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A training business that teaches pilots to react in the seconds after an aircraft stall has been nominated for a prestigious industry award by the organisation behind Avalon.
UPRT Australia won the Australian Aviation Award for Flight Training Business of the Year in September and has now been given the nod at the Avalon 2023 Innovation Awards.
The accolades, now in their tenth year, have doubled their cash prizes to $50,000 each for its SME and Young Innovation categories.
“Innovation develops our nation’s education systems, our industry and export markets, and our military capability through provision of new equipment and services,” said Justin Giddings, chief executive of the AMDA Foundation.
“For our innovation award recipients, the value of the cash prizes, although substantial, is matched by the value in promotion and awareness in the aerospace, space and defence community at Avalon.
“This is a forum where innovation is noticed, valued and nurtured, and we are proud to present these awards to highlight Australian industry.”
Other nominees include a company that has developed the world’s first camera that shows the stresses in the structure of an aircraft; a company reducing aerodynamic drag by applying the equivalent of a shark’s skin; and a young algorithm engineer who has worked on the autonomous control system of the next generation of combat drones.
The winners will be announced at the aviation festival itself, taking place between Tuesday, 28 February to Sunday, 5 March.
You can listen to an earlier podcast with UPRT Australia’s founders, Shane Tobin and Jeremy Miller, above.
“The entries this year were of a very high standard,” said the chairman of judges, Dr Bill Schofield.
“As a result, our shortlisting criteria, which are based on a certain threshold score, are very demanding.
“A number of very promising innovations didn’t reach that threshold because they are still at an early stage in development. I sincerely hope they’ll re-enter for the awards next time because their entries will be much stronger, as will the Innovation Awards program.”
Since its debut in 2013, AMDA, which oversees Avalon, has presented Young Innovator and SME Innovation Awards with a total value of more than $485,000.
Australian Aviation reported in February how former Avalon Airport CEO Giddings was appointed as the new CEO of AMDA. Giddings oversaw the airport’s expansion into an international airport and transformed it into a new hub for Jetstar’s domestic operations in Melbourne.
It after longstanding AMDA chief executive Ian Honnery announced he would be retiring from the role in March, after holding the title for 46 years, since the foundation’s inception.
National and SME Innovation Awards
- 1 MILLIKELVIN Pty Limited (VIC) – stress imaging camera system
- AVT Australia (VIC) – CM234 multi-imaging camera system
- DMTC Limited (VIC) – Laser Additive Deposition (LAD) to repair corroded or damaged airframe and power train components
- FLAIM Systems (VIC) – virtual training for firefighters
- Innovaero Technology Pty Limited (WA) – OWL (One Way Loitering) loitering munition for the ADF
- MicroTau (NSW) – micro-rib film to reduce aircraft fuel burn
- Quasar Satellite Technologies Pty Limited (NSW) – multi-beam satellite ground station
- Real Response (VIC) – BlueRoom Mixed Reality (MR) training system for aeromedical evacuation
- SYPAQ (VIC) – Corvo HYD-RA Airborne MultiSensor Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV)
- UPRT Australia (QLD) – Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UPRT) for pilots using psychological inputs
Young innovator award
