Chief Pilot Adds FLIR Certification to RAVAN AIR’s Drone Thermal Imaging Expertise

RAVAN AIR is excited to announce that Chief Drone Pilot, David Rock, has earned his certification as a Level 1 sUAS (Small Unmanned Aircraft System) Thermographer from the Infrared Training Center in New Hampshire. This intense, four-day course includes expert training for temperature reading accuracy, thermal image analysis and FAA thermography safety.

Drones are used in the oil and gas industry for leak detection. A FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared) camera measures heat temperature. Rock, along with his equally qualified crew are sought after in the oil and gas and utility industries for aerial thermal inspections, methane and water leak detection and drone emergency response services specifically because of their certifications and training.

“We can do a radiometric inspection if someone needs the temperature of a pipe that’s running up where they can’t get to it with a regular spot pyrometer,” says Rock. “We can fly the drone to those unreachable areas and get thermal images and actual temperature.”

RAVAN AIR’s two-person crew also uses their UAV infrared payload to conduct roof, solar and panel inspections and routine safety checks of substations and energized equipment.

Rock’s nighttime waiver also allows for UAV thermal inspections and emergency video feed after the sun has gone down. “Our radiometric camera is so sensitive it can pick up a one degree temperature difference,” he says. “When I was certified by FLIR, they taught us how to pick up that difference and make it aptly available to the customer.”

Ravan Air is a drone services company specializing in oil and gas, utility construction, landfills, industrial and government installations by offering methane detection, GIS mapping, surveys, compliance inspections, thermal imaging and emergency response.