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This month, we've been uplifted by numerous aviation initiatives that embody the spirit of aviation - joy, unity, and safety. These events have also raised an intriguing question: "To be or Not to be... visible?" That's the topic addressed in this month's newsletter. Amidst a multitude of arguments and choices, finding the answer can be challenging. Except for the SafeSky pilot, for whom the choice is clear: flying is sharing! Discover more in this newsletter.

Last month we talked about 'To BE seen or not to BE seen.' This month is all about 'To SEE or not to SEE.' A subtle but crucial distinction – an eye-opener! One thing is certain: we were thrilled to SEE you at the Mondial de l'ULM and SEE so many of you enjoying the skies with SafeSky. What's more, you now can SEE even more traffic directly on your navigation map! So what's not to SEE? You will find out below.

As summer fades, autumn reveals a new chapter in aviation: Starlink promises celestial connectivity, U-Space shakes up general aviation, and some nations face risky skies. We're eager to embrace these new realities. But before we do, we want to thank you for your exceptional dedication to safety and community this summer!

Happy New Year to all of you! 🍀 You may have seen the fantastic news: our community has now grown over 60,000 pilots. What a way to start the year! Together, we can make it even better. You can still share your ideas on safer flying through our unique eConspicuity survey. With your input, we promise you an even more exciting 2024!

One key word stands out in this newsletter: PARTNERSHIP. Industry players, instances, and pilots all join the SafeSky movement. We firmly believe that "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." Look at how much we were able to achieve this month, all together.

Spring is in the air, and so are you! Our SafeSky statistics are peaking. And the best is yet to come: after taking flight, let's meet on solid ground at AERO, where we can do what we love most: meeting you. Will you be there?

The countdown to AERO Friedrichshafen 2024 has begun! We promised you some surprises and electrifying updates, today's the day you get to peek behind the curtain. Take a look.

Recently, we announced the establishment of a vast network of ground stations across Europe to improve airspace coverage and therefore air safety. France is one of the countries actively participating in this initiative. Today, let's take a closer look at the ground station installation at the Atlantic Air Park (LF8523). This installation is in fact the story of a SafeSky ambassador: Benoît MATHIEU, a 3-axis ULM pilot, who has been following and using SafeSky since its very beginning. He is part of our beta tester group. Benoît MATHIEU: "I've found the perfect air safety set-up for my flights: my eyes, the FIS, my TCAS, and ... SafeSky." As co-owner of Village LF8523, he takes aviation safety very seriously. The Village is located near the Atlantic Coast, a popular destination of many pilots to admire the splendid landscapes or visit the numerous aviation fields. However, this popularity results in dense air traffic, prompting Benoît to raise awareness among other co-owners. No sooner said than done, earlier this year, the General Assembly of the Air Park voted to finance the installation of an Avionix openAir multitrack ground station to capture maximum traffic data. The result? Benoît MATHIEU : "The result is excellent: the antenna successfully captures the majority of air traffic, also aided by the region's flat topography. This traffic data is then routed to SafeSky, who makes it available to all pilots at no cost." But that's not all. The initiative doesn't end there, and once again, partnership proves to be a key factor in success. It is now well known that for the multilateralisation of air traffic - enabling the viewing of Mode-S traffic - at least 4 antennas are necessary. So, Benoît reached out to the neighboring clubs. Their interest in also investing in aviation safety by installing a ground station has already been confirmed. For some, the vote for approval is already scheduled. >>> Follow the installation at LF8523 and the progress of future installations here. CONCLUSION This is again an example of how the combination of three success factors allows air clubs and villages to ensure the safety of their member and visitor pilots: Awareness Collaboration and the Best Technology. Thank you Benoît for leading this unifying initiative and promoting these values! How about you? Interested in the most advanced ground traffic reception station available today? Contact Avionix. As a reminder, SafeSky traffic, among other sources fueled by the Avionix receiver, is entirely free. In addition to this, you can add unique interoperability features. Check out the 2 plans offered to you:

Once more, partnership served the needs of pilots. In response to the requests of our pilots, particularly from the French community, it's now possible to integrate SafeSky traffic into SDVFR navigation software on iOS. While this feature was already available for Android, the iOS integration required some development work by SkyDreamSoft. This was now achieved, much to the delight of many SafeSky pilots. With a simple adjustment in the Settings of both Apps, pilots no longer need to use them separately but instead view traffic directly within the SDVFR app. This is made possible by the GDL90 protocol, a popular binary protocol used in aviation for communication between ADS-B devices and Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) apps. This is how you do it. Become SafeSky PREMIUM if you aren't yet (either by activating it directly in the APP, either by buying it on our store) Adapt your Settings in SDVFR 👉 Go to SETTINGS > OPTION > TRAFFIC SOURCE > 3. Adapt your Settings in SafeSky 👉 Go to SETTINGS > TRAFFIC SHARING > ENABLE TRAFFIC SHARING > And don't forget to take off! The result Why wait? Become SafeSky PREMIUM to enjoy this new functionality!

Egelsbach Airport (EDFE), Germany, 18th of October 2022. On October 18, 2022, more than 25 representatives from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) travelled to Egelsbach to spend the day on learning more about General Aviation (GA) in Europe. Organised by the world’s leading manufacturer association GAMA and the International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations IAOPA, this unique event was an opportunity to exchange on the general aviation challenges, such as flight standards, GA community and Safety promotion. The SafeSky team was present to explain the limitations of VFR flying in 2022, and the need for all pilots – including paramotors, paragliders, trikes, ultra-lights and GA – to become visible to one another. This is particularly true at low airspace (below 5,000 feet AGL), where we share the same sky after all. Three key topics have been discussed with EASA on Safety: acknowledge that today there is no single technical solution that can depict a correct picture to pilots of what is flying in the sky. Therefore, inter-operability of systems is essential and must be promoted to pilots; too little aircraft are today eConspicuous, and near air-misses are an everyday reality in Europe for GA pilots; Search and Rescue: in Europe, it takes on average 4 hours to find a missing plane. Why not bring all stakeholders around the table (SAR, EASA, military) and develop a secure portal that provides SafeSky passive tracking information as such saving precious location and survival time? The SafeSky team demonstrated the possibilities of our app, explaining that it can be used with just a mobile phone with little limitations. Thanks to inter-operability and combined with an external radio receiver, pilots are lifting these limitations and can have a much completer picture of other pilots flying in the vicinity. We anticipate that EASA will continue working with SafeSky to increase safety through joint initiatives and campaigns, enabling all of us to realise our dream of making space the safest place on Earth 🌎. Organisations supporting this event:

