Education, innovation anchor economy

SANDPOINT — A collaboration between education and innovative industry is the key to economic security, according to an economic summit Thursday.

Held at the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by D.A. Davidson and Associates, the annual autumn event is meant to give chamber members an update on some of the key economic changes coming down the line. Each year includes a report from a different local industry.

This year featured Nick Guida of Tamarack Aerospace, who shared detailed a year of work filled with both challenges and exciting potential. Afterward, Jamie MacMillan, executive director of the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation, spoke about the opportunities awaited the community by connecting industry and education

It’s been an eventful year over at Tamarack Aerospace, which many local economic planners identify as one of the highest potential young businesses in the community. According to Guida, extensive testing of their active winglet technology has confirmed and surpassed their expectations.

Winglets are devices that artificially increase the aspect ratio of aircraft.

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This provides a host of benefits, including better fuel economy, more carrying capacity, increased flying range, improved climbing capabilities and more.

Tamarack’s active winglets achieve all that while eliminating the drawbacks of passive winglets — primarily the increased wing loads and the structural modifications that are often required as a result. Simply put, the active technology makes winglets a no-downside enhancement to any airplane, Guida said.

“Every plane out there that has wings can be optimized through this product,” he said.

Tamarack personnel confirmed that this June with what they call an unofficially record-breaking flight from Sandpoint to White Plains, N.Y., using a Cessna CitationJet enhanced with active winglets. Guida said it’s a trip that never would have been possible otherwise. Based on test results, pilots can expect somewhere in the realm of 30 to 47-percent improved fuel economy.

“We’re very excited about what this product can do for the community, the environment and for the aircraft operators themselves,” Guida said.

With so much promise ahead of them, Guida is eager to receive certification and start bringing in revenue for the company. After running into delays with the Federal Aviation Administration, company officials ultimately moved much of the certification work over to Europe. Pushing that phase of the process out of Sandpoint isn’t ideal, Guida said, but it will ultimately put the company on a path toward a secure future, with revenues expected to begin at the end of next year.

Tamarack also tied into the educational plan that could soon be moving local youth toward a secure future of their own. According to MacMillan, the company and the rest of the Idaho Aerospace Alliance will be actively participating in the recently-launched P-TECH program.

An effort designed to help local students graduate with a high school diploma plus an associate’s degree or a job training certification, Idaho P-TECH planners hope to expand North Idaho pilot programs into a statewide presence.