Differential GPS (DGPS) aircraft navigation and guidance, ground positioning and surveying, and resource inventory technology is beginning to be used in all aspects of resource management. In aerial spraying of pesticides in forestry, the exact positioning and guidance of the aircraft has been one of the largest sources of misapplication, leading to economic loss and off-target placement of pesticide. Differential GPS navigation and guidance allows swath spacing and review of flightlines with an accuracy unknown before this technology. The Forest Health Protection (FHP) Forest Health Technology Enterprise Team (FHTET) recognized the potential impact of this technology in forestry. The team sponsors a project at the Missoula Technology and Development Center (MTDC) to monitor and evaluate DGPS aircraft guidance technology. The project's goal is to provide information, training, and assistance to Forest Service employees using this new technology.

Overview

Trimble Navigation, Ltd., demonstrated DGPS-based navigation, surveying, inventory, and mapping systems in Missoula, MT, on October 11 and 12, 1995. This demonstration was organized by MTDC and supported by FHTET. The four systems demonstrated were the Trimflight II aircraft navigation and positional recording system, the ASPEN inventory and survey system, the PCVtrak real-time, multivehicle tracking system, and an approach to using DGPS technology in fire management.

A briefing and field demonstration of the Trimflight II system were conducted at the Ninemile airstrip, west of Missoula, on October 11. Trimble presented plots generated by the TrimFlight II system as well as the other three systems at MTDC on October 12. The demonstration generated substantial interest. Over 50 participants viewed some or all of the demonstration.