Wavelengths

One of the newer members of the SmartSky team, Dana Kirchmar joined us in May as VP of Product Management. Her decades of experience in the aviation/aerospace and telecommunications industries in a variety of roles, including engineering and technical leadership positions, make Dana a valuable addition to the team.

Get to know Dana in the latest installment of SmartSky's Fast Five!

Coming from a significant background in FAA and STC development and management, Patrick Van Wie joined the SmartSky team in July as Director of Aircraft Certification and Product Assurance. Patrick's work includes managing SmartSky's ongoing and future STC efforts, providing product certification guidance, assisting with quality assurance, and monitoring for aircraft systems failures and returns.

"We are very fortunate to have Patrick on the SmartSky team," said Darren Emery, VP of Product Support. "His extensive experience in avionics certification and product assurance is already paying off and will be an enormous benefit as we rapidly expand our STC effort and quality management initiatives at SmartSky."

Get to know Patrick, and his dog Toby, in the latest installment of SmartSky's Fast Five!

Recently published in Business Aviation Advisor Magazine, Rich Pilock is the Director of Support & Delivery for SmartSky Networks. His responsibilities include leading program and product management, as well as acting as a technical liaison for delivery and support for the Skytelligence program and the Retail Distribution Partner program for Commercial and Business Aviation.

"Rich is an integral member of the SmartSky team," said Blane Rockafellow, VP of Digital Solutions. "His strong background in the aviation industry with cybersecurity has been extremely valuable throughout the development of the Skytelligence program."

Learn more about Rich in the latest installment of SmartSky's Fast Five!

In celebration of the 2018 EAA AirVenture Fly-In & Convention this week, we're looking back on last year's event, when Bruce Holmes, our VP of Digital Aviation, presented an overview of SmartSky's 4G LTE network. Read Bruce's remarks from that presentation below and dig into the future of connectivity with SmartSky.

We are very excited to welcome Nancy Walker to the SmartSky team as our first Chief Commercial Officer. A veteran of the aviation industry with over 30 years of aerospace technology and inflight connectivity experience, Nancy will be a valuable addition to SmartSky as she leads our network-related sales and marketing efforts.

“Nancy’s experiences and skills are a perfect complement to the existing SmartSky executive team. Her unique background enables her to understand the intricate details and interdependencies of IFC system engineering, program management, contracts, customer service, and customer support,” said Ryan Stone, president of SmartSky Networks.

Get to know a bit more about Nancy in this special extended installment of SmartSky's Fast Five!

A week ago, the Global Connected Aircraft Summit was underway: three days packed with panels, presentations, and over 400 attendees engaging in conversations about the connected aircraft. At the end of the first day, SmartSky Networks said “Aloha!” to those at GCAS by sponsoring the luau-themed opening networking event: “It’s Tiki Time!”

As the Diamond Sponsor of GCAS for the past two years, we always enjoy connecting attendees with each other by hosting the opening reception. 

The fifth annual Global Connected Aircraft Summit began yesterday in San Diego, CA, and if it was any indicator, the week promises to be filled with great discussions about the connected aircraft.