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CAP in South Dakota Achieves New First using Drones for Search and Rescue

South Dakota Wing, Civil Air Patrol, is supporting an effort by Swiss drone manufacturer Wingtra to develop “human recognition” software to search for missing people on the ground. SD Wing is the first unit in CAP to have photos processed with the Beta version of this new software.

 

Tagged As: Search and Rescue sUAS

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SD Wing Provides “Best Ever” Drone Disaster Photography to FEMA

FEMA praised SD Wing for the quality of its drone photography after responding to a call for aerial imaging after deadly tornados in Iowa in May. Iowa Wing requested support from the South Dakota drone (UAS) team. A FEMA official said the Wingtra results were the best UAS imagery they've ever seen from Civil Air Patrol, yielding a resolution of less than two inches per photo pixel.

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Civil Air Patrol Supports Air Force B-1 Crash Investigation

Civil Air Patrol’s South Dakota Wing flew aircraft and drone photography surveys over Ellsworth Air Force Base to document the scene where a B-1 crashed on Jan. 4. Acting in its role as the auxiliary of the Air Force, Civil Air Patrol was tasked by the Air Force Interim Safety Board to fly photography surveys around the area of the crash, which happened as the bomber was attempting to land.

Tagged As: Photography sUAS USAF

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SD CAP Member Selected for National Drone Training

Col. Mike Beason, South Dakota Wing Civil Air Patrol (CAP), was invited to be a member of the first national training class for a new category of photography drone aircraft. CAP uses drones, formally known as small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS), for aerial mapping, damage assessment, and missing person searches. CAP’s new hybrid drones take off and land vertically, like a rotary UAS, but fly like a fixed-wing UAS.

Tagged As: sUAS

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