oa Evaluation of an Unmanned Aircraft for Geophysical Survey

UAV aircraft differ significantly from manned aircraft. This paper investigates what the differences are and how that will affect decisions made by purchasers of airborne geophysical data.

Differences between manned and unmanned aircraft produce either positive or negative impact on the geophysical data due to a range of factors such as permanent, induced, eddy current, electromagnetic and microphonic noise. Flight characteristics, terrain to be surveyed, location of the survey, safety aspects and regulations are also a consideration.

Whether a purchaser of geophysical data chooses a UAV aircraft over a manned aircraft or a particular type of UAV, differs for every company. Every company will have different safety requirements, prospects, locations to survey and budget.