Aerial Survey Flights

1
Aerial Survey Flights

2
About This Presentation

• Operational requirements of various types of
  survey flights
• The purpose of the flights
• Factors that can contribute to their success or
  failure
• Economic impact
• The importance of good ATC coordination prior to
  the flight

3
What Survey Flights are NOT

• NOT Scenic photo flights
• NOT Flights for brochures or real estate
• NOT Press or media flights
• NOT Routine pipeline or power line monitoring
  patrols
• NOT Traffic reporting

4
Operations

• Flights operate under FAR Part 91
• With few exceptions, aircraft are 12,500 lbs. or
  less, maximum certified takeoff weight.
• Majority of work is below FL180, however, some
  large block projects are higher, requiring IFR
  flight plans.

5
Aircraft Used

• High Performance Piston Singles

• Light Piston Twins

• Small Turboprops (limited)

6
Aerial Photo Mission Crews

• Commercial Pilot(s)
• Camera / LIDAR / Systems Operator
• GPS Technician (Occasionally)
• Aerial survey photography requires a high level
  of professionalism and experience.

7
Camera / Sensor Equipment

• Precision USGS Calibrated Equipment
• Multiple types of sensors film, digital, LIDAR
• Bolted to Frame of Aircraft, (STC/337)
• Approximately 300 Pounds
• 1 - 3 million costs

8
(No Transcript)
9
Additional Equipment

• Precise Navigation Systems Interfaced with Camera
• Inertial Measurement Units (IMU)
• GPS Units (Survey Grade)
• Laptop Computers
• LIDAR Laser equipment and other Digital Sensors

10
It All Starts with the Flying

• Aerial Surveying for Mapping and Spatial Data
  Capture
• The Critical First Step in Any Major Project

11
Applications

• Airports
• Highways
• Environmental
• Industrial Sites
• Flood Studies
• Monitoring
• Shoreline

• Mining
• Utilities
• Sea Ports / Marinas
• Railroads
• Planning
• Forestry
• Agricultural

12
Clients

• Federal government agencies
• State governments
• Local governments
• Industrial
• Private companies

13
Flight Line and Ground Control Layout
14
Considerations/Constraints

• It is very difficult to find a time when all
  the right conditions exist for certain aerial
  survey flights. The window of opportunity can be
  so small that if a flight is delayed or
  cancelled, a re-flight opportunity may never
  present itself.

15
ATC Coordination

• Varies based on project
• Coordination with airspace office
• Internal ATC facility coordination
• Pilot/controller coordination

16
Flight Lines

• Linear Coverage

• Block Coverage

• Altitudes Depend on Photo Scale

• Precision Exposures Flight line position and
  altitude must meet tight tolerances

17
Linear Coverage (1 of 3)

• Linear coverage is used to fly roadways,
  waterways, pipelines, transmission lines, etc.
  These lines generally have one flight line
  centered over each straight segment of the route.

18
Linear Coverage (2 of 3)

• An ATC controller could become alarmed if he
  observed such an erratic flight pattern on radar,
  not realizing it was a survey flight requiring
  many turns and heading changes.

19
Linear Coverage (3 of 3)

• In a time of heightened security, if such an
  erratic flight path was flown near a refinery,
  power plant, etc., the ATC controller could
  perceive the aircraft as a threat. In cases like
  this, prior coordination is a must.

20
Block Coverage (1 of 4)

• Block coverage is used for large areas when a
  single flight line does not cover the width of a
  project at the required scale.

21
Block Coverage (2 of 4)

• Several factors determine how such a project is
  flown
• The crew may first attempt to fly those areas
  most prone to early cloud formation, such as
  ridges, hill tops and any steam-emitting plants
• They may want to start on one particular side, if
  weather is expected to move in from that
  direction
• The crew may skip lines, rather than fly adjacent
  lines, so they dont lose GPS P-DOP signal in a
  tight turn.

22
Block Coverage (3 of 4)

• Again, prior coordination is essential so the ATC
  controller knows where each flight line is and
  how far the aircraft will go before it needs to
  turn around for the next line.

23
Block Coverage (4 of 4)

• When a survey flight is coordinated with ATC
  prior to take-off, it is important that the
  controller handling that aircraft receive that
  information.

