Spidertracks is a privately held New Zealand based company specialising in the development of hardware and software for the general aviation industry. The company specialises in flight tracking,

aviation communication Aviation communication refers to the conversing of two or more aircraft. Aircraft are constructed in such a way that make it very difficult to see beyond what is directly in front of them. As safety is a primary focus in aviation, communication ...

, and flight data acquisition.

History

Spidertracks was founded by James McCarthy in 2007 in the small rural town of

Pohangina Pohangina is a small rural community in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand, just north of Ashhurst. Pohangina is located along the foot of the Ruahine Range, and is primarily farming land. Farming varies from sheep and cattle to cro ...

, just outside Palmerston North, New Zealand. Following the death of high-profile businessman Michael Erceg in a helicopter crash in 2005, Erceg's downed aircraft was not located for two-weeks due to the failure of an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT). McCarthy and some associates saw the opportunity to develop a lightweight, portable, 'real-time'

GPS tracking device A GPS tracking unit, geotracking unit, satellite tracking unit, or simply tracker is a GPS device, navigation device normally on a vehicle, Asset management, asset, person or GPS animal tracking, animal that uses satellite navigation to deter ...

for the aviation industry. The team developed a device known as a 'Spider' – a small device that plugs into an aircraft's auxiliary power outlet and is mounted in the

cockpit A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft. The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...

. Information such the aircraft's location, altitude, speed, and direction were transmitted via the Iridium satellite network every two minutes to the Spidertracks software platform. The founders claimed this offered a much more reliable way to locate an aircraft in an emergency situation. Spider Tracks Limited was registered with the New Zealand Companies Office on 20 February 2007. In 2020, Spidertracks launched their latest hardware device – 'Spider X'. According the Spidertracks, in addition to the real-time tracking and communication functions of previous models, the device is able to record and wirelessly transmit AHRS data to the Spidertracks cloud-based platform. The flight data is then processed post-flight to enable a 3D virtual flight replay and reporting on specific events or safety violations. Spidertracks claim this provides a low-cost, simple solution for

Flight Data Monitoring Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

and Flight Operations Quality Assurance for the General Aviation industry. In March 2022, investment firm Arcadea Group acquired a 95% shareholding of Spidertracks for an undisclosed sum.

Locations

Spidertracks' head office is in Auckland, New Zealand, with a secondary office in Parker, Colorado. The company also claims to employ staff across the world.

References

{{reflist Aviation companies Companies of New Zealand New Zealand companies established in 2017 Software companies established in 2017 Software companies of New Zealand