Since the Chester airfield opening APEM has expanded its fleet with a fourth aircraft.
Scientists at the Chester airfield will use the aircraft to gather data for environmental surveys. These provide greater insights into the land or water below than more conventional methods could yield.
G-GIGA, the latest Vulcanair P68C, is fitted with an RCD 30 camera, and is used to gather visual data about specific environments while in the air.
The aircraft is brand new and was collected by APEM’s chief pilot from the Vulcanair factory in Naples and flown back via Lyon and Oxford in a speedy time of nine hours and five minutes.
The fleet of four, including G-JPEG, G-RIPA, G-HABS and G-GIGA, have full survey specifications, including a factory fitted camera hatch, which enables APEM to install the appropriate camera required for each survey to obtain the best images possible.
APEM expects the data gathered by G-GIGA will contribute to the future generation of gigawatts of renewable energy. Remote sensing is hugely important to the development of offshore wind farms, which cannot be commissioned until a reliable environmental survey has been carried out to prove that habitats and species are not adversely affected by the development.
Each APEM aircraft has its own purpose and name specific to the type of data it gathers:
G-JPEG– Sea surveys (Named after an image format, this aircraft takes images of aquatic areas.)
G-HABS– Habitat surveys(HABS is short for ‘habitats’ and linked to the Habitats Directive, a significant policy in Europe’s commitment to nature conservation.)
G-GIGA– General aerial surveys (This name was chosen because APEM collects many gigabytes of data during aerial surveys for a large number of renewable energy projects, which will generate many gigawatts of renewable energy when they are constructed.)
G-RIPA– River surveys (Taken from the Latin-derived ‘Riparian’, which relates to river banks.)
Dr Keith Hendry, managing director of APEM , explains: “APEM is expanding into new and exciting industry sectors. Our new aircraft will bolster our Chester operation, which relies on some of the most advanced photographic technology in the world.
“Remote sensing has considerable benefits over more traditional forms of ground or boat-based surveys, being a more accurate and cost effective option.”
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Offshore WIND staff, December 12, 2011; Image: apemltd