Digital Digest - Issue 5 (Apr 2025)

ISSUE NUMBER 5

APRIL 2025

DIGITAL DIGEST

BY DIGITAL FLIGHT Keeping you informed on the latest technology trends and developments This months edition focuses around Aviation Data

DIGITAL FLIGHT AT MRO 2025

MRO DATA INTEGRITY

OPTIMIZING PART DOCS

ROTABULL FOR VENDOR QUOTES

Connecting innovators and amplifying aviation solutions worldwide

SkyThread closes validation gaps in aviation maintenance.

ILS streamlines documentation with SmartCert and ProvenAir integration.

Rotabull automates vendor quote entry to boost efficiency.

THIS ISSUE

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FROM THE FOUNDER

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DIGITAL FLIGHT AT MRO 2025

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MRO DATA INTEGRITY

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NEW SOLUTIONS

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OPTIMIZING PART DOCS

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ROTABULL FOR VENDOR QUOTES

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ABOUT DIGITAL FLIGHT

FROM THE FOUNDER

In today's rapidly evolving world, businesses in the aviation aftermarket are exploring digital technology to effectively navigate and overcome industry challenges. However, the path ahead can be incredibly daunting, with a severe lack of guidance, assistance, and awareness of the current digital landscape.

We pride ourselves on curating and showcasing the very best technology from across the aviation industry. Our platform actively connects businesses seeking innovative solutions that are provided from a range of trusted partners.

We are dedicated to influencing the speed in which businesses in the aviation industry adopt digital technology.

By offering comprehensive support, insightful advice, and unparalleled access to a vast network of technology providers, we aim to empower businesses to stay ahead of the curve and unlock the immense potential that modern day technology has to offer.

Our mission is to shape the future of the aftermarket by influencing the adoption rate of digital technology.

Craig Skilton FOUNDER

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DIGITAL FLIGHT AT MRO 2025: HELPING AVIATION SOLUTIONS THRIVE The MRO Americas 2025 event brought together the best and brightest in the aviation aftermarket, and Digital Flight was proud to be right in the middle of the action.

This year, we didn't have a booth. We had something better: our community. From walking the floor with our partners to capturing quick interviews about their solutions, our focus was clear: to make sure the most innovative aviation tools and technologies get seen, understood, and adopted.

“At Digital Flight, we help suppliers and solution providers in the aviation aftermarket stand out in a crowded, complex industry,” said Ana Zanutto, Operations & Customer Success Manager of Digital Flight. “This event is exactly where that conversation starts.”

During the event, we also recorded quick interviews with a few of our partners, giving them the chance to highlight what makes their solutions unique. We’re sharing these conversations in a mini LinkedIn series, so if you haven’t yet, make sure to follow our page and check them out.

MRO 2025 reminded us why this industry is special. It's built on relationships, curiosity, and the shared drive to keep innovating. Whether you’re launching a new platform or finding your first customers, we’re here to help you get the visibility you deserve.

Want to learn how Digital Flight can support your solution?

Let’s chat. Book a time here or reach out to see how we can help you get discovered, understood, and adopted.

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GUEST ARTICLE: CHARLES MARX JR - SKYTHREAD

COMMERCIAL AVIATION MRO SYSTEMS - IS YOUR MRO SYSTEM VALIDATING YOUR INCOMING DATA? We’d like to think it is, but probably not. Procurement, receiving, CAMO and records management teams do a good job at what they do. But they can only deal with the data they get and what they can find through phone calls, faxes, emails and digging through past files. But what these systems are not doing creates issues in CAMO, in the parts supply chain, in the hangars and in component repair.

Generally, the answer is no, the data and documents are not validated. It’s up to the individuals acquiring, repairing, installing or otherwise working with the parts to do the validation work. MRO systems do not enable that functionality today. How could they? The incoming parts data came from another ERP system at another company. That data came from the ERP system of the company who had the part before them, and so on. Part documents and data are stored everywhere. But the documents and data are not where you need them when you need it and how you need them.

