Helicopter in action with antennas mounted
The helicopter search tests performed on April 30 in Östersund, Sweden, gave very positive results. Using our portable search unit we managed to find a telephone, carried by a man pretending to be lost in the forest, at a distance of 20 km. The search took approximately 15 minutes from starting up the helicopter to a visual identification of the man on the ground.
We used prototype full-size helicopter antennas, to correlate the direction of the helicopter with the direction of the phone. Also, with the bigger antennas we get better search performance due to increased sensitivity and accuracy, which means we can “hear” the telephone at a longer distance.
We are very greatful to Osterman Helicopter in Östersund for letting us use one of their helicopters.
”We were happy to contribute with our time and equipment for these tests. The Hepkie system is a very interesting concept and can be a good tool in helicopter based Search and Rescue missions in the near future. We are often hired by the Police and Mountain rescue service and see that this system has incredible potential when people are missing“, says Stefan Larsson, Market manager at Osterman Helicopter.
Field trials started
Successful helicopter test