THE USE OF A LOW-COST GPS RECEIVER FOR BLOCK AERIAL VERTICAL PHOTOGRAPHY

An investigation has been made into the feasibility of using a low cost GPS receiver fitted to a light fixed wing aircraft as an aid to flying parallel flight lines for block aerial vertical photography. Two cases were examined: (1) the pilot controlled the heading of the aircraft according to the indications on the course deviation indicator of the GPS receiver; (2) the autopilot, being connected to the GPS receiver, controlled the heading of the aircraft. The results obtained for both sidelap and endlap were equal to or superior to those obtained with a CCTV system.