Blue & silver Squirrel with strange appendages?

[Stringfellow Dork]

I was in York (UK) today and what appeared to be a blue and silver Squirrel with some unidentifiable lateral appendages (kind of like crop sprayers) was moving around slowly, in circles, for quite some time to the south of the city. I was at a loss to answer the enquires as to "Why so slow?" and "What are them things on the side?" or quell the other more far-fetched conspiracy theories.

Anyone have any answers to satisfy mine and others' nosiness? Much appreciated...

[helicopter-redeye]

Might have been 'Survey02' en route back to Sheffield?

[Spunk]

Maybe G-TOPS being equipped with a sytem called "Fli Map" for aerial laser scanning.

(Found a picture of it but for some reason the link doesn't work :-P)

[Smoketoomuch]

Could they be reseeding inaccessible moorland? Often happens around this time of year.

Any of the pictures at this site look at all familiar?
http://www.moorsforthefuture.org.uk/mftf/main/Image_Gallery.htm

[Big Bucks Bernie]

Definitely sounds like G-TOPS with the FLI-MAP LiDAR system (see G-TOPS with FLI-MAP (http://jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=5703569)).

By the way, those saucers on the outriggers have dual frequency GPS antennas mounted on them, which collect co-oridnate locations of the aircraft during the flight/the capture of the LiDAR survey data.
The co-ordinates are time-stamped at the time they get logged and then used together with the actual LiDAR (Laser) measurements during post-flight processing to form a 3-D topographical model, which eventually then leads to high accuracy topographical mapping of the surveyed area (see FLI-MAP Website (http://www.flimap.com/site1.php)).

[HeliEng]

We saw it over Leeds too.

[Stringfellow Dork]

Spunk and Big Bucks Bernie - :ok:. It was definitely G-TOPS with the FLI-MAP system I reckon. Thanks for that!
Anyone know why south York was being zapped?

[Big Bucks Bernie]

Just as a matter of interest, according to a post I stumbled across on a well-known German helicopter forum, D-HAHN is currently operating out of London Luton Airport (EGGW), also busy doing some LiDAR survey work over the M1. In this case, the LiDAR system being used to capture the laser points is called TopEye and it basically looks like this:

http://new.helionline.net/photogallery/1/4/13685///D-HAHN.html

[lartsa]

its based up north and regular flys over york tadcaster

[Whirlygig]

I wouldn't have said G-TOPS was based up north! But, I suppose from some places, Norwich is quite northerly but, using the old-fasioned definition of North and South (i.e. draw a line from The Wash to The Severn), it is definitely south! :ok:

Cheers

Whirls

[PhilJ]

from the wash to the Severn? I alway though south of the Humber was the deepest darkest south

[Whirlygig]

So by your definition, Norwich must be tropical!

Cheers

Whirls


I suppose it could be said that there are some "exotic" people here!

[PhilJ]

well a lot of tropical places are third world

[Dave_Jackson]

Squirrel with some unidentifiable lateral appendages.


Was it a flying squirrel?

http://www.k12.nf.ca/stannesacademy/AnimalAdaptations/Flysqu.jpg

:D

[helicopter-redeye]

As long as it was'nt Kissmysquirrel ....