Experience in Aviation
Both Hunter Strategies partners are pilots and both have traveled faster than the speed of sound.
In the Cockpit
Jim has been flying since he was 14 and has over 4,000 hrs in a variety of aircraft. He flew C-130s for the USAF with a tour in Vietnam and then with the Air Force Reserves for five years. The Herk is a great airplane and Jim flew it over a good portion of the world. While in the Reserves, Jim earned his CFI, CFII and Multiengine Instructor ratings and taught flying at Lebanon Regional Airport, NH in addition to going back to graduate school. After the Reserves, Jim owned a series of Piper Aztecs that he flew extensively in the US and to the Bahamas. Jim just got his Tail Wheel endorsement and is currently working on his Commercial glider rating. Of all the flying he has done, Jim finds soaring the most enjoyable.
Mimi got her Private Pilot license at Brainard Airport while teaching programming at Pratt and Whitney in East Hartford, Conn. She has flown only intermittenly since then. However, Mimi’s travels on her consulting business did enable her to fly the Concorde back from London. Mimi reminds Jim that she actually has flown faster than he has.
ACARS, FANS, CPDLC
For over two years, Jim acted as consulting Program Manager for an ACMI operator to bring their operations up to modern standards. The first project was to standardize the MU communications units in the fleet of 747s and then contract with SITA to have full ACARS capability. Software to run the Operations Center was customized and installed. Ops specifications and manuals were updated and training insitituted for all aircrew. Jim worked closely with the airline’s Chief Technical Pilot to manage and implement these changes.
The second project with this operator involved making them FANS and CPDLC capable, coupled with upgrades to meet RVSM standards. This was a time critical project as there were mandates to be FANS and CPDLC capable by 2020 to be able to fly above FL290 on the North Atlantic Tracks (NAT). This project required coordination with Boeing to insure the aircraft were RVSM qualified and installing or upgrading satcomm equipment in the fleet. Jim provided the analysis on both the Iridium and Inmarst networks that resulted in selection of Iridium as the preferred satcomm system. Ops specs and FOMs (Flight Operations Manual ) were updated and a training course from Luftansana was selected and implemented.
Airline Data Communications
At Wingspeed Jim oversaw the development of the first retrofittable VHF based ACARS systems taking the systems through DO-178, DO-160, DO254 and ARINC approval. To get these approvals Jim directed the creation of Wingspeed’s own traceability system that produced the required traces from requirements to implementation to tests. He worked closely with the Systems and Software DER to comply with the standards’ requirements. This ACARS system was later upgraded to include an Iridium satcomm option.
Wingspeed’s 2nd product was a computing and communications system that utilized WiFi comms on the ground and Iridium satcomm in the air combined with the first electronic flight bags (EFBs). This system contained both Level C and Level D software allowing the airline operators to utilize COTS software to eliminate paper in the operations. Jim and Wingspeed worked closely with Skybus Airlines to implement the first FAA approved paperless operations of a certificated airline operator. Several other operators also installed and used this equipment to achieve enhanced efficiencies and effectiveness.