AP reference text

[Walkman]

Now that there's a full SQTR for the Airborne Photographer out there, is there a reference text or task guide I can download? I've got a background as a professional shooter and want to go over the text and see what experience would transfer.

Thanks
-KW

[N Harmon]

I don't think a task guide has been issued yet. But here is the Reference Text.

Good luck!

[Walkman]

Thanks!

[SarDragon]

Task Guide:

[removed URL]

[Walkman]

[removed URL]

Perfect!

[Thom]

[removed URL]

Whoah!!! Slow down there, hoss...

In fact those Task Guides were written to match a previous Draft AP SQTR which was considered for publication before the current AP SQTR was published by NHQ. (It is a strange story...I'll leave that for others to explain...)

I just learned this evening that we should have newly updated Task Guides coming in the next few days and I'll update the TSG website reference materials when I get the new docs. When that happens, the new Task Guide will be dated AUG11, or possibly SEP11 if it takes that long.

And, just FYI, the TSG website is still VERY much in Beta and not really designed for day-to-day use by the greater CAP public. We do hope to be up and open for business sooner rather than later, and hopefully we will have a few nice surprises for everyone in the next few months. SWR and NHQ are really trying to work together on this one...


Thom

[SarDragon]

OK, want me to take it down?

The only reason I posted it is because CAWG will be using it at a training course on the 27th, and the link was published on our wing-wide list, as pre-class reading.

[Smithsonia]

I ran an Airborne Photographers Course this past weekend. Currently the Task guide MART dated Apr 10 - is not aligned with the new AP SQTR. The New AP SQTR is the master qualification document. If you have the correct information the SQTR doesn't care where you took it from: (1) the MART. (2)NESA handout (3) the various checklists, (4) disaster assessments, (5) and mission target control logs, or (6)AP worksheets. SO - There is a work around taken from the current yet not new (but might I say well done) MART. (Mission Aircrew  Reference Text Volume III)

That said, I am looking forward to a new task guide that is aligned with the SQTR which will be much less brain damage while teaching the AP course.

As soon as the new Task guide or MART is ready please post it here. I really really really need it.

Thanks!

[davidsinn]

Why is there a SQTR without some sort of training material? That's just dumb.

[JC004]

Why is there a SQTR without some sort of training material? That's just dumb.

I guess that's better than a 101T CARD.  They didn't even have tasks...

[Eclipse]

Until it is required to be an AP to take airborne photos (in the same way as other CAP qualifications), this is all anecdotally interesting, but doesn't mean much operationally.

[jeders]

Why is there a SQTR without some sort of training material? That's just dumb.

I guess that's better than a 101T CARD.  They didn't even have tasks...

Cart, meet horse; horse, meet cart. Horse, we're gonna have you follow cart.

[Smithsonia]

We've been working hard on training the trainers. Meaning the instructors who will conduct the first AP classes for the Wings are being trained now. In Colorado at least we will wait for the Task Guide for the regular squadron AP classes. However, the trainers should live with the information a little longer to become good and competent instructional resources. In that spirit we've actually been conducting test (and uncredited classes) for about a year. On my end - I've been working on a skills training syllabus for nearly 3 years. It'll be great to get this thing rolled out. 

The operational AP applications will be looked at before mission assignment and requirements come out. I don't expect that to happen for 2 to 3 years and probably there will be a year or two ramp up period, after that. So figure a 4 to 5 years before it will be a big deal for every Aircrew members 101 Card. That said, it takes more than a couple of classes and mission sorties to be anywhere near competent.

So the sooner you start, the more you know - the more you practice - the better you'll get - there should be an eventual huge payoff for your usefulness on missions. APs intend on providing customer satisfaction - exceedingly good product and be CAP's next big mission. We'll see. We'll push it. We'll work on it. Eventually it will all pulled together and we'll get it right. But at the moment, it is a work in progress.

According to every Air Force briefing on the topic that I have received - This is to become a core competency as we transform from a Search And Rescue Organization to an Information Gathering Team. Meaning we will get many more missions if we do this well.

[JC004]

...
According to every Air Force briefing on the topic that I have received - This is to become a core competency as we transform from a Search And Rescue Organization to an Information Gathering Team. Meaning we will get many more missions if we do this well.

Part of the problem here is that we need DIRECTION, COMMUNICATION and LEADERSHIP from the national level, showing where we are going, why, how, etc.  That will smooth out these bumps and make things easier. 

Now there's a drama beginning tomorrow that will greatly impact all of this... So we will see what happens.

[Thom]

Hot off the press...

http://www.trainingsupportgroup.com/www/ReferenceMaterials/Aircrew/Airborne%20Photographer/CAP%20Airborne%20Photographer%20Task%20Guides%20MAY11.pdf

This Task Guide was recently used at NESA and LESA and should be complete for use with the current AP SQTR. As always, these things are a work in progress, so further changes may be forthcoming.

