Aug. 03--OSHKOSH -- The Wright Brothers didn't have angel investors or seed funding.
But it's a much different world now for inventors, entrepreneurs and people with ingenious ideas.
Chris Johnson, a pilot instructor who earned his doctorate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, realized the weather information in flight simulators was not realistic because pilots rarely fly in perfect conditions. So he devised a weather simulation engine that more closely mimics real-world flying conditions, ranging from thunderstorms and stiff winds to snow and hail.
He developed the technology and started a company, Pilot Training System. But to get his idea off the ground, he's now looking for a round of seed funding -- which is why he was at EAA AirVenture during the weeklong convention that ends Sunday.
EAA started 60 years ago as a small group of aviation enthusiasts who built planes in their garages. That entrepreneurial spirit and environment for innovation continues today with new aviation technology unveiled at AirVenture each summer.
Among the aircraft and avionics manufacturers booths and displays on the sprawling grounds next to Wittman Regional Airport is a large innovations pavilion that acts as an aviation incubator for inventors and emerging technology. Inside are booths such as Johnson's, which features flight simulations on computer screens as well as electric-, solar- and hybrid-powered aircraft and new cockpit displays.
Johnson, who earned his PhD in industrial and systems engineering, won this year's "pitch and mingle" session coordinated by the UW-Oshkosh AeroInnovate program, featuring half a dozen entrepreneurs at AirVenture and dozens of companies and investors.
"What we realized is weather simulation is underdeveloped and pilots are undertrained for bad weather," Johnson said while standing in front of his booth in the pavilion.
With most flight simulators, users choose the type of weather, which remains unchanged unless the simulation is paused, another weather scenario chosen, and then simulation is resumed. That's not how it works in actual cockpits. Storms can blow up at a moment's notice.
Johnson developed a way to implement uncertainty in weather conditions for flight simulators. Plus, he figured out a way to call up specific weather conditions from accidents to use for training.
Aeronautical incubator
The AeroInnovate program started in 2009, when the first forums to help aviation entrepreneurs were hosted at AirVenture. This year for the first time, the innovations pavilion is in a large tent centrally located on the grounds with lots of foot traffic.
"This is a phenomenal opportunity for entrepreneurs to showcase their ideas," said AeroInnovate program director Meridith Jaeger. "Essentially what we do is provide resources to companies and entrepreneurs, like how to write a business plan and how to pitch to investors."
Innovation on display
Nimbus, an Italian company, makes a hybrid airship drone, which uses only 15% to 20% helium mixed with air to fly its orange and white wing-shaped aircraft. Unlike airships that use mostly helium, the Nimbus is much cheaper, flies more stable and is designed to travel very slowly -- about 15 mph.
The drone can be used with cameras to shoot video or photo mosaics for search and rescue operations or by the military, explained Nimbus CEO Paolo Bellezza Quater. The company is manufacturing and selling the hybrid airship in Europe but is here at Oshkosh for the first time because it wants to break into the American market.
"We're not lighter than air, we're heavier than air, so we can take off and land where we want," Quater said. "We came to Oshkosh because this is where innovations come. We're hoping to find a U.S. partner or investor."
The Perlan Project showed off its second-generation sailplane, designed to climb to 90,000 feet above Earth to study weather and climate conditions. The Oregon company discovered a way to benefit from stratospheric winds created from air flowing around mountains. The glider can surf those updrafts into the atmosphere, said project manager Morgan Sandercock.
The Stage 1 glider flew to 50,000 feet, and Stage 2 is under development with the parts waiting to be assembled.
"We want to inspire the younger generation to be pilots and engineers. We've had hundreds of kids climb into the cockpit," Sandercock said in front of the gleaming white fuselage.
Plan for an air taxi
Caren Sandusky isn't as far along in her creation but built a small model that she used to demonstrate her idea for an aircraft that takes off like a helicopter and flies like a plane, like a civilian version of the Harrier.
Sandusky hopes her invention with two rotors and movable wings, which she calls Mockingbird Aviation, will someday be used as an air taxi, rescue vehicle or commuter aircraft that can be parked in a small parking space. She filed her patents in March and is at Oshkosh looking for an angel investor or seed funding.
"This one is a five-passenger taxi," Sandusky said holding up the white plastic model. "But it can be adapted for a lot of things and it will be able to land on water, ice and snow."
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