LTA : MAKE IT WORK, MAKE IT PAY

Please consider this (if you'll excuse this conscious pun) A Trial Balloon . Right now, it's a Call for Comments, for helpful criticisms and ideas, for statements of intent, and for questions regarding a program that needs to be held at a reasonable time and place. You'll notice that it names Greater Tampa Bay as the site ; another serious possibility is one of the Conference hotels in the DisneyWorld Complex, in Orlando, Florida, such as the Coronado, with its self-contained Conference Center, provided with all the major conference amenities and with convenient access to all the many side trips for wife-and-family or travel-companion in that area.

                                                                                                          The tentative schedule displays the date of the event as January 2014 --- January is a time in Central Florida that is "Goldilocks" in nature : Not too Hot, Not too Cold, but Just Right. We've taken into account the traditional Intersession Period, when schools take a break , after the Christmas / Chanukah/ Eid/ Winter Solstice travel frenzy is over . You can count on sunny skies every day; there are NO tropical storms or hurricanes; there's very little rain and NO SNOW ! and few-to-none biting insects : every day Another Day in Paradise . Of course, if you'd rather shovel snow, skid around the streets, slip-and-fall, and shiver, please don't let us stop you.

I really would like to know your do's and don'ts; your likes and dislikes; your approval or disapproval. We need comments that are cogent, compelling, factoid-based, logic-based, and sensible .                                                                          

THANKS !  NOW HERE'S A POSSIBLE EVENT POSTER : 

.................................................................................................  

      LTA : Make it Work, Make it Pay                            The Gulf Coast International Airship Conference
January 9 - 12, 2014 - Greater Tampa Bay, Florida

• WHO SHOULD BE THERE --- Designers, builders, operators, researchers, & end users of LTA airships, particularly the small airships that have not been marketed extensively .                  
• Users can include organizations from industry, government, science, academia, and the military 
• On the financial side : Interested investors; financial and investment firms; SEC Regulation § 504 *** advisors and expediters
• DISCUSS accomplishments, applications, remote sensing, and operation
• Emphasis on the FINANCE  and PRODUCT  LAUNCH  OF  AIRSHIP  PROJECTS    
• OBJECTIVES :

1. Arrange for airship companies and investment sources to meet and arrange funding for airship production.

2. Make significant changes in the evolution of LTA craft and the speed with which that occurs;

3. Disseminate information on the many unique applications of airship;

4. Inform and educate the public and the media through myth-busters and fact checkers;

5. Provide a powerful networking site for people in the field;

• FORMAT - Conference, symposia, exhibits, and an old-fashioned "Air Meeting". Private sessions arranged for LTA company executives with financial sources.

• WHERE: Large conference center in Florida's Greater Tampa Bay or Orlando area, with huge indoor space for equipment displays, meetings, and presentations, and a large outdoor space for flying & displaying airships .

• INFORMATION AND CONTACT - Conference Coordinator:  H. N. Pelta, HYBRIDPELTA, P O Box 208, Ellenton, Florida, 34222, USA;  HNILS @ MSN.COM

  SPONSOR  :   HYBRID  Palmetto-Ellenton Lighter-Than-Air  GmbH                                                                                                                               ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

END OF INFORMATION AND ELEVATOR PRESENTATION

          BEGINNING OF "What Do You Think ?"  

We are in the Dreaming and Planning Stage at this point. Please let us know of your approval, disapproval, and suggestions,  through the COMMENTS  section of this Blog or CONTACT us directly at the "Information and Contact" sites above. We make no promises, but we will take your ideas and preferences seriously as we plan . We expect to send this solicitation throughout both the airship industry and the financial communities interested in Small Capitalization investments . It CAN be done, but ONLY with a broad base of support.

*** For financially unsophisticated readers, SEC Regulations, Section 504 was formulated to make it possible for smaller firms to raise necessary capital by a Private Placement of securities for legitimate business purposes in amounts up to five million dollars, with a minimum of red tape or complex disclosure, and without the need for major accounting and audit procedures. It still isn't easy, BUT :

a. it's a great deal easier than the usual Initial Public Offering (IPO) process

b. restrictions on number and type of investors are significantly eased, and                

c. there exist financial firms that will guide you through the hoops (croquet hoops, not basketball hoops !) .

d. the time frame is much shorter

Our primary Target Audiences are manifold :

First, the substantial number of small Lighter-than-Air firms that would not expect to receive $100,000,000 contracts from Federal government sources. N.B. We would NOT kick large manufacturers out the door ! 

