Re: Message from Kent Jacobs, FLYHT President & Interim CEOCommentary on the updates in this message can be found below.
To start with, this message released on Feb. 13th lead with the news that FLYHT had completed its STC submission for the flange-mount version of the Edge. "
...we have formally completed our data package and have submitted this to Transport Canada delegates for a Supplemental Type Certificate (“STC”) approval for the activation of the flange version of our industry leading 5G wireless data communication device, the AFIRS Edge." That was Tuesday. What was thought might take up to 60 days took just three.
On Friday Feb. 16th, FLYHT announced that it had received this STC. "
...today announced that Transport Canada has issued FLYHT a Supplemental Type Certificate (“STC”) for the flange version of the AFIRS EdgeTM, the Company’s 5G wireless data communication device, for Airbus A320 aircraft."
(I suspect that the actual date of official submission was earlier than the date of the CEO letter stating it. Transport Canada may well have been working on this STC for a while. Still, the approval was very fast.)
The other STCs needed - for the Edge on Boeing and Embraer, for the Edge+ on Airbus, Boeing and Embraer, for Canada and other jurisdictions like the FAA, EASA, CAAC, and the Brex-ited UK, should follow along now. (The STC "familiarization" process will expedite all of these.)
As to the other updates provided by KJ on Feb. 13, I thought it might be an idea to see them as bullet points, with less filler text, with management the speaker. There are a lot of points and they lay out a busy few years ahead.
- receipt of the Transport Canada STC for the AFIRS Edge flange mount design
- Canada Jetlines installs for their Airbus A320 family airplanes can be activated
- 4MCU Edge+, the Teledyne swap-out replacement, first approval in Q3 2024
- OSS (One Stop Systems, manufacturer, designer) expects to begin their production support and shipments of AFIRS Edge+ in Q2 2024
- building the first sensors at our production line in Calgary
- obtaining STCs on the Embraer 145 from the UK Civil Aviation Authority
- under contract with NOAA to deliver FLYHT-WVSS-II, Edge and SatCom sensor packages under NOAA’s FY2023 budget for the collection of atmospheric data on U.S. Pacific routes looking predominantly at atmospheric river formations
- FLYHT and NOAA are in advanced stages of securing the airline partner for this program to position for installations on the Boeing 737 in Q4 2024 (although the January investor presentation seems to say it is WestJet)
- Next month we expect to be allocated NOAA FY2024 budget per the contract for further FLYHT-WVSS-II sensor deployment to help fill data gaps that currently exist over key areas of the U.S. and surrounding oceanic areas.
- ...actively lobbying the U.S. Congress to ensure that the pending U.S. Weather Act re-authorization which is due to become law this year has sufficient funding to continue the expansion of WVSS-II use.
- as the FLYHT-WVSS-II production line gets underway in Calgary, FLYHT is well placed to support, upgrade, calibrate and/or replace the 148 legacy sensors which are now nearing end of life. These sensors provide millions of valuable data points every month to NOAA and meteorological agencies around the world
- (I don't know how many sensors Collins has in hand after Southwest Airlines upgraded its fleet, but I don't see them having all that many. Certainly not the hundreds need to meet immediate and future global demand. If Collins needs new ones, I believe they will have to come to FLYHT to get them. Win or lose a data collection contract bid with NOAA, FLYHT gets to sell hardware.)
- Each installation of a FLYHT-WVSS-II humidity sensor, in order to transmit the data off the aircraft in real-time, will be fully integrated with a Certus-100 SatCOM terminal and Edge device. We will then generate recurring SaaS revenue as we capture aircraft-based observations on an ongoing basis.
- (I read this as meaning: an Edge and SatCOM gets sold with each WVSS-II sensor. The airline and the meteorological office pay for the hardware installs. They split the cost by balancing the benefit for each from the install. They both get the weather data in real time. The airline gets to use the SatCOM terminal. The airline gets to run apps on the Edge, including any FLYHT apps it might sign up for. The airline complies by flying agreed-upon routes. FLYHT gets the hardware sale, the weather data collecting fee, a cut of the Iridium SatCOM airtime, revenue from any FLYHT SaaS, and any maintenance fees.)
- CrossConsense plans to roll-out several exciting new extensions to their app offerings this year. Many all-new features will make it into their popular solution Aircraft Fleet View, which is already in use with more than 3,000 users.
- ...solid growing base of recurring SaaS revenue which we expect to further expand as we roll out our new offerings. Having software integrated with hardware is so powerful that customers with early access to the Edge are increasingly requesting our whole software suite.
- As we invest for the near-term future, we are dedicated to living within our means by investing mainly from our internally generated positive cashflow, and investing in our highest strategic priorities.