Preliminary Note: This note is inspired by our response to a personal question from one of our loyal readers and users. It has been intentionally simplified. It is by no means a detailed technical note, but it straightforwardly sheds light on this delicate aspect of our light aviation, often misunderstood. SafeSky wishes to express its gratitude to the pilots who have contributed to the improvement of this article through their insightful feedback. Thanks to their input, we have been able to make several adjustments to provide you with the most accurate, albeit simplified, information possible. Among them, Steve UZOCHUKWU, a graduate in Avionics from Queen Mary College, London University, deserves special mention. He has reminded us of the importance of being very precise when addressing such important subjects. Mode C/S Transponders: How do they work? Mode C/S transponders transmit on the 1090 MHz frequency, just like ADS-B. However, the main difference lies in the amount of information transmitted. The message from a Mode C/S transponder is much less detailed than that of ADS-B. In the message from Mode C/S transponders, precise location is missing although both types will give a standard pressure altitude for the other aircraft. Consequently, even modern situational awareness systems capable of receiving radio waves can only roughly estimate the distance and the location between two aircraft. The information received might be something like: "intruder aircraft within a radius of 5Nm around my position, similar altitude." This is a very basic alert and tends to make pilots nervous, as they do not know where to look. The other aircraft could be anywhere in a 360 degree arc. Our aircraft respond to secondary air traffic control radars via transponders (C/S mode). The radars send queries at 1030 MHz and receive responses at 1090 MHz. In the S mode, the radar receives signals without direct GPS positioning data. Aircraft location is determined by the radar using information on time, distance, and azimuth of the returned signals. Some installations (secondary radars) are capable of decoding and interpreting ADS-B, adding better accuracy in aircraft location. Hence the importance of ADS-B, which offers much completer information, significantly enhancing safety by accurately positioning traffic. This occurs simply because the transponder is connected to a GPS, allowing the transmission of the aircraft's exact coordinates in three dimensions. And what about SafeSky? SafeSky can provide part of the Mode S transponder information thanks to multilateration made possible by the presence of ground-based traffic reception antennas. The lack or absence of these ground stations means there can be no multilateration and therefore no traffic reported on SafeSky or other equivalent platforms. That's why SafeSky is actively involved in a collective effort with authorities, associations, and other organisations concerned about flight safety in order to establish a semi-professional network of ground stations specifically dedicated to general aviation, preferably positioned at airports. This network would increase visibility of traffic near airfields, where the risk is highest. We are working closely with authorities, IAOPA, and drone-related movements to make this solution a reality. ADS-B Transponders: Good to know. Most modern transponders, such as the Trig TT21, can transmit in ADS-B if they're connected to a GPS. A simple cable costing a few euros is enough to make you visible/able to transmit in ADS-B. This connection can usually be made via EFIS like the G3X or Dynon, or even via a Garmin 650. However, this work must be carried out by a qualified person or during the radio and transponder check, which must be performed regularly. Conclusion.

Compliments of a Belgian pilot, Sven. 🙏🏻 "When I was finally in the air last Saturday, I caught myself thinking about what an incredibly useful product you have created. Only now do I realise how much traffic I never noticed before with 'see & avoid.' When Brussels Info calls me, I'm already searching for the right place for about five seconds thanks to SafeSky, which also makes their traffic advisories more efficient. You undoubtedly hear this daily, but wanted to send my personal compliments."

The "SafeSky experiment" conducted at L’Ile de la Réunion (France) by the "Direction de la Sécurité de l’Aviation Civile Océan Indien" (DSAC OI) over three months, starting on October 14, 2023, revealed its first results on February 16, 2024. Introduction. Pilots on "La Réunion" face particular unique safety challenges associated with its island nature, primarily because the majority of flights cater to tourism activities.. Common identical flight routes and a single radio frequency lead to massive saturation. The environmental topology also negatively affects radio frequency quality, as evident in the radio extract below. These issues collectively contribute to an overall sense of danger for all pilots. 🔊 Radio extract 🔊 The "SafeSky experiment". The experiment aimed to assess the SafeSky App's effectiveness in addressing the air safety challenges of Réunion Island. With voluntary participation, it engaged over 150 pilots, representing the majority in the territory, most of whom were flying 3-axis aircraft. While many pilots installed and used SafeSky, not all continued, a typical observation in a change adoption curve. 🔊 An example of how SafeSky could facilitate pilots' life 🔊 Challenges and opportunities for enhancement. The experimentation highlighted some functional challenges such as battery consumption, support suitability, and network coverage. Additionally, software refinement and addressing the absence of specific traffic, particularly helicopters, were identified as areas for improvement. It appeared that most of the mentioned challenges were already tackled with a number of existing and future solutions: General conclusion. "When used effectively, SafeSky is a major contribution to flight safety, particularly in the island’s context. The use of 'electronic visibility' devices is to be promoted and gradually integrated in a manner suited to our practices. The system relies on the integration of the highest number possible." (Regional ULM Committee of Reunion Island) "No system will replace the "see and be seen" principle, but all real-time safety-contributing information provided to pilots helps to mitigate the risk—this is the essence." (FFPLUM) Next steps. Additional investment – the DSAC OI intends to install 8 ground stations to enhance protocol reception. A new three-month SafeSky experiment will be launched afterwards to collect fresh insights. Change management – Recognising the time and investment needed for change adoption, the DSAC OI plans to provide educational support for pilots and instructors and to promote the use of electronic visibility devices in aviation practices. SafeSky's role – SafeSky commits to supporting DSAC OI with easily addressable questions. The upcoming V3 will also introduce solutions such as cancelling alerts during formation flights. Check out the full results:

Long-awaited news! As of now, with no extra effort or cost — the entire SafeSky community can see XCTrack pilots. And soon XCTrack pilots will also be able to receive alerts about nearby traffic. This integration adds to our long list of unique air traffic information that no other systems can provide. Safety matters. XCTrack, developed by the XContest team, is well-known for its use in competitions, and stands as the most popular flight computer App for paraglider and paramotor pilots on Android, with well over 100,000 downloads. Recent events in Europe have highlighted a concerning rise in airmisses between paragliders and General Aviation, especially during critical phases of takeoff and landing. In addition, crowded paragliding spots are unfortunately turning into potential hotspots for incidents. ➡️ A recent example in South-Africa showed how life-saving fire-fighting helicopter operations had to be suspended due to crowded skies involving paragliding activity. Bilateral Partnership. In this partnership, traffic exchange between SafeSky and XCTrack goes both ways, fostering greater flight planning and a more connected sky for everyone. Jakub HAVEL from XContest team: “For paragliders and hang gliders, freedom in the air is one of the most important things. To maintain this freedom, safe coexistence with everyone else in the air is necessary today. In our opinion, SafeSky is a great solution to prevent potentially dangerous situations and make that freedom of movement in the air as safe as possible for everyone.” SafeSky CEO, Tristan FILY: "Creating harmony in the congested sky is our daily mission at SafeSky. Today's integration with XCTrack perfectly demonstrates that ambition: effortless communication between our systems and pilots. It's like exchanging a simple digital 'Hi' in the sky!" 🤔 What will be our next integration... ? Stay tuned. Download now: ·       XCTrack ·       SafeSky

Testimonial from a French pilot - January 2024. "During a recent flight through the Massif Central, I encountered a compelling example that highlighted the effectiveness of SafeSky. Opting for the Massif Central due to its lower traffic, I noticed reported traffic on my trajectory, seemingly stationary. Despite visual checks, I couldn't spot it until an evasive maneuver revealed a spiraling paramotor, explaining the icon's behavior on the screen. This real-life scenario demonstrated SafeSky's ability to 'see the invisible' and proactively avoid potential hazards. Another incident involved spotting unreported traffic approaching my trajectory, 500 ft above, possibly explaining ATC's instruction to stay below a certain altitude. These experiences strengthen my confidence in SafeSky and its role in enhancing air safety."

Every year, the editorial team from “Aviation et Pilote”, the well-respected French aviation magazine, carefully selects products that made an impact during the year in the aeronautical area. We are immensely proud that this year SafeSky has been distinguished. The panel cited: "What sets SafeSky apart is the quality of its execution, providing a user-friendly experience that allows pilots to keep their eyes on the sky while receiving timely alerts about imminent dangers. We also appreciate the increasing number of application developers integrating SafeSky directly into their platforms. Plus, it's available for free!" “Aviation et Pilote” has shown unwavering support since the creation of SafeSky in 2021. They've been with us every step of the way, exploring every new release and putting it through rigorous testing. Their motivation stems from their genuine concern for the shortcomings of the "See and Avoid" rule, a deficiency they experienced first-hand and shared in one of their recent publications. The editorial team also mentioned that: "SafeSky is ready to expand its data access on other channels as soon as Europe makes a definitive choice on how to convey this information." It's an ambition that we are pleased to confirm and hopefully be able to share its realisation quickly with you! Thanks to all pilots, supporters, partners, and especially to “Aviation et Pilote” for your continuous support!

