IMAO, which specialises in digital aerial photography, has brought a fifth aircraft into operation and moved to new premises at Limoges-Bellegarde.

"This more central position in France will enable us to reach any part of the country in less than one hour," production manager Tristan Blaudet says. "Our new Aero Commander 690A will dramatically increase the capacity of image capture. The pressurised turboprop benefits from a very big performance with some eight hours of autonomy and a range of 1800 nm at a cruising speed of 550 km/h."

The 690A joins a Cessna 402B, two PA 23s and a Cessna 206 which IMAO says is the largest in the French private aerial survey world, enabling the company to tailor services to client's individual needs.

Hubert Rault, foreman and aircraft mechanic, says aircraft maintenance efficiency will benefit from a new 1,200 sq m warehouse providing dedicated maintenance facilities.

IMAO, which specialises in Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology, operates two large format digital cameras. It also operates a medium format digital sensor IGI-H39 and two LiDAR systems: the LM5600 and the LM6800 from IGI, as well as two analogue cameras. "All devices are equipped with navigation systems CCNS4 and inertial measurement units. LiDAR offers advantages in both data acquisition and processing as compared to traditional photogrammetric elevation data gathering methods," Blaudet adds.

The company says it has strengthened its flight crews and production crew by hiring more pilots Blaudet adds: "IMAO is determined to stay a market leader in the field of aerial acquisition for both national and international projects. The 2010 season began with projects in North and West Africa and northern Europe."