SkyTrac flight following system/service

[EN48]

Anyone have experience and/or comments re SkyTrac?

[GeorgeMandes]

Don't know that system, but we have been using Spidertracks (Spidertracks - Home (http://www.spidertracks.com/Home.mvc)) as a portable Iridium/GPS tracking system for several years in fixed and rotor wing aircraft in Alaska, Canada and the lower 48 with complete satisfaction.

[EN48]

George,

Thanks for the link to Spidertracks. This appears to be very similar in function to SkyTrac (SkyTrac.ca - Home (http://www.skytrac.ca/pg_Home.php) ), a Canadian company. The SkyTrac acft based unit (DSAT 300) sells for about $2500 U.S. and there are additional subscription and messaging charges based on amount of data transmitted. Wondering if you have pricing info on Spidertracks?

I have been experimenting with the SPOT2 system (http://www.findmespot.com/en/ (http://www.findmespot.com/en/) ) and find that it seems to work OK, however it is not designed to be powered from the acft electrical system, so one must be sure that the internal batteries are replaced often. The strongest argument for this product may be price: about $150 for the hardware unit and about $150 annual fee for messaging. This unit appears to be a consumer grade product and I am concerned about robustness. It seems to have been designed as a personal emergency device for emergency use, not for continuous real time acft tracking.

[Super 61]

We've been using Skytrac to track our offsore fleet (225,92,C++) for 4 years. The system works very well and their team in Canada are very helpful. We've had issues at times with the web based tracking system but issues generally get resolved in 24 hours. We also have it hooked to the new 40 Square "Heli Office" software so it gives us billing information, FD times based on WOW as well. pm me if you want more info.

[BB120]

Spidertracks has become the dominant tracking/safety system in New Zealand ( where it was developed ) and is also popular in Australia. They're usedSpidertracks has now opened a US company and is looking to expand in the US. There are already several heli fleets in the US using spidertracks, as well as numerous private operators. I'm involved with spidertracks, and can provide references to US fleets if you're interested.

[EN48]

BB120,

Thanks for the info. Any guidance on Spidertracks pricing?

[topendtorque]

Anyone used Indigosat, I think mostly a south african used product, but now here is OZ. seems reasonably priced.

[GeorgeMandes]

I believe the pricing has changed since we got it some years back, so our contact there is James and suggest you ask him for the current pricing. I think his email address is [email protected]

There is an initial charge for the device, and then so much a hit ongoing. You can choose between time, distance or a combination.

We have a power cord hard wired into a number of the aircraft we fly, and place the unit on top the glare shield, attached by velcro, and connect to ship's power. Here it is in use flying between AK and UT, just northwest of Smithers.

http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg251/GJMandes/ST-1.jpg

[EN48]

I have recently installed the SpiderTracks S3 Spider (considerably smaller than the unit shown in George's helicopter elsewhere on this thread) in my B407 and am currently test flying to assure that the software is properly set up. So far it is working well. I finally chose this unit because it has the smallest footprint of any of those I have looked at and was very easy to install. (Made a simple mounting bracket from a small piece of aluminum which attaches to the center pedestal using existing mounting screws for an AC duct.) Spider is Velcro'd to the bracket so as to be "non-permanent."

Another attractive aspect of SpiderTracks is the relatively low cost. I purchased mine at HeliExpo in March where the company was running a promotion which included $200 of messaging services when purchasing the Spider at the regular price of $995. The alternative I was considering was the Sky Trac system which was quoted at about $2500. Both systems are powered by the helicopter electrical system, but the Sky Trac unit has a built in battery pack which allows the unit to be removed and used outside the helicopter. The SpiderTracks unit does not have a built in battery, but this results in a unit roughly the size of a pack of cigarettes, weighing a few ounces. The Sky Trac unit is much larger and heavier. I'd prefer to use a PLB outside the helicopter, and one can purchase a PLB for every passenger for the difference in price (assuming a light turbine helicopter).

Both units require a subscription to an Iridium messaging service at around $15 per month (more or less, depending on amount of usage).