Second, financial entities seeking a respectable Return-On-Investment rates in these times of close-to-zero R-O-I's;

Third, innovative entrepreneurs working on new, imaginative projects that produce a real product rather than VaporWare ;

Fourth, military of any friendly nations (what's that come to these days --- four?) who are interested in projects below the trillion dollar level

Fifth, aviation-oriented youngsters . We've always believed that programmatic inclusion of responsible teenagers was vital to the future of this technology. 

Sixth, lighter-than-air buffs with whom I can share my interests and reminisce about the old Brown-Shoe Air Force .

Seventh, Dr. Barry Prentice and anyone who has been present at his Airships to the Arctic Conference would be Honoured Guests .

Eighth, anyone who has attended (or should have attended) a Patuxent Partnership Conference;

Ninth, anyone interested in the history of the great airships, or who is a member of one of the nostalgia airship museums.

Tenth, anyone with the temerity to actually bring an airship (not necessarily of his design or construction) to the party, and maybe even attempt to fly it. Let us know your hangar and ground crew requirements in advance and we'll try to accommodate it and you (not necessarily in the same room !)

Eleventh, Government Officials, Bless them ! Maybe they'll find out what all the fuss is about ! Local, State, and Federal , we don't discriminate .

Twelfth, Academics --- Graduate Assistants; Research appointments; Assistant through Associate and Full Professors ; even an occasional Dean ; and a limited number of Vice Presidents for Research .

Do you think we should invite members of the public ? ... what are they like these days ? ... I guess they're OK as long as their first technical question isn't "How fast can they go?" or their first snarky comment isn't "Just don't light a match ! " .

Thanks --- in advance --- for your thoughts, suggestions, and support. You'll notice that we did NOT say "commitment" !

All that being said, I probably won't be able to do much of this myself --- aside from urging, suggesting, and planning . Serious medical problems have surfaced very recently which will prevent me from extended travel or (as they say) heavy lifting . But I can still dream, and plan, and prod, and I can still use the computer and telephone; and I promise that I won't get in the way .

In the classic words of the Marketing World : Tell your friends ! Express your opinions to HybridPelta at Blogger.Blogspot.com , or at hnils@msn.com . There is a COMMENTS option for your ready response and your welcome thoughts at AirshipUniverse" . Thanks .

Tight Lines and Up Ship ! May an Evil Eye befall anyone who mentions the Hindenburg !  

CONTACT INFORMATION :

HYBRID PELTA                                                                                        P.O. BOX 208                                                                                ELLENTON, FLORIDA, 34222 , U.S.A.         HYBRIDPELTA@HOTMAIL.COM  

HINDENBURG OR TITANIC ?

Dr. Barry Prentice is an academic who has --- for many years --- been studying the Arctic for its role as a source of strategic resources and for its continuing need to be supplied with necessary products, services, and the necessities of life, during which time he has been organizing and directing authoritative programs on the Arctic,  as a Supply Chain issue from his strategic vantage point in Canada .

The solution proposed by Dr. Prentice for the difficult task of travelling across the mix of tundra and intermittently frozen lakes, and through storms of snow and ice,  has been the use of lighter-than-air and hybrid airships*** as heavy-cargo transportation . He has been joined in this endeavor by a group of knowledgeable advocates , growing in number, concepts, and solutions , backed by much more than mere words by means of the airships they are investing in, constructing, and actually operating .

As the list and quantity of scarce and valuable mineral and biological assets grows --- assets which are becoming critical needs in our high technology world  --- the support he is receiving is growing, as is, sadly, vocal criticism from people who clearly have little or no knowledge of the subject.  We needn't note here the frequently repeated pseudo-factoids that are presented by these people to support their vapid remarks . The Internet, in particular, with its low-to-no entry cost and its availability to anyone  --- credentialed or not--- has fostered , frankly , many reckless and foolish statements .

It is therefore very understandable why Dr. Prentice should find it necessary --- after reading one too many comments citing the 1937 disaster of the Hindenburg Zeppelin, whose precise cause is still being debated by experts, as a reason not to pursue the design, construction, and use of airships .

