Travel Photography - Aerial photography over very large area

I'm hoping someone here can help with this odd request. My company needs to take a LOT of aerial photography using our custom camera setup. We are estimating potentially hundreds of hours of flight time to accomplish this part of the project. Does anyone have an idea of where I can start looking for a company that might be able to accommodate our needs?

I'm hoping someone here can help with this odd request. My company needs to take a LOT of aerial photography using our custom camera setup. We are estimating potentially hundreds of hours of flight time to accomplish this part of the project. Does anyone have an idea of where I can start looking for a company that might be able to accommodate our needs?

Not to be flip, but unless you're planning to do aerial photography of the entire planet, you might want to be a little more specific. There are a lot of aerial photography companies whose operations are limited to a particular area, country, or continent.

(In the unlikely event you're interested in Hawaii, I just found out an instrumentation PhD type guy I know has such a company.)

I'm hoping someone here can help with this odd request. My company needs to take a LOT of aerial photography using our custom camera setup. We are estimating potentially hundreds of hours of flight time to accomplish this part of the project. Does anyone have an idea of where I can start looking for a company that might be able to accommodate our needs?

Yes - where? And also, what type of camera? Mapping? Array? How big of a hole do you need in the plane? Or do you need to take it out of the side?

There are many professional aerial photography and aerial survey companies out there... I've worked with many and I might be able to help you find the right one, but I need more details. Feel free to contact me directly.

The industry term for what you seek is, "aerial survey"

http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=aerial+survey

If the job is "hundreds of hours" of flying, many survey firms are
willing to consider relocating an aircraft for the purpose.

It'll be VERY helpful if you can tell them:

- Weight of the camera/ISR package?
- How is it mounted? (Bolted down? Gyro stabilized? Other?)
- Power requirements?
- Size of the hole required in the aircraft?
- Overhead or oblique?
- Do you have expectations re: time of day? (shadow mitigation)
- Do you have expectations re: haze/attenuation?
- Track length, spacing/offset & altitude(s)
- Do you require that a camera/ISR operator be aboard?
- If not; will you train the pilot on camera/ISR operation?

Thank you all for the information!

Also keep in mind where you plan to do the survey. If it is near any major airports you may end up in controlled airspace, which would require coordination and approval from ATC.

> Coordination and approval from ATC

The OP won't have to deal with this aspect. The survey company will ... and ATC is
typically, VERY accommodating. There are No-Go areas - the Prohibited Areas. White
House, Camp David, etc ... ain't no amount of begging gonna convince the USSS to
permit t.h.a.t. overflight.

Another aspect that may affect the installation ... is approval/sign-off of the camera
installation itself.

If an Airframe mechanic deems the installation to be a Minor Alteration, they can
sign-off the work themselves. i.e. It uses existing/pre-approved camera mounts.

If cutting/drilling of structure is required, it is likely to be considered a Major Alteration.
If this is the very first time this camera pkg has been installed, the FSDO Maint Inspector
may demand that a DER be hired to design/engineer a proper installation, generating the
necessary "Approved Data." This gets expensive, quickly. All the engineering info
("Approved Data") will be submitted to the FAA using Form 337 for review and approval.
This process is sometimes measured using glacial timeframes.

Example: A buddy decided that he wanted to permanently install a portable, aviation
GPS as the triple back-up in his employer's Falcon 50 (Midget Trimotor). It only required
drilling four [4] holes, installing two rivnuts and connecting to the DC bus. $28K of DER
work was required to generate the "Approved Data" that the FAA required.

When he told me this story, I suggested that perhaps using a suction cup and cigarette
lighter plug as a (legal) "temporary" installation wasn't so goofy after all.

If the camera pkg has flown before; and a 337 already exists, many FSDO Maint
Inspectors will review/accept that prior pkg as the "Approved Data" necessary to
approve the new 337 (for this specific airframe).

Again; the survey company should handle these "337" tasks for you, but there will
probably be cost & time-line consequences.