Event 38 fixed-wing drone rapidly maps Turks and Caicos islands

Ohio-based drone data-collection company Event 38 has successfully contributed to another of its aerial challenge projects, this time deploying its UAVs to complete full maps of two Turks and Caicos islands in just two days.

Specializing in fixed-wing drone design and production, Event 38 said it successfully deployed its E400 mapping UAV to collect aerial imagery for Turks and Caicos surveys. In just a couple of days the company’s craft had produced full orthomosaics of two of the archipelago’s islands, covering 238-square kilometers. 

The project was overseen by tech non-profit PLACE, which seeks to make important analytical and planning capabilities more accessible and affordable to less affluent communities and nations around the world. For its project in Turks and Caicos, PLACE relied on its partner Event 38’s fixed-wing E400 to provide detailed maps to update previous surveys of the islands that were at least a decade old.

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In addition to bringing Turks and Caicos’ mapping of the islands up to date, Event 38’s fixed-wing drone helped address other challenges PLACE often faces in its work. 

Using traditional aircraft can be too difficult, dangerous, or expensive in some of the areas the NGO works in, for example. Meanwhile, relying on satellite data is not only pricey, but often rankles nations that must pay high fees to third-countries or private businesses for surveying data they’ll have to fork out for again to update a few years later. 

Event 38 CEO Jeff Taylor says the company’s drone solution provided an option that local authorities not only had more proximity to and control over, but also remains affordable enough to turn to regularly.

“PLACE was looking for a fixed-wing, VTOL drone with a long flight time that could map large areas and capture high-resolution imagery,” said Taylor. “The E400 fulfilled all of their requirements, including an industry-leading flight time of ninety minutes, plus vertical takeoff and landing capabilities. We were also intentional about making the E400 as user-friendly as possible, including a hot-swap payload, a low maintenance electric powertrain, and open-source integrations, so we could remove any barriers to entry that might prevent someone from using it for important surveying and data collection projects.”

Taylor says the E400 afforded the Turks and Caicos government the accuracy and resolution of data it needed to approve several critical projects, including a major upgrade to its property tax system and improved climate mitigation modeling and planning. The data is also being used for a looming census and other key activities.

The project also gave Event 38 insights in how to improve its fixed-wing mapping drone configuration, especially for clients requiring aerial services in areas where communications links, weather data inflows, and repair facilities can be limited.