Helicopter’s mission a mystery no more

A helicopter seen flying over Cairo last week was collecting data for a state electric utility company. Jim Dow, CEO of the company that owns the helicopter, says the data will help his company, Aerotec, produce a 3-D model of electric power transmission lines and rights-of-way. Dow says the work was done for Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia or MEAG.
During its flights, the helicopter used Light Detection Ranging (LIDAR) equipment and orthophotography to collect the data it will need to build 3-D “engineering-ready models of the transmission line/right-of-way,” says Dow.
He says MEAG will use “Aerotec’s 3-D models to engineer improvements to their transmission facilities in order to increase the capability and the reliability of the facilities.”
The helicopter, seen flying low over Cairo during the early evening hours of Tuesday, March 22, attracted much attention and unanswered questions until now.
The city of Cairo is a member of MEAG, which provides its member communities with wholesale electricity.