Thu, Apr 30, 2009
Tough Duty... Interesting Application
Of all the things we can think to do
with a Diamond DA42 TwinStar, we're not sure that looking for
landmines or explosives is ANYWHERE near the top of our list.
Nope... we checked, not even close.
As a matter of fact, we're kinda more positively disposed
towards flying around looking for cute girls working airport
desks than we are in looking for things that go BOOM... but we're
just kinda weird that way.
Go figure.
Still; the DA42 MPP does seem to have found itself yet another
niche in terms of making the world a little safer. A Diamond
Aircraft Industries’ DA42 MPP, equipped with one laser
scanner and two SPECIM Hyperspectral Sensors, has already
successfully proven itself in the detection of land mines and
explosives -- from an altitude of 500 feet AGL (personally not high
enough... but that's us). The test exercise was executed with the
help of the Austrian Military (Bundesheer) in Großmittel,
Lower Austria.
The results have been very positive, all the explosive materials
based on TNT and Nitropenta have been detected. “We are very
happy to have soon a unique solution to one of the world’s
dirtiest problems. There are still millions of mines and explosives
that have to be eliminated in various countries” said
Christian Dries, CEO Diamond Aircraft.
The DA42 MPP is a highly adaptable variant of the DA42 TwinStar
GA airframe... the modified platform carries various kinds of
sensors and performs for surveillance and reconnaissance in Africa,
South-America, Europe and even Iraq.
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