Dr. Prentice has very recently (and with the patience probably born of his academic background)  gone on to explain, probably for the 100th time or more, that to judge modern-day airships on the basis of the Hindenburg disaster is cognate to judging aircraft safety based on the safety and flight performance of the Wright Brothers. Back in 1937,  airships like the Hindenburg did not have the benefit of radar, much less experience in engineering this new kind of transportation, a minimum of weather-forecasting ability prior to its flight, and without the many new advances in material science and metallurgy. Prentice explained that modern airships, unlike the Hindenburg, are filled with helium, an inert gas, rather than flammable hydrogen . We liked his punch line, which like many aphorisms, are brief, to the point, irrefutable, and timely in this year of the anniversary of another disaster, albeit a maritime one :   

"Why do we pick on the Hindenburg?" he asked. "We don't trudge out the Titanic every time someone mentions a new cruise ship."

We applaud Dr. Prentice's tireless refutation of the witless comments of the  

uninformed . We are pleased that our military services and our security forces , as well as far-seeing manufacturers, soldier on in their continued use and support of this useful old-but-new means of transportation  .

*** Hybrid airships : a relatively recent innovation in which the airship's lift is supplied not only by the lifting gas (hydrogen, helium, or other light gasses ) but also by Bernoulli Effect forces of the air travelling over exterior airfoil surfaces built into the design of the airship's envelope . Why "Hybrid" ? Because it results from the marriage of a lighter-than-air airship and an airplane . Congratulations to the parents on their Blessed Event .

INROADS into the AIRSHIP CONSCIOUSNESS

                       INROADS into AIRSHIP CONSCIOUSNESS

How do we bring attention to the potential of unmanned aerial lighter-than-air craft (robot airships) with all its advantages ? It can be a tough slog, going against the Conventional Wisdom of how dangerous LTA craft are, the (here comes the anticipatory wince !) Hindenburg incident, and people who have never seen two reasonable factoids about "robot airships" in a row.

It doesn't much seem to matter that these people can take a Sunday drive down to their local model airplane meet, and see for themselves how safe and sophisticated remotely-controlled aircraft have become, even how large they're getting in so-called Giant Scale; nor how much the military is beginning to rely on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones)  in combat conditions. We still see the semi-educated submit their comments (sometimes meant to be humorous) about the dangers and difficulties inherent in LTA-UAV operation.

Well, I'm pleased to be able to see positive stories and advertisements in the Literature that take LTA-UAV operational success for granted.

Here, for example, is an extract from the news, notices, and advertisements that are beginning to display publicly what products and production most people apparently do NOT take seriously :

Mini-Zepp, a small Swiss manufacturer manufactures, operates, and instructs in the field of outdoor Radio-controlled Zeppelins, blimps and airships . Here are some selections from Mini-Zepp web pages :

Outdoor aerial advertising is very dramatic and extremely visible. They make powerful statements incomparable to any other means of advertising. One easily remembers an airship as it gracefully flies by.. Blimps are unusual, and throughout the world there are only a handful flying. Because they are rare, they often receive additional advertising and exposure. 
When a blimp is in your area, it often shows up in the local papers, is talked about on radio, and sometimes even on TV news broadcasts.

They outclass all other traditional forms of advertising. They are much more than floating billboards: people talk about seeing them - and that’s just what we want them to do!

Our outdoor Remote Control Blimps are the ultimate in outdoor advertising for sporting events, concerts and fairs.  Everything about the MiniZepp Outdoor RC Blimp product line is designed with safety in mind. With over 10 years of experience in the manufacture and sale of radio controlled blimps, our systems are continuously improving. 
Powered by gas or electric engines - depending on the size - the outdoor Remote Control airship can operate in winds from 20 to over 40 km/h with full 360 degree vectoring allowing for complete reverse flight.  The gondola is either polypropylene or fiberglass, depending on the size of the blimp. The vector arm (movable arm which holds and rotates the motors) rotates 360 degrees and is made of FAA-approved T-6 aircraft aluminum, as are the motor mounts.  This design facilitates infinite hovering control and enables the airship to reverse, if needed.                                   

Our blimps are practically fail-safe thanks to the anti jamming 2.4 Ghz system technique used in its radio systems. This enables it to shut down in case of radio failure or interference.  This also allows the airship to slowly settle to the ground.                    

The appropriate size of your blimp will be determined by the venue, the event needs, and the elevation of your flying location.  We can also manufacture custom-size blimps which perfectly fit your needs. All of our outdoor Remote Control Blimps come standard with interchangeable banner areas and a selective remote controlled video head.

Flight characteristics:
The outdoor RC blimps can take off and land vertically in a rather limited area and switch to forward flight capability at any desired altitude. In the forward flight mode, the airship is flown like a fixed wing aircraft.
In the hover mode, the operation is similar to that of a helicopter.
During slow forward flight or hover in wind, a combination of these two techniques is used.

