CAP Reconnaissance Flights Providing 3-D Views of Michael's Damage

Over the past three weeks, Civil Air Patrol aircrews working in the Florida Panhandle in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael have conducted imagery flights with specially equipped aircraft in support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

CAP, acting as the Air Force Auxiliary, is supporting Air Forces Northern (AFNORTH) during Defense Support of Civil Authorities operations following the hurricane’s landfall on the Gulf Coast. AFNORTH's primary role is to support U.S. Northern Command's efforts in assisting FEMA in its response to the Category 4 storm, which slammed into Mexico Beach, Florida, and surrounding coastal communities on Oct. 10.

Surveying storm impact

Lt. Col. Larry Fernald, Florida Wing maintenance officer, turns back to survey damages in Mexico Beach, Florida, while piloting one of the CAP planes equipped with the WaldoAir camera pods. Photo by 1st Lt. Cesar Hernandez, Group 6, Florida Wing

CAP Director of Operations John Desmarais said two CAP Cessnas were outfitted with XCAM Ultra50 camera pods developed by WaldoAir Corp., a Franklin, Tennessee-based company. The camera pods were previously tested on two CAP planes during the Hurricane Florence response in the Carolinas, where they collected imagery with the advanced imaging sensor, which is then processed into high-resolution (1-inch ground sample distance) 3-D models.

FEMA’s request for the Michael missions has been for WaldoAir’s 3D mesh product, which provides volumetric measurements of debris piles and integration of resulting digital elevation models into flood modeling.

Grid view

This graphic shows the circle patterns WaldoAir-equipped CAP Cessnas flew along the Florida coast on photographic missions.

The imagery collected may also be used to supplement National Insurance Crime Bureau files.CAP aircrews using the camera pods, under agreement with WaldoAir, have been tasked with surveying heavily damaged Mexico Beach as well as the Port St. Joe and Marianna areas of the Panhandle that Michael impacted.

After their initial flights on Oct. 18, the aircrews have continued their image collections over the same areas and will do so through Nov. 16.

Pods in place

The WaldoAir camera pods used in the Hurricane Michael response have been temporarily mounted on two CAP Cessnas, as seen in this photo. Eight Florida Wing members have been trained so far to help operate the system, both in the air and on the ground. Photo by Lt. Col. George Schaefer, Florida Wing Headquarters

Mission pilots Lt. Col. Ande Boyer and Maj. Deming Gray, two of the four Tennessee Wing aircrew members deployed for the Florence response, helped train the Florida Wing members in the use of the WaldoAir system. And there are plans in place to train additional CAP members from Alabama and Georgia in operating the system over the next three weeks as the mission continues.

Boyer said the WaldoAir system is “the highest-quality and most user-friendly total package imaging and image-processing system that I’ve ever seen.” The enhancements “make sortie planning and execution a piece of cake,” he said.

Team picture

At the end of their training, (from left) Lt. Col. Eric Duron, Maj. Armando Villasana, Lt. Cols. Larry Fernald and Lt. Col. Bill Rake, 1st Lt. Cesar Hernandez and Lt. Col. George Schaefer (partially hidden) pose for a photo with a plane outfitted with the WaldoAir camera pods. Schaefer is the Florida Wing’s director of operations and Fernald is maintenance officer. Duron is commander of Florida Wing Group 1; Rake is operations officer for Group 3; and Hernandez and Villasana belong to Group 6.