24
Economic Impact

• Paris Pike Reconstruction, KY (12 Miles)
• Aerial Photo Costs (3 Altitudes) 6,000
• Surveying and Mapping Costs 124,000
• Engineering Costs 4,200,000
• Total Construction Costs 49,000,000
• Aerial Photography Costs 0.011 of Project
  Costs
• Downstream Economic Effect 9074 Times

25
How Does the FAA Handle Photogrammetric Flights?

Federal Aviation Administration Order 7210.3,
Facility Operation and Administration, paragraph
5-4-6, addresses photogrammetric
flights. 5.4.6-a. Except for rare instances,
photogrammetric missions must be conducted on
clear days, in VFR flight conditions, and
usually when the sun angle is high.  Accordingly,
infrequent IFR flight plan filing can be
anticipated.
26
How Does the FAA Handle Photogrammetric Flights?
(cont.)

5.4.6-b. Most missions will involve a series of
overlapping photographic exposures, although some
missions may involve only a single exposure. In
any case, the aircraft must necessarily move
precisely along a predetermined course/s at a
predetermined altitude. This part of the mission
is called the flight line.
27
How Does the FAA Handle Photogrammetric Flights?
(cont.)

5.4.6-c. Facility management personnel shall be
guided by the following when handling
photogrammetric flights (1) Facilities are
expected to make every reasonable effort to
accommodate photogrammetric missions, but
judgment must be exercised to minimize overall
system impact.
28
How Does the FAA Handle Photogrammetric Flights?
(cont.)

5.4.6-c. (2) When contacted by the pilot in
advance, the controlling facility is required to
secure a complete understanding of the operation
to be conducted. In this regard, it must be
anticipated that the operation may be delayed due
to weather (this possibility should be covered in
the preflight planning). Since the flight could
be delayed not only for hours but in some cases
for days, facility personnel must be adequately
briefed to cope with such situations on a
spontaneous basis.
29
How Does the FAA Handle Photogrammetric Flights?
(cont.)

5.4.6-c. (3) When the pilot commences a flight
line (the actual photographic run), every
reasonable effort should be made to permit the
flight to continue uninterrupted i.e., without
change in course or altitude. Should it become
necessary to break the aircraft off the flight
line, it should be vectored or cleared back into
position for another run as soon as possible.
30
How Does the FAA Handle Photogrammetric Flights?
(cont.)

FAAO 7210.3 5.4.6 Notes The Management
Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors
(MAPPS) speaks for the photogrammetric flight
industry. The Agency has emphasized the
following points to MAPPS a. The pilot is
expected to make every effort to contact the
appropriate ATC facility prior to the mission to
explain flight requirements and to avoid no
notice air/ground telephone requests whenever
possible.
31
How Does the FAA Handle Photogrammetric Flights?
(cont.)
FAAO 7210.3 5.4.6 Notes b. That firm hard
and fast'' approvals cannot be guaranteed due to
the rapid changes which can occur in the ATC
operational situation, but every reasonable
effort will be made by ATC to accommodate pilot
requests. c. The pilot is expected to say This
is a photo survey mission'' when contacting the
ATC facility via air/ground communications and
subsequently to inform the controller when the
flight line is commenced.

32
Separation and Safety

• Separation and safety are the FAAs first
  concern, but, having knowledge about aerial
  survey flights allows the air traffic control
  specialist to better anticipate the requests and
  special handling requirements of these types of
  flights.

33
In Summary
Successful completion of aerial survey projects
are critical to this nations infrastructure.
Success depends on cooperation and established
working relationships between individual aerial
survey firms and the FAA facilities handling
those flights. MAPPS encourages air traffic
controllers to visit aerial survey firms and
aerial survey firms to visit ATC facilities to
gain a better understanding of how best to
coordinate survey flights so as to successfully
complete the missions while minimizing the impact
on routine air traffic operations.

34
Questions / Comments? Contact

MAPPS 1760 Reston Parkway, Suite 515 Reston, VA
20190 Phone [phone] Fax (703)
787-7550 e-mail info_at_mapps.org website
www.mapps.org