Data errors too often they are carried forward from company to company within the part documentation: It’s called “garbage in, garbage out.

The existing MRO systems allowed this to happen. Many airlines will say – that doesn’t happen to us. But it does.

The FAA reports that 500,000 unapproved aircraft parts are installed on aircraft every year One line station manager on the west coast says – “I find at least one unapproved part every day” AOG Technics was an insider. They knew where the holes were in the MRO systems and exploited.

AOG Technics parts made their way into 125 engines of major airlines + Safran + MRO shops FAA allows parts to be recorded onto the suspected unapproved parts (SUP) list. It’s hard to search The industry is not required to report “scrap” – is your part one that was previously scrapped?

Is the incident reporting on your part, correct? How do you know?

Has your part flown in a sanctioned location? How do you know?

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How does this data get past the MRO systems validations?

Many aircraft parts fall into quarantine when the data, documents and parts do not match. It can take 3-4 days for a part to get through quarantine once it falls into this status. Tens of thousands of parts are in quarantine right now.

That is not acceptable. Planes are delayed. MRO is delayed. TAT increases. And worse, parts slip through.

Remember the FAA citation earlier.

The Aviation Supply Chain Integrity Coalition studied the issue of part authentication and released their report on improving aircraft parts sourcing and management in response to recent issues around aircraft part documentation.

The issues that led to this report were the fabrication of aircraft engine part hours and cycles and the associated part documentation. Three areas of improvement were reported in the ASCIC report, and we challenge MRO MIS systems designers to close these gaps.

SkyThread is ready to support the ASCIC report and its findings and will enable the authentication, verification and traceability of serialized aircraft parts through our industry solution to collect, validate and share aircraft part data over the life of the part. Our cloud-based solution records key data about an aircraft part to provide part data integrity to legitimate movements of parts and to avoid errors or misappropriation of the part status and condition of the part over its life. SkyThread's proprietary solutions record, curate, validate and share permissioned data on the ongoing status and condition of parts through Birth of the Part (its original manufacture) 1st Use of the Part (assembly on aircraft) 1st Use of the Part (delivered to airline) Remove / Repair / Install the part in MRO Return to stock or resell of the part (USM) Recycling or Scrap of the Part (end of life) Airworthiness Documents along the way At every step of the way, SkyThread can capture, and independently validate available data about these aircraft parts, the assemblies (engines / landing systems) and the aircraft. We’ll have the ability to independently validate the hours and cycle data. This would have helped prevent the AOG Technics aircraft part documentation issues.

SkyThread will integrate with or embed in your MRO MIS. The Aviation Supplier Association (ASA) proposed creating and maintaining life histories of aircraft parts over 25 years ago. The industry did not follow through. The industry still manually prepares and circulates airworthiness tags with no history on most parts prior to their last removal. Life Limited Parts have some level of reporting, but we’ve seen errors coming through this process as well. The ASCIC report suggests that we do more. EASA has also studied this issue and issued their report in late 2024. SkyThread was involved in that study.

Why haven’t these gaps been addressed?

First, the regulators don’t require it. That should never be a reason or an excuse. I’ve been in this business for 45 years and we know better. Second, the MRO IT systems companies tell me that the airline customers are not asking for these improvements. Airlines / MRO have learned to deal with these weaknesses through manual labor – forensics. Until airlines required this validation, we’re left to do manual workarounds and put immense stress on the overworked aircraft technicians to “get it right”. That last point is especially important – we retired the best A&P technicians during the pandemic. Over 25% of current aircraft technicians have 3 years of experience or less.

They must be supported with proven life histories of aircraft parts to help them accelerate their learning curve on the evaluation of aircraft parts.

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Over the past 40 years, airlines have maintained a core set of information systems to deal with aircraft part numbers – sourcing, procurement, receiving, inspection, installation, health monitoring, removal, repair, restock and installation. Remember, I’ve worked on 5 major airline IT system evaluations, selections or implementations. The airlines have written or acquired over 20 systems that collectively “touch” an aircraft part. Can you imagine trying to keep those systems “in synch”? One system I’ve worked with was written way back in 1978 – code modifications are very complex and think about what an aircraft looked like back then.

