitor their movements every two minute with TracPlus fitted to the glider. It was very exciting to see them recover from a poor position on the last day when they were scraping for altitude but used their skills to find a thermal. As they rose, we could even see which way the wind was blowing as their "breadcrumb" moved to the east as they gained altitude. Once they were at a safe height they were then able to resume the chase to the finish. Click on the images below to see the location of the thermalling on the map or via Google Earth 3D. The flight information can be downloaded into an Excel spreadsheet if you choose.

A bit more luck with the weather allowed our Duo Discus crew of Mal Bruce and Peter Sommersby to have a better few days. Results at the time of writing show that they have won the first couple of days. The current results can be seen at the Narromine Grand Prix site If you would like to hear the observations of the pilots on TracPlus and how it performed in the Duo Discus, contact Mal Bruce. He has some great flying movies and pictures on his site as well.

TracPlus was fitted to a high performance Duo Discus taking part in the Narromine Cup and competing in the Grand Prix the following week. Our intrepid crew consisting of Mal Bruce and Peter Sommersby had an outlanding in the afternoon on the first day in the capricious weather during the Narromine Cup. We were able to see the flight of the glider where we were monitoring the flight back on the ground and saw the outlanding in real time.
The tug was sent to retrieve the glider but it was decided that the paddock was too wet and sticky to aerotow out and the crew piled into the tug to return, leaving the Discus in the farmer’s paddock. Thanks to the mapping abilities of TracPlus we were able to see the exact location for a road retrieval the following morning via the satellite maps showing the nearest roads and farmhouses.

We met the farmer, Gordon and his wife Noelene, who were a bit surprised to find that they had an aircraft in their paddock! Conditions were still a bit soggy but the glider was on a drier patch and we were able to get to the Discus, dismantle it and put into the glider transporter with a bit of huffing and puffing. Two seater sailplanes are fairly heavy when there is only three people to lift the wings!

The crew were not very thrilled at having to outland but it was a very good demonstration of the data feed from TracPlus. You could see that during the flight they were able to gain considerable altitude earlier on, where they were and the speed, every two minutes. As the flight wore on, the loss of altitude started to tell and then the descent was able to be monitored and the final location was able to be downloaded.