Aerial Photography
Kucera has had in-house aerial imaging capability since its founding in the late 1940s and continues to provide aerial photography and other types of aerial imaging as a primary service.
Over the past decade, Kucera has completed aerial photography in 35 American states and 4 foreign countries, including coverage of different countywide and citywide areas. Kucera also regularly performs photo missions in restricted airspace areas over airports, military bases, and other sensitive areas.
Kucera operated a fleet of five aircrafts, including three twin-engine Piper Navajo Chieftain, and two single engine Cessna TU206s. All aircraft are outfitted with GPS-based flight management and navigational systems for efficient and accurate mission planning and coverage.
Kucera's primary photogrammetric-grade image acquisition systems are latest generation USGS-calibrated and NAPP-program-approved Zeiss RMK TOP 15 and LMK 1000 series optical aerial cameras with built-in forward motion compensation (FMC) and AWAR resolution ratings in the highest range. Kucera also captures aerial photography using Leica ADS40 (SH-40) and Leica ADS40 (SH-51) large format digital cameras/sensors. The cameras are operated in manually leveled or automatic gyrostabilizing mounts and are linked to geodetic-grade Applanix 510 POS/AV airborne GPS/IMU systems.
Flyovers are performed at the first possible window of opportunity, with Kucera's aircraft being based not more than a few hours flying time from the project to ensure the flyover is completed in the shortest possible time with consistent conditions.
Kucera operates full-service photographic laboratories at each of its production facilities for processing and titling photographic imagery as needed and for any subsequent photo reproduction work required (e.g., contact printing, photo enlarging, etc.) All photographic processing and reproduction work is accomplished with sensitometric quality control monitoring.