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TECHNICAL PAPERS/ return to main page

WX SYSTEMS
INTERNATIONAL USER GROUP MEETING 2005

The Wharney Guang Dong Hotel
57-73 Lockhart Road
Wan Chai
Hong Kong
17th March 2005

MINUTES OF MEETING

The Meeting opened at 1000.
Patrick Markus Aisher; Iben Andsager; Edmond Chan; Gabriel Cheng; Laurent Dick; John Evans; Lars Finken; and Nils Lundstrom attended the Meeting.

Patrick Markus Aisher, Chief Executive Officer of WX Systems (PMA) welcomed the attendees to the International User Group Meeting in Hong Kong.

PMA explained that as the leading supplier of procedure design service solutions WX Systems had always had a pro-active policy of holding International User Group Meetings, and had been holding these since 1994. With more than 90 licensees in use world-wide, WX Systems. award-winning WX1. Series of Software range of clients is worldwide, and for this reason it was agreed to hold this meeting in Hong Kong. The last International User Group Meeting had been held in Copenhagen, Denmark in March 2004. PMA then updated the Users on WX Systems Corporate Developments since the last International User Group Meeting, as follows:

License Sales Revenue:
The WX1. Series of Software is still retailing at the same price as in the previous year, namely . 180,000 per individual user license, with Basic Training and Annual Maintenance at 10% respectively of the retail license price. New Licenses have been sold to Civil Aviation Department Hong Kong (2nd License); National Air Navigation Services Company Egypt; Air Transport Office Philippines (in co-operation with Mitsubishi Industries); Egyptian Air Forces (2nd License); Belgocontrol (2nd License); Navegacao Aereo de Portugal (5th & 6th Licenses); and Air Safety Support International United Kingdom (Trial Licenses).

Consulting Revenue:
Additional contracts for consulting had been won locally in Switzerland with the Federal Office of Civil Aviation, Skyguide, Lugano Airport, Buochs Airport, and Jet Aviation.

Maintenance Revenue:
PMA then stated that Maintenance had been an important part of WX Systems revenues throughout the year. PMA made clear that more and more clients are now paying the standard maintenance rate of . 18,000 per license per year. Also that most clients are now paying maintenance at the start of the calendar year, which makes estimating software development budgets much easier for the company.

Training Revenue:
WX Systems had provided various specific on-site training in the last twelve months in Lisbon, Cairo, Copenhagen, Manila, and Bern. Twelve other training courses had been provided at our location in Saanenmoser, Switzerland.

User Group Meetings:
In the last twelve months there had been a UK User Group Lunch in London in January 2005; an informal meeting of Latin American Users in Sao Paolo in November 2004; a Swiss User Group Lunch in Gstaad in June 2004; and an International User Group Meeting in Copenhagen in March 2004.

Shows, Exhibitions & Conferences Attended:
The company attended the IFATCA Exhibition in Hong Kong in March 2004, and the ATC Asia Pacific Exhibition in Beijing, China in September 2004. PMA made clear that the company did not believe that attending exhibitions was a priority for the company, as these were expensive in time and resources which could be better used in software development. The company had attended various industry-lead initiatives and work groups: WX was invited to participate in the meetings of the OCP Software Validation Subgroup to contribite their long standing experience in procedure design software development. The task of this Subgroup is to establish a Software Validation Manual for the Procedure Designer. Furthermore the Company attended the ICAO SIP on RNAV in Sao Paolo and has invitation from the Senior Vice President of Jeppesen to attent the RTCA/Eurocae Commitee 194/Workgroup 44 meeting in Palma de Mallorca.

New Courses:
The company has launched a variety of new training courses in the last year, such as. Understanding RNAV in the ATC Environment., .PANS OPS for Regulators.; .Geodesy and Survey Master Class., all of which had been well attended. Details of these courses, as well as the schedule for the next year, are attached to these Minutes.

Corporate Developments:
WX Systems & Geodetic Solutions Limited
PMA announced that the company had developed a significant relationship with Geodetic Solutions Limited in the United Kingdom, with the result that WX Systems was now offering further geodetic-based training, consulting, and software solutions to aeronautical, and other industry-based, experts. Furthermore, the company would be incorporating the Geodetic Solution Software into the WX1. Series, replacing the former tool from Blue Marble Industries Inc.

WX Systems & United for Technology Limited
PMA announced that the company had entered into a contract with United for Technology Limited in Cairo, Egypt, with whom WX Systems has been working for a number of years. Under this contract, United will be supplying three programmers to WX Systems on a full time basis for the next year. PMA explained that this increase in programming capability would start to yield significant results in the next year.