The weather finally improved, allowing us to continue the tests we mentioned back in December 2022. Objective of the test: Install a 4G router with an external antenna to conduct internet reception tests during flight. Read on to find out more, and rest assured, we'll keep it simple! The idea The idea behind this was simple. SafeSky's forum fosters exchanges, ideas, and trials among its members. One of our pilot-users proposed testing the installation of a 4G router with an antenna to verify mobile internet reception improvements during flight. We were encouraged by his positive feedback and decided to try it out ourselves and share our findings with the community. Material and installation We only needed two pieces of equipment: a 4G router with antenna output(s) and an antenna. Personally, I had a NetGear Nighthawk M2 router, and Amazon took care of the selection of a compatible 4G antenna with an SMA connector. Admittedly, the price of the NetGear router is excessive considering its intended purpose, but if you already own one that you use on vacation, for example, don't hesitate to use it. As for the antennas, I chose to test a simple, flat, and aerodynamic model (+/- €12) and another model with two connection cables (+/- €17). The antennas were affixed to a vinyl wrap adhesive to avoid attaching them directly to the aircraft's paint. The cables travel from the landing gear to the cabin, passing through the seats. It was easy and temporary, just what I needed. Time to test it out on a flight from EBBY to LFAY! The weather is good, so we should take advantage of it! We're taking two planes to run SafeSky under different configurations, including on a phone, a tablet, and of course, the famous router + antenna. My fellow pilots Claude and Jean-Pierre are preparing their MCR01 while I install the last connections and settings onboard my VL3. My setup is straightforward. I regularly use my 11" iPad Pro on a dedicated mount on the right-hand side. Typically, it's equipped with a SIM card but today I transfer it to the router for testing purposes. SafeSky will be displayed on the iPad in Splitview 1/3 - 2/3 with my navigation software. I love this configuration because it leaves enough space for my navigation while offering an ideal area for SafeSky's radar. By sharing traffic with the navigation software, I can also visualise it perfectly in my environment thanks to the aeronautical maps. For me, it's the epitome of efficiency and, above all, safety. Testing protocol The distance between Baisy-Thy airport (EBBY) and Amiens airport (LFAY) is 96 NM, and the flight should take approximately 50 minutes. The areas we'll be passing through are known for signal losses due to the presence of white zones (areas without coverage), as well as roaming between Belgium and France when crossing the border. Therefore, I decide to connect my tablet to my phone's wifi during the outbound flight, taking advantage of the shared connection since my SIM card is in the router. On the return flight, I will connect the tablet to the 4G router's wifi network, making use of the external antenna. I have also installed two cameras, which allows me to create a short video to illustrate the flight: Everything is in place, runway 05 in use, wind from 070 at 15 knots, CAVOK. The sky is all ours. FJVZJ is lining up on runway 05 for immediate takeoff and I will follow shortly with FJFVB. The return flight Let's talk about the flight. As a reminder, the outbound leg to Amiens will be conducted using only the phone, without any external antenna. For the return, we will take exactly the same route and altitude (2000' QNH) to see if there are any differences. During the outbound flight, we experienced some internet connectivity issues in well-known zones near Charleroi and Mons. These are the so-called "white zones" that we have identified since the beginning of our testing with our application over two years ago. This makes it the perfect location to check for any potential differences. The map below outlines the flight path and the internet connectivity evolution. Several elements to note and explain about this flight: Zone A: Known dead spots between Mons and Charleroi. As expected, the phone loses its signal but quickly regains it. Zone B: Near Valenciennes, the Belgium-France roaming takes place. The loss of signal is normal as it switches to the French network. Additionally, we had already noted dead spots near the Valenciennes aerodrome, so this situation is expected. Zone C: A brief loss (37 