Where Have They Been?

One of my interests is looking up N-numbers on the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) website.  I don't always know why I find this interesting but, once in a while when I see an airplane that has something unusual attached to it or an aircraft that I may not recognize, I save the N-number and look it up at http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Inquiry.aspx.  Sometimes, I look up aircraft and what they have been up to  by going to Flightaware.com and looking up their N-number or in the case of Keystone Aerial Surveys Inc. you can even search it by their ICAO callsign; thier callsign is Footprint (FTP).

Out of all the survey aircraft that I have looked up, I find that most of these are usually of the Cessna or Piper variety.  Occasionally I find that there are a few aircraft as in the case of Fugro Earth Data and Aerial Viewpoint, that use other various airplanes.  Generally, the aerial platform used tends to be a high wing single engine piston  aircraft or a light twin.  The one exception happens to be the Rockwell Aero Commander, which is a high wing piston twin.  High wing aircraft offer stability and a downward looking view. 

All of this may seem nosy, but one aspect that is made readily visible is who and what kinds of persons are hiring aerial survey firms.  I think of this as being competitive by using all available public knowledge to my benefit.