Uber Among Slate of New GAMA Members

The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) has continued to expand its membership. New additions range from companies involved in new technologies such as Tamarack Aerospace Group to ride transportation network Uber, which has a vision of stepping into the bizav industry. In all, the board approved three additional members and three associate members. Along with Tamarack, the new members include Camp Systems International and Pipistrel. Uber joined as an associate member, along with Ascent Vision Technologies and SmartSky.

The latest additions not only illustrate the growing reach of the association’s membership, but also provide a glimpse of the evolving and expanding nature of the industry.

As an aircraft manufacturer, Slovenia-based Pipistrel is among the more traditional companies to join GAMA from a historical perspective. Founded in 1989, Pipistrel produces light general aviation aircraft and electric flight technology. Its products range from light-sport planes to the Panthera, a composite aircraft that can be either fully electric-, hybrid- or avgas-powered. Pipistrel joins as GAMA members continue to take a further dive into hybrid and electric technologies through its Electric Propulsion Innovations Committee.

Tamarack Aerospace, based in Sandpoint, Idaho, meanwhile, produces a range of technologies for business, commercial, and military aircraft. These include the company’s active winglets, which have been certified for various Cessna Citation CJ models.

Camp Systems, founded in 1968, is long established in the maintenance-tracking arena. It works with airframe and engine manufacturers to improve data and provides maintenance tracking for nearly 20,000 aircraft, along with engine health monitoring for more than 30,000 engines.

Uber, meanwhile, is joining the associate member category that GAMA established in late 2015. Founded in 2010, the San Francisco company has since provided more than 2 billion passenger trips in automobiles. Uber, however, recently announced Uber Elevate, a project aimed at providing on-demand air service through a network of small electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. Uber is working with manufacturers, regulators, and government officials to accelerate the development and certification of such aircraft.

Ascent Vision Technologies is the youngest of the companies to join GAMA. Founded in a barn in Bozeman, Montana in 2015, it has grown to 40 employees in less than two years. Ascent designs and manufactures gyro-stabilized sensor systems for aerospace, maritime, defense, and automotive industry applications.

Another relatively young company, SmartSky Networks, launched in 2011 to develop communications technologies and is planning to roll out its air-to-ground network, SmartSky 4G, later this year.

GAMA now has more than 100 members.