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Jeppesen,
the venerable aviation navigation products and services provider,
unveiled a new corporate logo, a new VFR chart product, and an
environmentally oriented partnership with the EAA at a press conference
at AirVenture on Monday.
"We’ve
adopted a very different look on purpose," said Vice President,
business and General Aviation Greg Bowlin, as the new logo was projected
onscreen at the event. "We’re far more than the old paper chart
company."
The new
logo, called "The Edge," incorporates the well-known airplane
silhouette of Jeppesen’s former logo, which, through a series of
stacked shapes, morphs into a form suggesting forward motion. The design
symbolizes the evolution of the company’s products and services as
well as its recent expansion into maritime and rail transportation
markets.
"Our
roots are still in aviation, but we can leverage our technology across
industries," Bowlin said.
In
addition to providing mission critical navigational information, the
company, based in Englewood, Colorado, says its leading-edge
technologies can help customers reduce consumption of resources and
minimize environmental footprints. Symbolizing its concern for the
environment, the company also announced a new program, "EAA and
Jeppesen – Helping AirVenture Grow," a joint effort to bring more
greenery to the fly in. Under the program, Jeppesen will donate
evergreen trees to help beautify the AirVenture grounds.
"We
are undergoing a transformation from paper to digital, reducing CD/DVD
production, going web-based and reducing paper waste," Bowlin said.
"Our effort to ‘give back’ with trees that can benefit so many
is just one way we plan to make a difference."
Yet the
company also unveiled a paper-based product likely to pique the interest
of many pilots: its new VFR+GPS navigation chart series for North
America.
"The
new Jeppesen VFR+GPS charts represent our latest navigation solution for
general aviation pilots," said Christopher Dean, product manager at
Jeppesen.
Using
color and contrast they make the Visual Flight Rules (VFR) charts easier
to read. The charts combine aviation data with terrain features and
"cultural" data from NAVTEQ , consisting of roads, cities and
points of interest that are easily identified from the air. The terrain
data is derived from Space Shuttle radar missions, and provides a
realistic depiction of surface features. Utilizing extensive feedback
from customers and market research in their design, the charts are more
intuitive and easier to interpret than existing VFR charts, according to
the company.
Rather
than covering the Lower 48 states in the block arrangement of current
VFR sectional charts, Jeppesen is dividing areas of coverage based on
aviation travel patterns. This will make it more likely that pilots can
use one chart for a given flight, instead of needing multiple charts as
may be required for the same flight using current sectionals.
The new route chart
coverage areas will initially include en route and area charts spanning
the southeast from Miami to Atlanta. Complete VFR chart coverage of the
Lower 48 states is expected to be complete by the end of 2009. The
charts, which will be available at FBOs and pilot supply outlets, will
be priced at $9.99. Though more expensive that NOAA VFR sectional
charts, Jeppesen points out that pilots may need only one VFR+GPS chart
for a route that requires two NOAA sectional charts to cover. Jeppesen
is featuring a Special Oshkosh Commemorative Chart covering Wisconsin
and Illinois during AirVenture, available at the Jeppesen tent on Knapp
Street in front of Exhibit Hangar A.
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