Training and Flight Operations:
Operation of the outdoor RC blimps should be conducted only by fully experienced R/C pilots with knowledge of batteries, engines, radio transmitter, receiver, servo operations and the airship's capabilities.

Two qualified pilots must be trained and certified in writing by our RC staff.  Training is not included in the price of the blimps, it is quoted with each request.
We do not train beginners.

Aerial imaging system : Mini-Zepp solutions range from commercial aerial photography systems to aerial gyro-stabilized video cameras.

Our systems are used worldwide by small business owners, large corporations, as well as foreign and domestic government entities. We manufacture the highest-quality lighter-than-air products, ship on time, and provide excellent customer support.

Mini-zepp’s remote controlled head systems are some of the best available anywhere in the world. From the small and light Pentax A40, to the heavy-weight Canon 1Ds Mark III. All systems have non-stop 360 degree pan, 90 degree tilt, mechanical zoom for DSLRs and full wireless operation.

We also feature WIFI connectivity for laptop camera control.

Our heads are designed to be used with Panasonic HVX 200 red cameras SONY Z1 cameras. We can custom build for bigger cameras. Professional and Research Aerial photographers choose Mini-Zepp because we offer the flexibility to design a system to meet their needs.                                                                 

MiniZepp is a tier-one manufacturer and integrator of imaging systems for aerial video fitted to all our RC airships.:

·         Video head 3 axis Pro , 3 axis light, and  2 axis

END OF MINI-ZEPP MARKETING SEGMENT

We here at HybridPelta could not help but notice that the universal pan-head fitting offered for installation and use in their UAV's could serve just as well for the installation of those snap-on, snap-off remote sensing accessories mentioned in yesterday's AirshipUniverse blog.

We also believe that the owner of Mini-Zepp has recently offered his company --- lock, stock, and barrel --- for sale at a most reasonable price. The proprietor stated that he wished to continue as a smaller business in the service end of the industry, offering aerial photography and smaller operations in his own country of Switzerland.

Should we take him seriously ? We couldn't put it more strongly than by noting sales of his fully-equipped Mini-Zepps to Israel security operations . Those people work ONLY with serious equipment as they fully --and bitterly --- understand that mission failure is not an option. One of that country's mottos issues from a comment made by a participant in their recent battles for survival. When asked who their commanding General was, someone with wit and sarcasm responded "General No Choice" . That says it all.

FThose with more scientific interests and a healthy respect for British academia will also appreciate the trade sale of Mini-Zepp equipment to Cambridge University researchers . 

 

APPLICATIONS for REMOTELY-OPERATED AIRSHIPS

including Remote Sensing

        Attachments & Devices for Primarily Non-Military Clients

For those of you who believe that airships' uses are confined to warfare and conflict, here is a list of primarily peaceful applications of airships . We envision this as a blueprint or Business Model (N.B. Not a Business Plan !) for smaller manufacturers --- defined as those not receiving Federal contracts in the $100,000,000 + range. We strongly recommend that instead of everyone trying to outdo the giant passenger airships of the early 20th century, they focus their attention on the usefulness functions of smaller remotely operated hybrid airships, with hydrogen as a lifting gas as there is no fire danger to personnel when using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV's).

Equip them with snap-on/snap-off attachments that give smaller customers a broad range of capabilities, that prove the worth and value of airships, and only then consider manufacturing and selling them. Remember, leasing to satisfy a need is the best way to establish your usefulness; AND you're selling the same product over and over. Enter that ocean with toes dipped in the water.   

The sensors cover a wide variety of uses, and can be readily adapted as a snap-on / snap-off attachment on the ventral surface of the airship.

These dedicated uses and applications should relieve un-knowledgeable people from their concerns about being fired at by rocket-propelled grenades (we frequently encounter that comment, incredible as it may seem, sometimes augmented by the comment that "a blind man could bring them down with an air rifle") . The operators can stay safely ensconced in comfortable office chairs, anywhere up to thousands of miles away from danger, staring at endless arrays of video screens (monitors) . 

