In this section you will find some experiments and interesting applications done with the paramotor.
Each subject is explained briefly. The intention is to collect as much information as available from paramotors pilots around the world who have developed a special application which can be useful for the community. It is just the beginning and I expect that this section will grow during the next coming years. I hope that you will enjoy the reading and the photographs.
 
If you think you have a good subject to bring here, please feel free to e-mail me.
 

 
 Paramotor in promotions and advertisement
 
 

Since frenchman Nadar who was the first to have captured an aerial image from a hot air balloon over Paris in the end of the 19th century, many airborne platform were used to catch the fraction of moment of our mother earth. It ranges from a simple kite with remote-controled camera, an amateur recoverable rocket, a hot air balloon, an utlralight aircraft, a paraglider, a parachute, an aircraft, a helicopter, a jet and finally end up to the sophisticated military spy-satellite who can 'see' a cigarette light from a low orbit position in space...

Now, what can the paramotor do in this particular field ? The paramotor has an incredible advantage over its direct competitors (ultra lights aircrafts and conventional aircrafts) : it does not need heavy maintenance and infrastructure regarding the flying hardware. The most important factor limit for the paramotor is the weight of the equipment (camera and other) that has to be brought in the sky... If it is just to get an aerial photograph with a simple camera, the paramotor is probably the less expensive and flexible way for doing it. The slow speed and precise flight handling of the paramotor make it the ideal tool for aerial photography in many disciplines. It can take off from anywhere : a space as little as a tennis court is sufficient. The paramotor cruises easily at around 45 Km/h to the photo target at any altitude up to 3,000 feet AGL (500 to 1000 feet is widely used) and land anywhere within 25 sq. meters space ! A skilled pilot with the appropriate photo equipment and navigation system will provide in some cases better results than more expensive conventional ways of taking aerial photographs.
Let's explore the applications from the simple 'fun' aerial photograph to the more sophisticated aerial photograph for scientific applications.

Please note that there are regulations about aerial photography and rules may be different from one country to another. Before taking an aerial photograph, be sure that you have all necessary permissions and always carry a copy of them with you ! Severe law enforcement exist in some countries if you do not have the appropriate permissions. You can get more information about this sensitive issue directly from the local Department of Civil Aviation where you operate.
 

The ordinary amateur aerial photograph

Usually taken with a low-cost camera, it lacks in resolution and quality but is sufficient for most of the amateurs. It is generally an 'oblique' view of the flown area. It is not intended for professional use. Below is a sample taken at around 1,000 feet altitude with a Kodak 35 mm pocket camera. Film is Kodak Gold 100 ASA.

Professional aerial photography

Now let's get more heavy and sophisticated stuff in the air and see what today's technology can offer in terms of high quality aerial photography at low altitude. To increase the resolution and quality of the photograph we first need a better optic, a larger film format (the bigger the better but this increases weight and in-flight manipulation problems as costs), an appropriate (high/medium) resolution film according to light conditions and subject characteristics. The usual compromise is the medium format camera : Hasselblad, Rollei, Mamiya, Linhof, Bronica etc... These manufacturers offer a wide range of accessories suitable for aerial photography. The medium format camera is excellent for producing high quality negatives at low altitude (below 3,000 feet). Another important factor is that you can easily enlarge up to 10 times or select part(s) of the image by still keeping an acceptable 'grain'. This is more difficult with the 35 mm format : even with the best optic in the world your shot taken at 3,000 feet and enlarged 10 times will not match the sharpness of a larger format camera. Details are important to the end user : more details and information is not only pleasant to the eye but to the scientific user it is crucial in order to optimize interpretation and multiple analysis.

Who can use these photographs and what for ?
Here is a list of hot professions/disciplines who are highly interested by the medium :

- Developers : they need up to date aerial photography for evaluation and planning
- Real-estate : updated aerial photographic data base helps promotion and presentation
- Architects : aerial photography can be used for project insertion or construction follow-up
- Insurances : natural disasters or important accidents can be quickly recorded
- Mapping : photogrammetric solution for small areas where an airplane is to expensive
- Environment : sea/rivers pollution, forestry, wildlife monitoring and preservation
- Archeology : the site can be quickly documented and regularly updated
 

Here are various samples taken with my Hasselblad 500 ELM. Oblique views were taken by the camera fixed to my helmet. To pinpoint the target during the flight, a special viewfinder helps me at my right eye and is part of the helmet.The vertical photographs were done with the use of a special bracket attached to the paramotor frame. Leveling is performed by mean of a simple level-bulb. Differential GPS (DGPS) navigation can be used for following an accurate flight path for successive overlapping images. This offers a stereoscopic coverage and the photos can be processed for 3D analysis and mapping. New analytic mapping systems needs a few convergent aerial images to build the mathematical space solution for producing elevation and features lines, volume and area calculation.
 
 


 
The Hasselblad 500 ELM camera is controlled by a remote trigger system situated at the throttle handle. 70 mm film magazine ensure enough film exposure capacity for small to medium projects. Video or 16 mm movie camera can also be used.
 

 
This is an oblique view taken at about 400 feet with a 40 mm lens. Obliques views such as this one can help contractors to record the follow up of a construction site.
 
 

 
View over urban area at 550 feet altitude. Approximate scale is 1:1,650. This photograph is an example of the high quality output which can be used in various applications.
See below for a 2 X enlargement of the center part.
 
 

 
2 times enlargement of previous photograph. Scale is approximate 1:825. Notice the details and the easy identification of different objects. The original could be even enlarged to 1:250 without major loss of resolution.
 
 
Countryside view taken at 1,500 feet. This type of image is very helpful for GIS (Geographic Information System)
GIS applications can include planning, map update, environmental disasters evaluation etc... It can be combined with convergent views to produce digital 3D data. Using different film emulsions can add more information to the photo-interpreter. This photograph is taken in the 'visible' light spectrum but it hides valuable information regarding the vegetation. To analyze and evaluate the vegetation health, we need to catch the sun Infrared rays who are reflected on it. To achieve this, we use Infrared film.
 
 
On this infrared photograph, the brighter the red color, the stronger is the chlorophyll  reflecting the sun rays. This means that for example dead or ill leaves on trees will produce none or less infrared rays.  Air pollution or bad irrigation could be the cause. Environment analysts is using this tool for locating critical areas which need treatment or protection. The combination of visible and infrared aerial photographs provide additional accurate information to the analyst. Digital processing  with state-of-the-art GIS systems can deliver an efficient relational database of the photographed objects and their attributes. 
 
 
Maps derived from the aerial photographs are produced via photogrammetric processing. Powerful workstations with 3D viewing capability enables the operator to capture the data in space. Plane position and elevation of each identified object on the photograph can be measured and recorded. By geo-referencing the recorded objects to a known coordinate system, the end user is able to perform very accurate geometric measurements. This can be simply on a scaled hard copy from a printer or through a GIS software.
 
 
 


A photogrammetric workstation