Since mid-August, we have had at our disposal the most advanced aerial camera system by Vexcel, namely UltraCam Eagle M3. One PAN image has a size of 26,460 x 17,004 px, which means a 450 Mpx image, and the physical size of one pixel is 4 microns. So, at a flight altitude of 2,500 m and a GSD of 10 cm, the real size of the area pictured in a single image is a considerable 2,646 meters transversely and 1,700 meters in the flight direction. Thus, it is necessary to take less than half the images of any given location when compared with our older UltraCam Xp. The camera is able to save an image every second and a half.
Currently, our EM3 is installed in a Beechcraft Super King Air B200 belonging to our partner Weser Airborne Sensing. This camera underwent a real baptism by fire while photographing complicated alpine terrain. In the area around Zell am See, where Austria's highest mountain Grossglockner is also located, we managed to take images with a 20cm GSD and 80/45% overlays in just three flight missions, covering an area of nearly 5,500 km2.