Many airlines, MRO and component repair stations are now going through software selections. These systems will be in place for the next 20 years. Let’s get it right. I’ve talked about data validation of parts coming “into” an airline or MRO, but the struggles exist even within airline operations.

Many airlines, MRO and component repair stations are going through MRO MIS software selections and implementations now. These systems will be in place for the next 20 years. Let’s get it right.

Can Artificial Intelligence fix this?

Not yet. In aircraft parts, you must have the data available to run AI. If the AI engine is not accessing the MRO / ERP systems of all the actors of all the parts for that part number, engine platform and aircraft platform, it does not have the data. SkyThread has been designed to support this purpose. SkyThread will Collect the part / fleet data Validate the part / fleet data Permission the Data Anonymize the data Share the Data Then you can expose your AI engines to the anonymized data pool. Even the airframers and engine companies struggle with their ability to follow their assets over their life to build a digital data twin at the aircraft and engine level to support parts reliability analysis, spares and repairs demand planning, What’s missing from MRO system validation?

Remember, ASCIC, ASA, AFRA, EASA and others say we can do better. What will that look like?

Sourcing - authentic parts - serial # validation – is this a duplicate serial #, is it recorded as being “somewhere else” in the aviation ecosystem?

Sourcing - validated parts - life history validation – how many times has this serial # been removed from an aircraft in the past, and why?

Sourcing – has this part been previously scrapped?

Sourcing - Is there an incident report on this part?

Receiving - how does the system accelerate receiving inspection results – validating documents (not just accepting them as fact) and validating the data for that aircraft part – not just since its last ARC Receiving - how does the system accelerate clearing parts out of quarantine that fail the above reviews?

Airworthiness Release Certificate (ARC) - how is the form authenticated if the part is coming to you through a distributor and not from the Tier 1 or Repair Station?

Prior ARC documents – the last ARC is not enough to make full visible decisions about using a part Removal reports – are the reports and data coming to you with the part, and in a usable, verifiable format?

Removal reports – are you getting these from repaired parts with new ARC? Service Bulletin Compliance - are the parts compliant with the issued service bulletins?

On wing status and condition of parts - a validated digital data twin for the aircraft and engines On wing status and condition of parts - validation of ours and cycles manually reported Life Limited Parts (LLP) - validation to detect gaps in life histories Asset transition preparation - this work on sale/lease return should take days, not months Validation with the data from EDI systems (in transit records) for parts removed but not recorded This is delivered through SkyThread's ability to collect, validate, trace and share the full life history of an aircraft part, from manufactured birth through scrap. Recording the end of life or BER of a part is critical to the removal of that part from the supply chain ecosystem. The ASA / AFRA teams are also hard at work on the management of USM parts and their data coming off decom aircraft and engines. With SkyThread, the continued use of unapproved parts would be difficult, and the clearing of “good parts” through receiving inspection is efficient and complete.

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NEW SOLUTIONS SMART 145

SHOWCASING THE NEW DIGITAL SOLUTIONS WHO HAVE JOINED THE DIGITAL FLIGHT COMMUNITY.

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COREPILOT

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About

About

Smart 145 isn’t just another ERP — it’s the aviation-native platform built by MROs, for MROs. Forget endless customizations and legacy software: Smart 145 gives you everything you need — quotes, work orders, inventory, invoicing — in one intuitive, cloud-based system. Fully mobile.

API-friendly. Power BI integrated. No hidden fees. No contracts. Just pure control.

Built with real insight from the hangar floor, it’s the tool aviation teams actually want to use — and love to grow with.

Welcome to your next-generation MRO software.

We’re your co-pilot in navigating the fastpaced skies of the aviation aftermarket.

Born from a passion for aviation and powered by a team of software geniuses, CorePilot is here to revolutionize how the industry operates, one data-driven decision at a time.

We’re here to turbocharge your business with cutting-edge AI, cloud-based technology, and a whole lot of software magic.

