This page contains information on the navigation and photography equipment that was purchased for the Cessna 206 (Stationed in Bismarck, ND) and the Cessna 182 (Stationed in Huron, SD) aircraft used for easement monitoring and biological surveys. This project was conceptualized and implemented by staff at the Devils Lake WMD office in a effort to improve techniques used for aerial surveys and was successful enough to be implemented on a larger scale. Regional funding was procured for this project to allow for the best available equipment without the cost or inefficiency of every station in the region purchasing their own equipment when we all use the same aircraft. This equipment is assigned to the aircraft and will be available for stations to use when they request the services of the plane. Currently navigation equipment is available for two observers in each plane (Cessna 206 & 182).
The equipment includes:
-
A laptop with convertible tablet screen for loading GIS flight maps and recording points of interest
- A wireless GPS to use in conjunction with the flight maps on the laptop to display your current position
- ArcPad7 and ArcGIS9 mapping software
- Canon EOS 5D Digital SLR Camera for high quality aerial photography (13megapixel)
- Wide angle (14mm) lens for low level photography and 28-105mm zoom lens for multiuse photography
- Video monitor for live preview through the SLR camera viewfinder
- Camera mount for securing the camera and photographing out of a hole in the belly of the aircraft.
This system has been setup and designed to be as user friendly as possible. Field stations are highly encouraged to take full advantage of all this technology has to offer and will improve the quality and efficiency of aerial surveys. This system is continually developing so if anyone has suggestions or improvements to the system they are welcome to give their inputs. Any request for assistance in developing flight maps should be referred to the HAPET office.
-Notice - The plane equipment is now under the direction of the Bismarck HAPET office. Some changes have been made to the photography equipment. Contact the HAPET office for usage and directions.
The equipment is fairly easy to use, however there are a few things that are HIGHLY suggested before jumping into the plane and starting your survey.
- Learn to make a map in ArcGIS (ArcMap) and use the ArcPad checkout feature (same idea used in the new RLGIS and weed mapping for those stations already using that technology).
- Learn to use the basics of ArcPad7x including opening a map, starting the GPS and capturing a point. For those stations using the Trimble GPS units the interface is basically the same so they are good to practice on. You can download the Custom ArcPad Toolbar below.
- If possible try using Arcpad and a simulated flight map on a laptop with GPS while someone drives you around in a vehicle to simulate a real flight
and see how the map rotation and moving map functions work. If you don't have the same wireless GPS unit for the laptop a standard Garmin handheld or many other types of handheld GPS units can connect to a laptop by a hardwired connection (Set Interface protocol to NMEA on the GPS Unit). A Trimble GeoXT will work well also but the screen will be smaller.
- To transfer data such as maps or aerial photos to and from the plane (since the equipment stays in the plane after your flight) you will need storage media to store your information. A 1 or 2 (preferred) gigabyte USB flash drive is recommended. You may need more than one drive if you will be using more than one plane during your flights. Alternatively you can bring your data to the plane on a CD or DVD disk and bring a blank CD or DVD to burn any new information or photos to the disk after the flight.
- For more information on using GIS and GPS for USFWS applications see http://www.fws.gov/devilslake/GIS.html
In preparation for using the flight equipment you may want to practice using the ArcPad interface as it will appear in the airplane laptops. A custom ArcPad toolbar is added to the standard toolbars for the tools that are more commonly used. To load this toolbar on your own laptop, unzip the files and place the two files ( Flight.apa & Rotation.vbs) into the the Applets folder in the directory where ArcPad is loaded on the computer or Laptop. For most computers the location to save the two files will be C:\Program Files\ArcPad 7.0\Applets\ . Next time you open ArcPad the toolbar should appear. To remove the toolbar for normal use just delete the two files you placed in the Applets folder. Notice this toolbar is too large to work on a PDA screen (Or Trimble Screen).