Katie Drennan

Allie Drennan

Timothy Holt

Abigail Slama-Catron

Eric Snaufer

Mini Air Dancer Project Presentation for Utah High School Entrepreneur Challenge 2017

The airlines and airports could be made better by reducing bird strikes on airplanes saving airlines repair costs and saving bird lives

Our innovative small, portable, and non polluting air dancers (ADs) solution makes a positive impact by making air travel safer and saving bird lives by scaring birds away from airports Worked with SLC Wildlife Control in determining air dancer requirements

The market is selling to airport operations, especially Wildlife Control 19,536 airports identified as potential market

First Year Expectations: Sell 1,080 ADs and 5,616 socks to 72 airports Revenue: $408k Margin: $293k Profit (w/o Tax): $168k Profit as a % of Revenue: 45% Capture 0.37% of the U.S. airport market

Our prototype has been tested at the SLC International Airport and shown to work We have a provisional patent for the air dancer The SLC Airport wants to continue testing our air dancers during the spring of 2017

Project Summary

Bird strikes cost the US airline industry $900M a year1

Bird strikes damage aircraft and may result in their removal from service resulting in lost revenue and direct repair costs

There were 218 bird strikes at Salt Lake City Airport in 20152

The SLC airport spends significant resources attempting to solve the bird issue

Five full time staff working wildlife issues at the airport

Problem

1-Bird strike USA Press Kit; http://www.birdstrike.org/news-info/press-kit/2- FAA Base Bird Strike Database www.wildlife.faa.gov

This cost over

$1,000,000 in damage

from a Northern Pelican.

We should develop a product that scares birds away to reduce bird strikes

The opportunity exists to make airport staff more efficient and effective in preventing bird strikes

Bird strikes are a problem around the US and the globe

Airports have existing budgets for bird control

$30,000 discretionary budget on SLC airport wildlife control3

Since the 2011 “Miracle on the Hudson” airline crash due to bird strikes, the federal government has budgeted for wildlife control

They have hired USDA staff at 850 airports in the US4

Opportunity

3- email, 2/22/2017 Gib Rokich SLC airport wildlife manager4-USDA Wildlife Management Plan -https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/wildlifedamage/programs/sa_airport/ct_airport_hazards

SLC AirportRed line shows wildlife patrol area

Our team researched some of the current solutions to the problem5

I. Pyrotechnics: These produce a loud squealing sound that scares away birds, but these are temporary and have no long term effects.

II. Grease: To reduce the presence of birds, the staff at SLC International greases bridges. Birds still build nests on the lighter greased parts and this also drains time.

III. Habitat Removal: In this method, the airport staff reuses gravel from old runways and puts it in grassy areas. This may decrease the local rodent population, but it’s very limited due the Army Corps of Engineers.

IV. Traps: The staff uses these to catch birds, but birds figure them out and avoid them.

Solutions - Existing

5-Field Interview, Mr. Bobby Boswell, SLC USDA Biologist

From our field research, a product to reduce bird strikes should meet the following market needs:

Portable

Small (to be carried by one person)

Effective at scaring birds away for a long period of time

Self-contained

Easy to access parts and maintain

Water-resistant

Cost effective for widespread use Commercial air dancers are $320, without power

SLC Airport requires bird control for 8,000 acres

Solutions – Market Needs Identified

A. Predator Call: Works at first, but birds get used to it and ignore it, as proven by Bass Pro Shops 1 million dollar investment in them.

B. Robotic Bait: This solution is both complicated and expensive, making it very hard to get anything done

C. Remote Sensing: This would be very hard to build, expensive, and the SLC airport has very restricted wireless frequencies.

D. Air Dancer: This solution is portable, easy to build and cost effective.

Solutions – Developing

A mini air dancer that fits in a toolbox Portable

Air sock, power, and fan are all carried in one unit

Small (to be carried by one person) Our air dancer is very lightweight (only 14 pounds)

Effective at scaring birds away for a long period of time Cornell University did a study showing random motion scares birds

away6, an air dancer provides lots of random motion A battery can power the air dancer for many hours

Self-contained Every part of our air dancer fits in a toolbox

Easy to access parts and maintain All our parts are easily accessed through simply opening the lid Each part is easy to replace

Water-resistant All of the air dancer’s parts are waterproof

Cost effective Our air dancer costs $77 compared to the hundreds of dollars for

other air dancers

Solutions – Air Dancer Chosen

6-Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, New York Berry News, Volume 13, Number 4, May 30, 2014, “Air Dancers as a Potential Bird Deterrent in Blueberries”

Bird Scare Devices

Agriculture$58 Trillion

Air Transportation$2.7 Trillion – 41,788 Airports

Real Estate

Large Hub30

Medium Hub31

Small Hub72

Nonhub249

12

1 – Macroeconomic Statistics: The Agriculture and Food-Processing Sectors along the Economic Development Process: Evidence from the FAO Macro-Indicators Database (1970-2014), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, October 2016, http://www.fao.org/economic/ess/ess-economic/gdpagriculture/en/ , (accessed Feb. 21, 2016)2 – Aviation Benefits Beyond Borders: Global Summary 2016, Air Transport Action Group, June 20163 – Airport Categories, FAA, March 3, 2016, https://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/passenger_allcargo_stats/categories/ (accessed Feb. 21, 2017)4 – National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) 2017-2021, FAA, September 30, 2016, https://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/npias/reports/media/NPIAS-Report-2017-2021-Narrative.pdf (accessed Feb 21, 2017)

Civil Military

CommercialGeneral Aviation

NPIAS* Airports(3,340)

7

Non-NPIAS Airports

Primary382 Airports

Non- Primary2,950 Airports

4

US(19,536 Airports)

Non-US

Customer - The Bird Scare Device Market

3,4

2Our initial focus is on the U.S. commercial aviation market, because our tests and our contacts are within this market.