seconds) occurred above the A2-A26 highway interchange. Apart from the roaming issue (zone B), which is a technical reality between countries, we can consider this to be a very steady flight path. It's worth noting that during this flight, air traffic control reported another aircraft (between A and B). It was a helicopter flying 100 feet lower, and although it wasn't equipped with SafeSky, it did have an ADS-B out transponder, which I was therefore able to see on my SafeSky screen and then locate outside quickly. This highlights the importance of having a software that can represent the majority of location systems (ADS-B, Flarm, and many others). SafeSky is doing that, acting like a translator that enables everyone to see each other even if they don't speak the same language. Let's now take a look at the return flight path with the tablet connected to the router's hotspot, equipped with the external antenna: Visually, the difference is striking. The trace is continuous, a clear proof of near-perfect internet reception. But what happened near the EBBY airfield during our arrival? We think that the antenna worked so well that roaming did not occur shortly after crossing the border, but instead occurred near EBBY well inland. This is surprising but not illogical. We could not resist digging deeper into the numbers, and here is what we found: We considered only the data when the plane was AIRBORNE. We went from 83% internet connection with the phone to 88% with the router and antenna. This difference of 5% is not huge and does not seem to reflect the experience we had during the tests and the trace on the maps. Therefore, we decided to conduct a new assessment without the impact of roaming and border crossing to be closer to reality. Here are the data from the same flight, but reduced between the border crossing to the west of Valenciennes and the Feluy refinery in Belgium. This area is interesting because it includes the aforementioned white zones. These are more representative figures of our coverage perception during the flight. Please note that the difference in transmitted positions corresponds to the number of seconds without connection, as we transmit one position per second. With the router and antenna, we lost connection for 25 seconds of flight, which gives a coverage ratio of 97% at 2000', which is close to excellence. The phone in the cockpit lost its connection for 22% of the flight, but when passing through known white zones. Not so bad, you will admit. Conclusion As a reminder, our tests are intentionally simplified, and are far from being scientific. We wanted to have a first perception of the advantage brought by the placement of an external antenna. The result, even though it was expected, confirms all the good that can be thought of such an installation. To our knowledge, it is not currently possible to connect an external antenna directly to a phone or tablet. The option of a router with the possibility of connecting an antenna is the only viable solution. Can a router without an antenna improve reception? I don't think so, but it can make your connectivity on board easier. Soon, we plan to conduct additional tests following the protocol outlined below: We will use a phone with SafeSky and a connected tablet on a router, both on the same plane, in order to compare identical data under perfectly similar flight conditions. We will fly on a predetermined route at different altitudes (1500', 2500', 3500', 5000') to evaluate the signal's reliability at various heights. The NetGear M2 router used for this test is quite expensive (approximately €420), but it offers the advantage of two connections for an external antenna. If you already use this router for your family's camper van for instance, then the investment is worthwhile; otherwise, the cost may be unreasonable. However, there are other products available (such as Huawei) at lower costs that will work just as well, provided that you ensure the possibility of connecting an external antenna. For tech-savvy and computer enthusiasts, there are many other solutions available, but they require knowledge of electronics, telecommunications, and computing. Please do not hesitate to share your ideas with us at info@safesky.app. We need your help! Do you want to help us evaluate similar solutions? Maybe you have already conducted yourself such tests or are inspired to do so after reading this article? Please get in touch with us at info@safesky.app . Safe flights. Christophe ERKENS Co-Founder SafeSky

