About Lissys

piano.aero

• About Lissys, the company that developed Piano.

Lissys is a small UK-based Limited Company incorporated by Dimitri Simos (that's me) for the development and support of Piano. Active since 1990, Lissys has overseen Piano's evolution from an abstract vision to a globally trusted general-purpose aeronautical analysis tool. No other commercial aircraft sizing and performance software can match the combination of capabilities, features, supporting database and ease of use offered by Piano.

The conceptual beginnings of Piano go back to my 1984 doctoral thesis at Loughborough University. This was followed by research and optimisation work collaborating with Shorts plc and by the development of a precursor design tool for Rolls Royce plc. By the end of the decade Piano 1.0 was ready to meet the world. At the 1990 Farnborough Airshow I contacted Airbus Industrie, who then became the first Piano customer. Since that time, Piano has been adopted by more than 20 major Aerospace organisations.

Piano is not mass-marketed. Instead, new customers are acquired either through direct contacts or by word-of-mouth via existing users. In almost every instance, a sale involves visiting the customer and providing a personal on-site familiarisation course. The specialised world of aircraft analysis is surprisingly small, and Lissys values its connections with skilled professionals around the planet.

Lissys continues to develop and update Piano through maintenance and support contracts with customers, and via user meetings. Feedback and suggestions from the users have been crucial factors in the evolution of Piano's capabilities. The aircraft database that is included with the software is also under continual review and refinement. Piano remains the exclusive focus of the company, which is simply dedicated to offering the best tool for commercial aircraft analysis.

The company is entirely independent. It has no commercial interests in, or connections to, any other aerospace organisations. This is a significant consideration when Piano is used for 'apples-to-apples' comparisons.