Remote Sensing Attachments & Devices: APPLICATIONS

1. Sporting event video coverage

2. Law enforcement: traffic, aerial views of traffic accidents;

3. Marine mammal population census, migration patterns

4. Design-and-Build surveys for planning & construction of bridges & roads

5. Marine biology --- spotting red tides in coastal waters; monitoring the health of coral reefs

6. Fire fighting --- first-on-scene situation assessment in high rise fires, inaccessible areas, or involving hazardous materials

7. News organizations --- parades, ceremonies, sporting events, and in situations where danger to the news crew is possible

8. Radioactive and toxic waste sites --- photography & survey without risk

9. Geology --- Oil field exploration; survey & sample of volcanic eruptions

10. Federal & State Forest and Wildlife Services --- tree census; lumber poaching; game and fish poaching

11. Telecommunications --- surveying & designing fiber optic cable installations

12. Meteorological observations --- measuring wind speed, air pressure,        air temperature, dew point, and humidity at various altitudes above ground level 

13. Raising communications antennas during emergency situations

14. Fishing --- spotting commercial and big game fish; schools of food fish for purse seining; seining schools of small fish and invertebrates for commercial sale as bait

15. Monitoring railways, pipelines, and power lines --- a constant and ever-present requirement

16. Monitoring air pollutants for air quality standards determination

17. Agriculture --- Precision Agriculture techniques using remote sensing technology to monitor crop moisture content; no-harm seeding from the air, in which the soil does not get compacted by heavy tractors, and remains friable as a good seed bed

18. Archaeological site mapping; correlating aerial photographs with ground level excavations and discoveries

19. Commercial aerial photography for tourist and visitors’ bureaus, yacht brokers, school programs; realtors;

20. "Green" non-disruptive exploration of ecologically sensitive biospheres, such as rain forests and forest canopies

21.  Lifting transmitting equipment into the sky for maximum range.

22. Radio antennas receiving and relaying Intelligence, Survey, and Reconnaissance (ISR) data from Ground Forces [military]

23. Long term recording in place by meteorological instruments ---anemometers, humidity meters, thermometers, etc.                        

24. Air sampling for pollutants, particulates, insects, and pollen.

25. Acoustic Sensors for detection of intruders, without the noisy  interference of internal combustion engine noise

26. Radio relay and jamming for counter-insurgency purposes. [military]

27. Detecting mines & other explosive devices [military]

28. Thermal imaging                                                                 

29. Precise aiming of conventional ballistic weapons from a safe             distance by Forward Artillery Observers [military]

30. Battlefield or Distant Control of ground forces [military]

31. Crowd control and detection devices [law enforcement]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

REMOTE UAV SENSING

Here is a list of remote sensing devices for which UAV's are ideally suited. Making the sensing devices themselves detachable multiplies :
       their abilities,
       their cost-effectiveness,
       their safety (as they are no longer prime targets),
       their flexibility of mission, and
       their carrying capacities  (as there is no need to carry pilots,             radio operators, toilet facilities, or food supplies) .

SNAP-ON / SNAP-OFF ATTACHMENTS for REMOTE UAV SENSING

We envision a central facility that would maintain an inventory of the following typical remote sensing devices for rental or lease, a far-from-comprehensive list:

        Imaging / Microscopy Cameras


        CCD (Charge-Coupled Devices);

       Color CCD;

       Cooled CCD
        
       CID Cameras for Aerial Photography  & Videography

        Digital cameras

        High-speed or slow-motion videography


        Holographic imaging

        Low-light-level photography


        Oscilloscope data recording


        Micro-Photographic imaging


        Scintillation counters


        Time-lapse photography


        Ultraviolet and Infrared videography


        X-ray photography, and 

       Spectrophotometers  

       Infra-red sensors

       Magnetometers for mineral exploration

       Geodetic location by satellite (sophisticated Garmin)

       Altimeters

       Radar
      
       Hyperspectral imaging

       Gravitation sensors for geodesic information

       Side Scan Sonar

       LIDAR  (Light Detection & Ranging)

       Radiation detectors (sophisticated Geiger Counters)

       Stereoscopic photography

       Multi-spectrum scanning

       Electro-magnetic radiation spectrum detectors
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hybrid Pelta : Caveats and Recommendations

Remember that this is a Business Model . See a faculty member at the Business School of your local, accredited, non-profit, major university for help and direction on formulating a Business Plan. Good Luck ! He or she might even assign your venture as a class project under his or her supervision, to your advantage . We strongly recommend that you not merely patent some new or almost new idea, and then sit back and wait for the money to flow in, as we have seen again and again . Contrary to common belief, the patent process is only the beginning !

APPLICATIONS for REMOTELY-OPERATED AIRSHIPS

For those of you who insist that airships' uses are confined to warfare and conflict, here are a list (still in process) of (mostly) peaceful applications of airships . We envision
1. remotely operated hybrid airships, with hydrogen as a lifting gas as there is no fire danger to personnel when using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV's).