WX Systems release of WX1. TERPS®
PMA announced that the Company had completed the internal testing of the WX1. TERPS® system, which was now going to the US Federal Aviation Administration.s testing laboratory. The company believes that the launch of this product will open up the US market for its tools.

WX Systems & GE Network Solutions Inc.
PMA announced that the company had entered into a contract with GE Network Solutions to jointly develop an integrated GIS, Cartographic, and Procedural Database System to be called SANDAC. (Scandinavian Air Navigation Design and Aeronautical Cartography) System. The SANDAC. System will take three manyears to develop and is expected to meet the demand of Civil Aviation Authorities looking for an integrated ORACLE/EAD database approach to managing their AIS and ATM divisions incorporating the elements of the award-winning WX1. Series and the GE Smallworld GIS solution.

WX Systems & Aviplan AB
PMA announced that WX Systems had acquired the airport incident report handling system software developed by Aviplan AB of Sweden. This product, which has been initially licensed to the Swedish Airport Authority, is currently being improved with a new GUI and English language architecture, and will be released later in the year as the WX ReportHandler.. More information on this product is available at www.aviplan.com.

WX Systems & Air Navigation Institute . Switzerland
PMA announced that WX Systems was separating all training that was not related to the WX1. Series of Software into a new entity to be called the Air Navigation Institute . Switzerland. WX Systems will continue to offer Basic and Advanced courses in the use of the WX1. Series of Software. The Air Navigation Institute. Switzerland will offer a selection of aeronautical, cartographic, and management courses to certificate levels from their own location in Switzerland and worldwide via arrangements with other ICAOrecognised academies. The web site, which is not publicly available at present, will be http://www.airnavigationinstitute.ch/, and should be up by the end of April 2005. PMA summarized that the company had been relatively busy in the last twelve months and was congratulated on these developments by John Evans (JE) for the obvious growth in business and prospects.

Technical Overview of Some Recent Developments in the WX1. Series
Nils Lundstrom (NL), Technical Director of WX Systems, provided an overview of some recent developments within the software. Particular emphasis was placed on importing data into the system via the European Aeronautical Database (EAD), and explaining how national/international geographic/political data can be imported into AutoCAD, via various data resources that are available for free. Some time was spent demonstrating the ease at which data could be imported via the EAD, as well as the European Petroleum Surveyors Group (EPSG) service. NL showed how to import one.s own symbols and how to change names/references of existing symbols. The Users discussed at length the role of obstacle data integrity and procedural liability issues.

Laurent Dick (LD) demonstrated an internally built software solution known as GESCOORD, which is currently being used by Skyguide in Switzerland. Working with their Fast Time Simulation Team, Skyguide uses the WX1. Series in conjunction with the internally built GESCOORD and the LUCIAD system from Belgium, in order to demonstrate the effect on traffic flow of new procedures. LD pointed out that the LUCIAD system had been an expensive solution for Skyguide. LD also demonstrated a chart that illustrates how Skyguide handle data, and stressed that the solutions described were in no way competitive to the WX1. Series, but were an ideal complementary benefit to the system. NL then demonstrated the WX1. Series compatible Surfer 8 Software that is similar to the Skyguide internal system, GESCOORD, and also can establish the maximum elevated obstacle within any set of data, or DTED data. NL stated that Skyguide.s solutions were an example of how open the WX System is, in the sense that it can be operated with any type of data, and in conjunction with most external types of software. LD agreed. JE asked Gabriel Cheng (GC) whether there was much opportunity for new procedure design in Hong Kong, with only one airport. GC stated that since the move to Chep Lap Kok Airport there had been plenty of requirement for new RNAV procedures, the first of which had been designed with the assistance of the WX1. Series of Software.
NL then demonstrated the benefit of the Slide Function within the WX1. Series, using the RNP tolerances as an example. LD asked that the steps demonstrated by NL be written into a document and distributed to users. NL then demonstrated the Geodetic Solutions G-Look. Software, which allows users to select a geographic area of the world visually, and see the applicable reference systems and co-ordinate systems that are available for the selected territory. The aim is to incorporate the G-Look. within the WX1. Series this spring. NL then presented a Power Point demonstration on the WX1. TERPS Software to the attendees. GC and EC enquired about the Integrated Noise Modeler (INM) that is supplied within the WX1. Series. NL confirmed that training was available at the University of Berkeley, California.
PMA then thanked the participants for their attendance during the day and reminded the group that there would be dinner at 2030 in Kowloon and that the meeting would reconvene at 1145 at the Wharney Hotel Friday in order to attend and visit the CAD at Hong Kong Airport.