Introduction
The economy of fixed-wing aircraft operation enables several large magnetic-and-radiometric surveys to be financed each year for geological mapping and exploration.
As the quality of radiometric data decreases markedly with increasing ground clearance, such surveys are flown with a flight surface draped as closely as possible over the topographic surface.
To perform draped surveys over extreme terrain, the airplane should have a high ceiling and steep climb-gradient. Taylor, et al. (1998) summarized characteristics of airplanes commonly used for geophysical surveying, including the PA- 31T and its guidance system. The service ceiling of the PA- 31T is 9.6 km, and its sea-level climb rate is 13.8 m/s.
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2000. Society of Exploration Geophysicists
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