Again, the TrainingSupportGroup website is NOT yet fully ready for public consumption, so other than this link, please ignore anything you see there. Draft, Beta, heck, Alpha really. We should have awesome stuff to show folks just after the first of the year, just awesome stuff. But not yet...

Back on the AP subject, we are really pushing hard on the Airborne Photography mission here in Louisiana. Our performance on the recent flooding mission (see story in Volunteer) where we delivered over 7500 geo-coded images to the State, FEMA, and the ARNG was a real wake-up call for us. We got more work, and more praise, from the local and State governments than in the years since Katrina, and we've leveraged a new MOU with the State out of our performance.

AP really is going to be one of the core missions in the future, so we'd all better get ready!


Thom

[N Harmon]

So, since there is presently an AP qualification, would it be wrong to say an aircrew member who does not hold that qualification can not take aerial photos? If so, then why does the qualification exist.

[Smithsonia]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Nathan;
Your question is answered above in reply #12. There eventually will be photo missions defined at alert. An AP on the crew will be tasked. That won't happen until there is time to train and certify many APs among the Aircrews. When? Dunno - my guess is 3 to 5 years.

Right now we are to train, certify, and make ready the Aircrews in the AP arts and crafts.

Thom;
Thanks very much for the link to the new task guide. We did work arounds last Saturday at our first AP class We used the older Apr 2010 MART and I guessed right on all the training. The only thing left for my trainers to do is practice with the Nikon/GPS cameras - which weren't available for the class.

[JC004]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Nathan;
Your question is answered above in reply #12. There eventually will be photo missions defined at alert. An AP on the crew will be tasked. That won't happen until there is time to train and certify many APs among the Aircrews. When? Dunno - my guess is 3 to 5 years.

Right now we are to train, certify, and make ready the Aircrews in the AP arts and crafts.

Thom;
Thanks very much for the link to the new task guide. We did work arounds last Saturday at our first AP class We used the older Apr 2010 MART and I guessed right on all the training. The only thing left for my trainers to do is practice with the Nikon/GPS cameras - which weren't available for the class.

How are they doing with the Nikon GPS?  They are using the GP-1?  I and a couple other people I know have had issues with it.

[Thom]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Nathan;
Your question is answered above in reply #12. There eventually will be photo missions defined at alert. An AP on the crew will be tasked. That won't happen until there is time to train and certify many APs among the Aircrews. When? Dunno - my guess is 3 to 5 years.

Right now we are to train, certify, and make ready the Aircrews in the AP arts and crafts.

Thom;
Thanks very much for the link to the new task guide. We did work arounds last Saturday at our first AP class We used the older Apr 2010 MART and I guessed right on all the training. The only thing left for my trainers to do is practice with the Nikon/GPS cameras - which weren't available for the class.

How are they doing with the Nikon GPS?  They are using the GP-1?  I and a couple other people I know have had issues with it.

Smithsonia can answer for how things are going in Colorado (I think I have that right...) but I'll add a tidbit about the experience in Louisiana. We've abandoned using the shoe-mount GPS completely, because it delivers a product which is unacceptable to our customers. Same for using the CAP Image Processor.

So, we are training folks to do those tasks the CAP standard way to pass the SQTR, then turning around and telling them never to do it that way again!

The issue is that all of our customers are requiring directional info be encoded in the images. The shoe-mount GPS only gives coordinates, not orientation. Plus, we have had continual issues with them losing lock when used in the backseat. Don't even get me started on the abysmal results using the still cameras included with the GIIEP kits!

We have switched to using separate handheld GPS units which are time-synced to the camera, then the images processed with RoboGEO after the flight. That allows us to geocode with lat/lon/alt/direction all at once. We can also easily batch process hundreds of photos in far less time than the CAP Image Processor, including providing Titling/Descriptions on all images, and renaming them to a standard format that includes target, date/time, etc. right in the file name.

Anyway, that's my two cents from Louisiana.


Thom

[JC004]

If you have to train people on a way that isn't working, it sounds like something that needs to be addressed.  These questions should be asked before this stuff is required...

[Smithsonia]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Thom;
Thanks for the updates from Louisiana. You've got more experience than us. I've argued a keep it simple stupid method is best. Good logging procedures and crew resource management is best. Our GPS Nikons are taken out of a Region ES closet and returned. Using them is paperwork and re-familiarization headaches-plus. So if you can't train on them routinely they'll always be more trouble than they are worth. That said, I am required to instruct the Nikon/GPS gear on the AP SQTRs. So I can't argue forever this point.

