I am beta-testing an iOS app that shows ADS-B flight data, and yesterday this showed up: That is . I did a search for ‘N812FS’ and found : not normal this The story explains that this plane, a turboprop Pilatus PC12, is owned and flown by FLIR systems and …air mission profiles fall into 4 different areas: demonstration, transportation, cargo and engineering. Greg says that approximately 60% of their flights fall into the demonstration category. With a maximum cruise speed of 280 kts, a range of over 1500 nm, and short-field takeoff and landing capabilities of 2650 ft and 1850 ft, respectively, they can take a sensor almost anywhere in the world for show-and-tell to potential customers. From we learn that it is the product page for the FLIR Ultra 8500 The world’s number one selling law enforcement thermal imager, the Ultra8500 is a compact, stabilized multi-sensor system designed for Pursuit/Patrol and Surveillance missions. This model is based on the 9" gimbal design, configured for specific law enforcement missions. So basically FLIR (the company, that is) is for hours over a few neighborhoods, capturing video and showing what it can do for potential clients, presumably the local police . Here’s a snip from circling department the product sheet: I have that attaches to your phone, and even it is surprisingly capable. the $320 version I’d guess that the airborne version could easily spot grow houses, which matters less now that California has legalized pot. More worrying to me is that fact that, due to a mild climate, many local houses were built with no wall insulation at all, thus meaning that the airborne FLIR can literally see through walls. If you add a to the plane too, it’s scary as hell. dirt box