*National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS)

Customer - NPIAS Primary Airports

National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) 2017-2021, FAA, September 30, 2016, https://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/npias/reports/media/NPIAS-Report-2017-2021-Narrative.pdf (accessed Feb 21, 2017)

Our air dancers (ADs) make a positive impact by making air travel safer and saving bird lives Prevents bird strikes by keeping birds away from airports/aircraft Increases field time of staff by covering hard to reach areas Non-polluting solution Sell to airport operations, especially Wildlife Control

First Year Expectations: Sell 1,080 ADs and 5,616 socks to 72 airports Revenue: $408k Margin: $293k Profit (w/o Tax): $168k Profit as a % of Revenue: 45% Capture 0.37% of the U.S. airport market, and 2.16% of the NPIAS airport market

Quantity and Reach

Customer Acquisition

We have one salesperson who sells our air dancers (ADs) for three days a week, and travels for two days a week. 25% of those airports will buy ten ADs and twelve backup socks. In each city, the primary focus is the NPIAS airports, but they will visit neighboring airports as well.

Each month, they will sell 60 ADs and 72 socks. We expect that the airports will also reorder more ADs and socks.

At the end of the first year, we expect to sell 1,080 ADs and 5,616 socks total. We will have sold to 72 different airports, which is 0.37% of the U.S. airports, and 2.16% of the NPIAS airports.

Our Financial Projections

First-Year Revenue: $408kFirst-Year Margin: $293kFirst-Year Profit (w/o Tax): $168kProfit as a % of Revenue: 45%

Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) – Includes Labor and PartsOur full costing model includes parts listings and labor time estimates. It also includes a model of how many air dancers and socks can be made per worker. This allows us to know when to hire new people.

Provisional Patent Application already filed on air dancer and socks Future patent applications will cost only government fees until profitable

because our mentor is a patent attorney

First Mover Advantage No existing air dancer this compact, portable, and non-polluting

Field Tested by Wildlife Control in SLC International Airport Currently requesting more and an identified need of at least 36

Environmentally Friendly Non-polluting, rechargeable electric power

Price Competitive Under ½ price of large, cumbersome air dancers using generators

Competitive Advantages

Prototype - Schematic This is the schematic for our design

We tested different nylon sock lengths to find out which one was most effective in generating random motion.

We measured the length of smooth (laminar) flow in the sock. This is the distance from the base of the pipe to where the sock begins to curl over.

Laminar flow

Sock Length (in) 45.00 37.25 27.50

Laminar Flow (in) 11 25 25

Good Random Motion No Yes Yes

Prototype – Air Sock Testing

Toolbox

Charging Ports

Waterproof Switch

130 CFM Marine Fan Battery with steel strap

3” diameter air holes X3

5A fuse

Prototype - Layout Our air dancer features a compact and durable design using readily available parts

The air sock is made of nylon and is 3 feet long The toolbox is plastic and has a handle The fan is a marine fan for wet conditions The switch is waterproof The fuse protects the fan The air dancer is 24” long x 8” wide x 8.5” high

Testing the mini air dancer Jan 20, 2017 at SLC

Ran for 8 hours

It works!

Placed in an area where geese normally gathered

Only day in 2 weeks that no geese gathered in this area

Airport biologist wants to continue testing during spring

Place under bridges on a floating pontoon and in fields

Airport wants a second unit for testing

Prototype – Field Testing

Our team has a provisional patent for the air dancer

62/453,063 (Patent ID) Systems Methods and Devices for Bird Scare Device

We have secured the Intellectual Property (IP) to the project

Our air dancer has growth and expansion potential, such as:

Solar cells for power

Wireless connectivity for monitoring and control

Multiple socks for each air dancer and different types of containers

Fan timer for extra randomness

Prototype – Provisional Patent Filed

Continue testing units at SLC Airport during spring nesting season for birds

Build more units with improvements

Seek additional help and mentoring on business plan development

Look for an angel investor for initial funding of $160k

To start up, we need to:

Problem - The airlines and airports could be made better by reducing bird strikes on airplanes, saving airlines repair costs and saving bird lives

Solution - Our innovative, small, portable, and non polluting air dancers (ADs) make a positive impact by making air travel safer and saving bird lives by scaring birds away from airports

Customer - The market is selling to airport operations, especially Wildlife Control

Financials - First Year Expectations: Sell 1,080 ADs and 5,616 socks to 72 airports Revenue: $408k Margin: $293k Profit (w/o Tax): $168k Profit as a % of Revenue: 45% Capture 0.37% of the U.S. airport market

Positive Impact - Our air dancers make a positive impact by making air travel safer and saving bird lives

Prototype - Our prototype has been tested at the SLC International Airport and shown to work We have a provisional patent for the air dancer SLC Airport wants to continue testing units in spring 2017

Project Conclusions