In an increasingly crowded sky (ULM, drones, general aviation, etc.), seeing and being seen (eConspicuity) has become essential. New tools have emerged, allowing pilots to ensure their safety in flight more effectively. But what is your perception of these technologies? Many fragmented surveys have been conducted on this subject. Our goal with this survey is to give one single voice to all pilots, regardless of the system they use. By responding to this questionnaire, you make your voice heard throughout Europe on one of the hottest topics in aviation today, and it only takes 5 minutes. Your responses will be collected anonymously and will allow us to create a European overview of what is really living within the pilot community in terms of traffic visibility, which will be used to actively seek solutions. Let's get started!

The future is now. You just read a "fictional" pilot's tale that we could publish in one of our upcoming newsletters in 2025. Today, it's 'only' October 2023, and yet, things are moving fast, very fast. This story is not pure fantasy. On the contrary, it offers a tangible glimpse of what tomorrow could bring: a future where internet connectivity transcends boundaries, and planes fly safely thanks to intelligent systems. These systems could be mixed (radio + internet) to ensure redundancy, a synonym for safety in aviation. This future isn't as distant as one might think. Today, we already live in a world where the mobile internet is pretty ubiquitous, with an average coverage of 80% in Europe at 5,000 feet and often above. In the intricate realm of aviation, these 80% already make all the difference. A successful bet? SafeSky made the bold move in 2021 to develop an application based on internet usage to enhance aviation safety for all pilots. This innovative initiative paved the way for the emerging reality described above. So, was SafeSky's bet the right one? Certainly, judging by Elon Musk's recent announcements about Starlink. Other promising developments are heading in the same direction. For instance, the provision of dedicated SIM cards for drones, and probably soon for general aviation, will eliminate the complexity of roaming between European countries while optimising in-flight internet connectivity! The be(s)t is yet to come and is on the verge of being won. We are all moving in the right direction and will continue to adhere to the 'See and Avoid' rule - today strengthened by SafeSky’s extra pairs of eyes, tomorrow without a blink of an eye. How about that? Happy flights! Check also: Starlink direct to cell

In Réunion Island, the Indian Ocean Civil Aviation Safety Directorate (DSAC OI) has launched a project to assess the SafeSky application, aiming to improve airspace safety. Unique Challenges in Réunion Island's Air Safety. Pilots in Réunion Island face a range of safety challenges due to diverse activities such as tourism, aerial work, and recreation. Multiple aircraft of different classes coexist in the airspace. Additionally, the shared use of air routes, especially along the coastline and over the cirques and volcanoes, adds complexity to aircraft movement. Moreover, traffic information sources are limited, relying primarily on radio communications which become challenging as pilots move away from the coast due to geographical factors, thereby compromising safety. Experimental Project with SafeSky. SafeSky is not new to Réunion Island. Available since 2021 and a sponsor of the 2022 "Tour de l'Île en ULM," SafeSky has successfully demonstrated its system's functionality, even in remote areas. Building on this positive experience, the sponsorship has been renewed for the 2023 edition. In collaboration with DSAC OI, an experimental project has been initiated to encourage all pilots, clubs, and aviation associations to use the SafeSky application. This project aims to evaluate the app's capabilities in relation to Réunion Island's complexity. The experiment, which began on October 14 and spans three months, provides pilots with the opportunity to share their experiences via a dedicated forum, ensuring continuous feedback and user experience optimisation. SafeSky will map the effectiveness of its usage in different geographic areas of the island, ensuring user anonymity. To support pilots in this adoption, SafeSky offers comprehensive assistance, including video tutorials, detailed manuals, and interactive webinars to help them become familiar with the application. Just the Beginning. At the end of this experimental period, DSAC OI will analyse the gathered data and draw conclusions. If the results are positive, DSAC OI will schedule a meeting with all users to discuss the application's added value. During this user meeting, discussions will also focus on the implementation of ground stations capable of capturing radio signal-emitting traffic (ADS-B, FLARM, OGN, etc.). This will ensure complete coverage and enhanced safety for all flights. Tristan FILY, CEO of SafeSky: "We firmly believe that this initiative marks the beginning of a safer era for aviation in Réunion and will be a motivating project that will have a snowball effect in mainland France and Europe." Arroquidasse ZEMBOULINGAME, Head of ANA Division, DSAC: "I am eagerly anticipating the analysis of the experimental data, and I am convinced that SafeSky will bring us some surprises." Heatmap of SafeSky Traffic in Réunion Island on October 19th 2023 (the darker, the more traffic), showing the air traffic concentration along the coast line. Source: SafeSky.