Business
Small cap thinks outside the "black box": SNA.V
Small cap thinks outside the "black box": SNA.V
About this update from Star Navigation Systems Group Ltd.
[{"type":"text","content":"\nSmall cap thinks outside the "black box": SNA.V\n\n\n Feb. 25, 2010 (Baystreet.ca) -- More than a century after man first conquered the air -- and half a century after penetrating space -- our fascination with flight persists. Safety in the air is important, too, which is why Toronto-based Star Navigation Systems Group Ltd. (TSX-Venture: SNA), continues to be sought out as an authority on the subject, and even more so, as a small-cap investment.SNA is a leading-edge technology company focused on providing Aerospace Solutions. Most recently, the company has developed the TERRASTARTM in-flight safety monitoring system -- the first such system to feature in-flight data monitoring and diagnostics with a "real-time" secure connection between aircraft and ground, made possible through current technology and satellite transmission.The established data monitoring as the industry appears to know it consists of so-called "Black Box" recordings. But, as Pierre Jeanniot, who chairs the firm's strategic advisory committee, told the media last summer, such technology is obsolete. Jeanniot, formerly of the helm of Air Canada and the International Air Transport Association (IATA), pointed out several cases where, even though the flight data recorders have been recovered, the "Black Box" had been so badly damaged that much of the data had been destroyed or very difficult to interpret. It was, incidentally, Jeanniot who helped develop the original flight data recording technology about 40 years ago. TERRASTA, he continued, constitutes cost-effective real-time data, able not only to transmit data when specific malfunction occurs, but can, in the event of a serious malfunction, transmit all data and cockpit communication non-stop. The substantial reduction in satellite communication costs make such a system relatively inexpensive to operate. In January, the sales effort for TERRASTA came up nuggets last month when SkyLink Aviation Inc. acquired another two of the systems, bringing the total SkyLink order to 33. Also recently, Star announced last fall that it was setting up shop in the States, specifically, in Atlanta, for its U.S. headquarters. While volume for SNA stock appears to be somewhat heavy, the price has not quite been cleared for takeoff, after hitting its 52-week peak at 48 cents earlier this mo...