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GUEST ARTICLE: ILS AND SMARTCERT

INVENTORY LOCATOR SERVICE (ILS) PARTNERS WITH SMARTCERT AND PROVENAIR TO ENHANCE DOCUMENTATION VISIBILITY IN THE AVIATION AFTERMARKET Inventory Locator Service, LLC (ILS), the world’s most dynamic aerospace marketplace, has announced integrations with SmartCert and ProvenAir, industry leaders in digitizing trace and quality documentation for the aviation supply chain. SmartCert automates quality certification management, while ProvenAir uses artificial intelligence (AI) to generate back-to-birth (BtB) trace timelines for life-limited parts. Together, ILS, SmartCert, and ProvenAir are helping suppliers transform documentation visibility from a pain point into a competitive advantage — all while making the buying process faster, trusted, and more transparent across the aviation aftermarket.

Solving a Longstanding Documentation Challenge By integrating SmartCert and ProvenAir with ILS, buyers can now harness cutting-edge technology to revolutionize their purchasing processes. This collaboration actively supports existing goals by enhancing and delivering comprehensive BtB trace insights, thereby empowering buyers with the tools needed to streamline their operations. The partnership builds an environment of trust and transparency, as buyers can confidently verify compliance and traceability, knowing the documentation is both accurate and readily accessible. This innovative approach not only reduces transactional friction but also fosters stronger, more reliable relationships within the aviation aftermarket.

A First-of-Its-Kind Partnership ILS’ partnership with SmartCert and ProvenAir brings seamless certification availability and BtB trace credibility directly into the ILS platform—an industry-first solution that eliminates inefficiencies and redefines how companies manage documentation. Suppliers using SmartCert or ProvenAir will now have the integrated company logo displayed alongside their ILS inventory listings, signaling to buyers that documentation for those parts is available. By integrating SmartCert’s powerful cert delivery automation and ProvenAir’s robust BtB trace insights with ILS’s global marketplace, we’re setting a new standard for speed, accuracy, and compliance in the aerospace supply chain.

Key benefits include: Greater Buyer Confidence – Buyers gain greater assurance of compliance while improving sourcing accuracy and better identifying real, ready-to-ship inventories - enhancing efficiency and reducing documentation concerns.

Improved Supplier Visibility – ILS Suppliers advertising parts with SmartCert and ProvenAir integrations stand out against those with minimal part information, leading to more requests and greater market share.

Faster Transactions – A standardized digital cert process reduces back-and-forth between buyers and sellers, accelerating purchasing decisions.

Enhanced Compliance & Audit Readiness – Centralized quality documentation simplifies regulatory compliance and streamlines audits for both buyers and suppliers.

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GUEST ARTICLE: ROTABULL

INTRODUCING ROTABULL FOR VENDOR QUOTES

In the fast-paced world of aviation aftermarket purchasing, every second counts. Purchasing Managers are drowning in emails while manually entering vendor quotes into their ERP systems, creating a tedious, time-consuming process that leaves too much room for error and not enough time for anything else.

Missed quotes. Overpaying for parts. Difficulty finding in-stock parts.. Sound familiar?

Meet Rotabull for Vendor Quotes - Your New Secret Weapon Rotabull can now automate the data entry of vendor quotes directly from your email, eliminating the need for manual input. That means: No more missed quotes - Every vendor response is captured and logged automatically.

No more overpaying - Instantly compare pricing and terms without digging through your inbox.

No more time wasted - Focus on strategic purchasing, not data entry.

With Rotabull, teams can finally shift their focus from tedious admin work to what really matters — building stronger vendor relationships, negotiating smarter deals, and making data-driven decisions faster. By streamlining vendor quote management, Rotabull empowers purchasing teams to stay ahead in a highly competitive market where timing, accuracy, and visibility can make all the difference.

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For those new to Digital Flight We help Suppliers & MRO’s successfully navigate today’s digital landscape of emerging technology and software solutions, through essential guidance, insights and strategy.

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Contact us: info@digitalflight.aero

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