LOGISTICAL AIRCRAFT COMPANY LLC

CEO and Chief Designer | Sydney R Curtis

Originally from the United Kingdom, Syd started flying in 1959 via the Royal Air Force Cadet Program, the “Air Training Corps”. Following his architectural studies, he saw an opportunity in the “Freeport” growth zone in the Bahamas. After accepting a client's invitation to the US, he began the examination process through the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. He became licensed in the state of Georgia and North Carolina. Syd has maintained a small international practice simultaneously to his Aviation career.

He has done contract flying for several small foreign and US carriers. In 1986 he was hired with the then “Piedmont Airlines” where he was involved with the initial North Atlantic operation. He retired from US Airways as a captain flying the Caribbean Theatre. Following a sailing sabbatical of eight years, Syd has now devoted himself full time to the SC-1 project.


Director of Intellectual Property and Industry Liaison | John Shrader

John retired from Boeing in 1998 as manager of the Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) and Shock Physics group in the Defense and Space Division of The Boeing Company in Seattle, WA. His group averaged approximately one million dollars in R&D contracts per year under his leadership, as well as supporting many Boeing programs, both in the Commercial Aircraft and Defense and Space Divisions. In his 13 years as a manager, his group won every proposal that they bid. He served for 5 years on the patent review board and made several dozen presentations of patent disclosures to the board.

Prior to being promoted to management in 1985, he was involved as an engineer in many aspects of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) with emphasis on electric propulsion (rail guns). He designed and operated several guns, including one with a soft recovery system so candidate components for a rail gun launched projectile could be evaluated in a simulated full-scale projectile launch environment. He particularly enjoyed being the lead engineer on evaluation and design of several high risk, high payoff concepts, such as a Deuterium Fluorine laser, and applying sonar array technology to an array of seismometers, etc.


Director-Financial affairs, Banking, Industry Partnerships | Robert Wolsey

Bob was originally trained and educated in Textile Technology and Color Physics and started his working life as a Chemist at Caultaulds a then leading UK textile manufacturer. His career path soon changed and he joined Unilever as Sales Manager for Spanish and Portuguese speaking nations. However, not being satisfied working for others he started his own business selling chemicals in Latin America.

In the early 1980’s he joined with a UK group of individuals with oil and gas assets in West Texas. He took control of the business and the company was floated on The London Stock Exchange and subsequently sold. Immediately thereafter Bob founded another oil and gas business helped by shareholders from the first venture. The company grew rapidly through acquisitions and organic growth. It was listed on The London Exchange in 1980. Bob recognized the importance of mobile communications and started to consolidate SMR (Special Mobilized Radio) operators in the SW United States. The company became the second largest operator in the USA and was spun out from the parent company and listed on Nasdaq in 1993.

In 1994 Bob moved on and with over $50 million of equity and debt commitments started consolidating communications towers. The business grew rapidly and in 1998 was listed on Nasdaq. Bob raised over $2.5 billion in debt and equity for the business and during his tenure completed in excess of 300 acquisitions. Throughout his career, Bob has negotiated and managed credits and asset purchases with large institutional consortiums. Hes has led 4 primary offerings along with various secondary offerings of equities and other securities.

Logistical Aircraft Company of North Carolina
P. O. Box 1216
Cashiers NC 28717

For Immediate Release

Logistical Aircraft receives patent for control system protocol

HIGHLANDS, NC – Sydney Curtis, CEO of Logistical Aircraft Company of North Carolina (LAC), has received a patent for a new protocol that could standardize flight control management systems in the future, and significantly reduce training costs for the aviation industry as a whole.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office approved Curtis’s patent application on September 8, 2015. Known as the Curtis Protocol, the flight control management system provides an interface that standardizes the division and selection of aircraft flight regimes and flight modes within the selected flight regimes.

Curtis, who designed The Curtis Protocol, said the technology will help pilots manage the two flight regimes--forward flight and vertical flight--by utilizing modern digital flight control management systems in a standardized format that will reduce pilot workload and the possibility of confusion in the cockpit.

“Aviation, and in particular piloting, has a strong, ingrained culture brought about by the very nature and evolved similarity of the various aircraft types,” Curtis said. “The Curtis Protocol provides a remedy to crew training and safety problems with a standard pilot interface that pilots will not find strange or counterintuitive.”

The Curtis Protocol incorporates a Control Mode Selector (CMS) that enables the pilot to tell the aircraft to enter a given operational regime via the systems logic of the particular type.  A Vertical Velocity Control (VVC) operates only for vertical operation and deploys automatically when called for with these selections from the CMS and dispenses with the helicopter “collective” and twist throttle control.

Curtis said the protocol is not intended to change aviation culture, but to help pilots manage the two regimes of forward flight and vertical flight at a time when the concept of multi-role aircraft could gain acceptance as airlines and airports look for cost-effective ways of dealing with increasing airport traffic and make the future growth of rural air service financially viable.

“As the need for multi-role aircraft increases to meet future demands, so will the need for pilots who can switch safely and efficiently from one aircraft to another,” Curtis said. “The protocol will drastically reduce the amount of pilot training required to obtain qualifications in multi-role aircraft. This will result in a huge cost savings for the military and commercial aviation arenas.

Formed in June 2015, Logistical Aircraft Company consists of a group of seasoned aircraft industry veterans with dreams for a new generation of aircraft – one that flies and lands like a conventional aircraft, can use a loading bridge, and is extremely fast. Plans are underway to build a prototype of just such an aircraft, the SC-1.

The SC-1 is a short- to long-range multi-role aircraft, with the ability to make vertical take offs and landings on a regular basis to meet mission requirements. The SC-1 is a fixed wing aircraft, turbo-fan powered, with four identical fixed wings.

For more information on the Curtis Protocol or the SC-1 aircraft, visit the LAC website, www.logisticalaircraft.com, and use the contact page. The SC-1 and its military variant, the SC-1M, are in advanced stages of design.
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