I carry 2 Canon EOS Rebels a T1 and T2. I'm a PIO and PAO too plus I use them in my everyday work. The T2 with 18 megapixals and 255mm telephoto lens can tell the color and shape of a ball cap versus a cowboy hat or boonie on a person of interest on a suspicious activity mission. And that is at 1/2mile slant range. I think I can get a license plate but haven't tried yet. The technology is moving faster than the training or mission requirements.

In 1986 the Air Force got super-wide format upgunned 25 megapixal cameras on the SR71s. They flew at 70-85,000 ft. 18 mega-pixals at 2000 ft slant range do pretty good. I can see people on cell phones (it is an interpretation of a pose that is easy to recognize). I can tell people with fishing rods, holding children, even cans of drinks versus canteens or water bottles. (of course I have to move the image to my computer and blow it up a bunch) That is optical horse power.

Also this level of photography takes smooth air, good camera set up and handling, knowledgeable photo interpretation - and some dumb luck. I think most of my photos were the latter as I wasn't shooting and didn't see any of the objects I've described while I was in the air.

And that is the reason for another higher skill set that isn't on the SQTR really, but should be. Photo briefer, debriefer, and photo interpreter should be added-on or included into the training eventually.

Recon is the toughest job of Army snipers, Marines, SEALS, and Air Force combat air controllers. I'm thinking the same for CAP, eventually. That said, I'm a little old for a high risk mission into Afghanistans Helmund Province. So I am probably at my absolute limit on a CAP AP mission.

[Thom]

^^^^^ (I'm not quoting that huge (but good!) post from Smithsonia...

One small issue with the fantastic zoom capabilities of high end cameras and long lenses: we have pending USAF guidelines which severely restrict and limit our ability to take any photos in which a given person might be personally identifiable.

Some folks are aware of the USAF photo guidelines briefing that was issued, then recalled for further consideration. We were briefed on it in LA Wing during its brief tenure as official, and we were astounded at the level of restrictions we would have to deal with on any AFAMs. It hardly prevents us from getting the job done, but it adds a whole new level of 'legal' considerations which are in no way tied to the normal physical or safety constraints we already operated under.

Just a thought...

As to your comments about teaching the Nikon and shoe-mount GPS when you don't have any regularly issued, that is our next big challenge in LA Wing: finding the funding to finish outfitting all of our squadrons with handheld GPS units and Nikon cameras. It looks like this next year will be one big fundraising challenge to try and get closer to our goal of having every squadron, and eventually every aircraft and every ground vehicle, immediately equipped and capable of good quality geocoded photography.


Thom

[Eclipse]

I've been using a GPSIII+ on a kneeboard with a remote antenna stuck to the back window.  Pic? Hold enter and it drops a waypoint.

My last flight I turned on my Xoom and had it run a track log just laying on the back seat, same results, but easier to use since it
produced a Google Maps .KMZ.

Either way, no need for a GPS on the camera (not that it's a bad thing, just not required).

[Thom]

I've been using a GPSIII+ on a kneeboard with a remote antenna stuck to the back window.  Pic? Hold enter and it drops a waypoint.

My last flight I turned on my Xoom and had it run a track log just laying on the back seat, same results, but easier to use since it
produced a Google Maps .KMZ.

Either way, no need for a GPS on the camera (not that it's a bad thing, just not required).

That's similar to the way we are doing it, but we use RoboGEO to automate the encoding when the sortie is over. We have essentially abandoned manual photo logs and waypoints, they just can't handle the volume.

As an example, on our Graded SAREVAL last year we (a Wing of ~600 members) uploaded 75 images to WMIRS and got a good grade. In the recent flooding mission we averaged more than double that amount of images PER SORTIE. Automated encoding is the only way we can possibly handle that volume.

In particular, with all of our customers demanding that photos be not only geo-coded with location, but also geo-referenced with direction/orientation, we had to go to an automated solution where the software combines the photos and the tracklog from our handheld GPS to determine location, altitude, and direction/orientation. So far it is working out great and the customers are pleased.

This also means that we are free to place a handheld GPS some place, typically the glare shield but in some aircraft we have a mount in the back window, with a clear sky view and we have no worries about losing lock. We had no end of problems trying to avoid losing lock with a GPS either mounted on the camera, or built-in to the camera.


Thom

[Eclipse]

This a Garmin MapSource Track log from a mission we ran doing icedam surveys on the river for an EMA:




The 3-digit waypoints are where the photos were taken. (Of course now you can export this to a .KMZ or other, similar use).
On this particular mission we had a rep from the EMA in the plane and he was just having us go "there", and shoot, so the
runs are a lot less structured.

Example photo, which later appeared in the Sun Times:


An old highbird track from the Garmin:


And one recently from Ardent Sentry with the Xoom (poor color choice for the track):

The South loop was to establish contact with an aircraft at the lower portion of the state.