SANDPOINT — As Tamarack Aerospace celebrated the 100th installation of its active winglet system, company officials said the future looks bright for the Sandpoint-based business.

Not only is the company expanding the jets it makes the ATLAS winglet system — comprised of wing extensions with upturned winglets and additional flight-control surfaces meant to improve range, speed and fuel efficiency — it aims to add them to larger airplanes, airlines and military planes as well, Tamarack founder and CEO Nick Guida told a crowd of about 100 employees, community residents and officials gathered to celebrate the installation.

“Overall, this is an exciting time to be at Tamarack. We all fought for this, 2019 was not a good year,” Guida said, emphasizing each word, alluding to an aviation directive which briefly grounded Cessna jets with the winglet system installed.

“But one thing it did was it gelled us as a team and we are so strong now,” he added. “We have fought everything. Anything you could imagine, internal, external, any crazy stuff, we have gotten through it and we’re going to the next level.”

And that next level is expected to include additional business jets and military planes. Guida noted the company has attracted interest from the military and is re-initiating discussions with companies who build larger airplanes and airlines.

“Right, so the next thing we are going to do is take this technology, this amazing technology that we’ve all developed and we’re going to put it on a whole bunch of different planes,” he told the crowd.

The active winglet system is garnering attention for its fuel efficiency and sustainability on an environmental impact front but also for the improved safety it affords to planes with the system.

Since winglets were invented in 1897, fuel savings have climbed from 3 percent to about 5 percent. By comparison to those passive winglet systems, the Tamarack active winglet system delivers fuel savings of 25 percent or more, Guida said. And that’s good news not just for pilots and companies, but for the environment.

“You cannot get away from environmental aspects of flying and green,” he said. “That’s just part of all of us and our kids. We’re all learning this together now. We cannot hide behind just old technology any more. We have got to bring new technology to the forefront and whatever makes the difference to the environmental impact.”

The public has a greater awareness of certification of aircraft and the impact of flying on the earth. Manufacturers need to understand and get behind that, he said.

“Our technology is really such a big step above anything else that people can provide for airplanes right now and that’s exciting,” Guida added.

The winglets offer improved safety, allowing for slower and safer takeoffs and landings as well as a more stable and smoother flight. “Overall the safety aspect of this modification is huge,” he added.

Larry McKoane, president and CEO of Clawson Honda and Clawson Motorsports in Fresno, Calif., is the owner of the plane at the center of the 100th winglet installation.

“The real reason we chose the Tamarack winglets was primarily for performance improvements on the airplane, that allowed us to expand our business capabilities throughout the West Coast,” said McKoane, a former colonel in the U.S. Air Force and vice chief of staff of the California Army and Air National Joint Staff. “We’re also looking forward to the increase in safety because if you fly into high altitude airports in the summertime, the winglets are going to improve our safety margin substantially, especially on a hot day.

“That’s something that was very important to us and something that only a Tamarack winglet really offers.”

Jacob Klinginsmith, president of Tamarack Aerospace, said the active winglet technology offers tremendous potential to its customers, both current and future.

“This is great for Larry and his bank account,’ Klinginsmith said. “But it’s also good for his passengers because it’s improved safety with better climb. It’s also better comfort and a smoother ride. And it’s also good for all of us. Think about the environmental impact of saving 25 percent in your fuel. It’s a huge step forward in protecting our natural resources, and it’s a big step for aviation.”

Caroline Lobsinger can be reached by email at clobsinger@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @CarolDailyBee.