G-GIGA
What type of aircraft is it?
G-GIGA is a brand new 6 seater Vulcanair P68C twin engined propeller driven survey aircraft with a factory fitted camera hatch installed at the time of production.
What makes it a good survey aircraft?
The aircraft’s major strengths are its long range fuel tanks, allowing us to be on survey task for long periods and its large survey camera hatch that can house a variety of sensors. The survey hatch has what we call the ‘bomb doors’ on the floor of the aircraft that we close for take off and landing. These doors protect the expensive and sensitive sensors and open up during a survey to allow a clear view of our survey area. The twin engines offer us the flexibility to survey in remote areas offshore and over urban areas.
What's its history?
In November 2011, APEM’s Chief Pilot collected the newly built aircraft from Vulcanair’s factory in Naples, Italy. The aircraft flew back to the UK, stopping at Lyon and Oxford en-route to Chester. The flight was completed in 1 day with a total of 9 hours 5 minutes flying time. The aircraft was registered on the UK aircraft registration prior to leaving Italy, so arrived at Chester as G-GIGA. This meant that the aircraft could go into service for the company immediately after its Civil Aviation Authority inspection the next day.
The registration of the aircraft reflects the work at APEM, as the aircraft will spend the majority of its time performing aerial surveys for the renewable energy industry. The name G-GIGA was chosen as electricity is generated in gigawatts and the data collected on survey is stored in gigabytes.
