Surveying And Mapping, Inc. has entered into an agreement with Corporate Aircraft Solutions, LLC, also know as Oasis Services, for the exclusive use of a rotary wing aircraft as a platform for airborne LiDAR deployment.

The aircraft, a Bell 206L-1 helicopter, is based near SAM, Inc. headquarters in Austin, Texas and will allow the company to more efficiently cover a wider geographic range. The exclusive use of the helicopter under its agreement with Oasis now gives SAM, Inc. complete flexibility for tasking an aircraft to perform airborne LiDAR scanning services.

According to SAM, Inc. founder and president, Sam Hanna, RPLS, “We’re really excited by having the exclusive use of this helicopter. In addition to having more control over our scheduling, the central location will help reduce mobilization costs within the region. We think this will open up a whole new set of options for some of our clients.”

Features of the Bell aircraft include the ability to mount the LiDAR scanning system internally, rather that suspended below the aircraft, for enhanced airworthiness. In addition to its capabilities for airborne LiDAR, the seven-seat aircraft will be licensed for air passenger service, adding another option for clients. The broad capabilities of the aircraft potentially enable other new service operations for SAM, Inc. in the future.

For airborne work SAM, Inc. uses the Trimble Harrier 68i scanner, the most advanced LiDAR scanning system on the market. This system has a truly impressive set of specifications, including a very high rate of data capture, extremely dense data capture, a wide field-of-view, and an integrated 60-megapixel digital frame camera. The firm also recognizes the importance of data processing for LiDAR scanning projects and is committed to providing the highest quality tools to support geospatial services. In addition to the scanning hardware, the firm has also recently invested $2 million in network improvements, tripling storage capacity, increasing network bandwidth tenfold, enhancing offsite data recovery services, and implementing new data hosting options for clients.

SAM, Inc. has the capabilities to deploy both rotary and fixed-wing aircraft, depending on project requirements and will continue to partner with aviation providers in other regions to provide the utmost versatility and efficiency for clients, depending on their project locations and needs. The company currently has seven offices across the United States. Oasis Services is a Department of Veterans Affairs-certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business located near Atlanta, Georgia.