2. equipped with snap-on/snap-off attachments that allow them to be used for the following purposes where one seeks a non-invasive approach to the environment .

3. The sensors cover a wide variety of uses, and can be readily detached to a snap-on / snap-off attachment on the ventral surface of the airship.

These dedicated uses and applications should relieve un-knowledgeable people from their (previously expressed) concerns about being fired at by rocket-propelled grenades (we frequently encounter that fear, incredible as it may seem, sometimes augmented by the comment that "a blind man could bring them down with an air rifle") . The operators would stay safely ensconced in comfortable office chairs, anywhere up to thousands of miles away, staring at endless arrays of video screens (monitors) .

Remote Sensing

        Attachments & Devices for Primarily Non-Military Clients

1. Sporting event video coverage

2. Law enforcement: traffic, aerial views of traffic accidents;

3. Marine mammal population census, migration patterns

4. Design-and-Build surveys for planning & construction of bridges & roads

5. Marine biology --- spotting red tides in coastal waters; monitoring the      health of coral reefs

6. Fire fighting --- first-on-scene situation assessment in high rise fires,        inaccessible areas, or involving hazardous materials

7. News organizations --- parades, ceremonies, sporting events, and in      situations where danger to the news crew is possible

8. Radioactive and toxic waste sites --- photography & survey without risk

9. Geology --- Oil field exploration; survey & sample of volcanic eruptions

10. Federal & State Forest and Wildlife Services --- tree census; lumber     poaching; game and fish poaching

11. Telecommunications --- surveying & designing fiber optic cable    installations

12. Meteorological observations --- measuring wind speed, air pressure,         air temperature, dew point, and humidity at various altitudes     above ground level 

13. Raising communications antennas during emergency situations

14. Fishing --- spotting commercial and big game fish; schools of food fish         for purse seining; seining schools of small fish and invertebrates for       commercial sale as bait

15. Monitoring railways, pipelines, and power lines --- a constant and ever-        present requirement

16. Monitoring air pollutants for air quality standards determination

17. Agriculture --- Precision Agriculture techniques using remote sensing         technology to monitor crop moisture content; no-harm seeding from the air, in which the soil does not get compacted by heavy      tractors, and remains friable as a good seed bed

18. Archaeological site mapping; correlating aerial photographs with ground         level excavations and discoveries

19. Commercial aerial photography for tourist and visitors’ bureaus, yacht           brokers, school programs; realtors;

20. "Green" non-disruptive exploration of ecologically sensitive biospheres,     such as rain forests and forest canopies

21.  Lifting transmitting equipment into the sky for maximum range.

22. Radio antennas receiving and relaying Intelligence, Survey, and                   Reconnaissance (ISR) data from Ground Forces [military]

23. Long term recording in place by meteorological instruments ---anemometers, humidity meters, thermometers, etc.                        

24. Air sampling for pollutants, particulates, insects, and pollen.

25. Acoustic Sensors for detection of intruders, without the noisy                      interference of internal combustion engine noise

26. Radio relay and jamming for counter-insurgency purposes. [military]

27. Detecting mines & other explosive devices [military]

28. Thermal Imaging                                                                          

29. Precise aiming of conventional ballistic weapons from a safe         distance by Forward Artillery Observers [military]

30. Battlefield or Distant Control of ground forces [military]

31. Crowd control and detection devices [law enforcement]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is a list of remote sensing devices for which UAV's are ideally suited.
Making the sensing devices --- themselves --- detachable multiplies
their abilities,
their cost-effectiveness,
their safety (as they are no longer prime targets),
their flexibility of mission, and
their carrying capacities  (as there is no need to carry pilots, radio operators, toilet facilities, or food supplies for crew snacks) .

REMOTE SENSING SNAP-ON / SNAP-OFF ATTACHMENTS

A central facility would maintain an inventory of the following typical   remote sensing devices is this far-from-comprehensive list:

        Imaging / Microscopy Cameras


        CCD (Charge-Coupled Devices);

        Color CCD;

        Cooled CCD
        
        CID Cameras for Aerial Photography  & Videography

        Digital cameras


        High-speed or slow-motion videography


        Holographic imaging


        Low-light-level photography


        Oscilloscope data recording


        Micro-Photographic imaging


        Scintillation counters


        Time-lapse photography


        Ultraviolet and Infrared videography


        X-ray photography, and 

        Spectrophotometers