San Francisco, California, USA, October 10, 2019 – Daher’s pioneering General Aviathon hackathon, which challenged innovators to propose enhancements for the company’s TBM family of turboprop-powered general aviation aircraft, has entered its final phase with 10 finalist projects chosen from teams and individuals across the United States, Europe and China.
The “General Aviathon” was created by Armstrong by Daher – Daher’s Silicon Valley-based innovation program – and focused on two themes: advanced features and capabilities to make TBM aircraft more autonomous, intelligent and connected; and innovative standards to further refine the experience of piloting and using the TBM.
An initial 25 projects were submitted by student teams, start-up companies and individuals, covering a full range of topics aimed at further enhancing TBM operations and functionality. Proposals chosen for the final competition range from mobile 4D flight planning/charting, increased protection against collisions with unmanned aircraft, and a simplified system for on-board TBM weight/balance calculations to virtual monitoring assistance in single-pilot flight operations, Cloud-based flight simulation training, and enhancing the in-flight experience with passenger-personalized services.
General Aviathon finalists will make their pitches on October 20 in San Carlos, California to a jury composed of experts from the aviation, information technology and start-up sectors. Two winners will receive a cash prize of $5,000 each, with the potential to partner with Daher in deploying their solutions if relevant and applicable. Following their selection, winners will fly to Las Vegas, Nevada to join Daher on October 21-22 at the world’s largest gathering of general aviation/business aviation professionals: the NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition.
Daher is committed to innovation, and our General Aviathon has clearly demonstrated how novel ideas from outside the traditional aviation sectors can be proposed to modernize procedures, improve safety and increase comfort,” said Daher CEO Didier Kayat. “Based on the diversity and interest of proposals in this first General Aviation, we have decided to continue the contest, with the next challenge scheduled for 2020
Didier kayat, daher chief executive officer
- Attend the October 20 event in San Carlos to hear the finalist teams present their projects and learn how Daher is committed to building the future of aviation. Invited guests include representatives from across the Silicon Valley ecosystem, including start-up leaders, venture capitalists, corporate executives, students and others. For additional information and to RSVP, visit: http://bit.ly/DaherAviathon
