Tecnam has announced the addition of a new urban mapping hybrid sensor on its P2006T SMP (Special Mission Platform). This high-wing, twin-engine, piston-powered airplane is marketed as a low-cost surveillance platform by the Italian maker, and also by third-party integrators such as Airborne Technologies of Austria. 

The new sensor is the Leica CityMapper, which is the world’s first airborne sensor combining both oblique and nadir imaging as well as a LiDAR system, according to Leica Geosystems. This company also claims that its HxMap application provides the fastest data throughput to create a geospatial base layer.

Fabio Russo, chief of product development for Tecnam, claimed that P2006T SMP “offers the highest quality-to-price ratio currently available on the market...and has firmly established itself as the aerial platform of choice with so many operators around the globe.” The high-wing configuration allows an unobstructed view for the sensor and its operator, Tecnam noted. The aircraft has a four-hour endurance with pilot and sensor operator onboard. It offers a wide cruise speed range, and its Rotax engines can be fueled by either avgas or mogas.