Airborne Geophysical Surveying for Mineral Exploration

A fixed-wing airplane has a number of advantages over a helicopter, in addition to its lower operating costs. First, it has a payload and cabin space larger than a helicopter and thus can carry more instrumentation. Second, its operating range is generally three or four times greater than that of a helicopter. Surveys can be flown farther from population centres, thereby reducing some of the logistical problems of a helicopter-borne survey.