Aviation Forum / General / Aviation / November 2008

Gizmodo http://atu.ca/f7e77

At $40,000, this Helicopter/Fixed-Wing-Aircraft FLIR
Thermal Imaging System/Infrared Imager [eBay:
http://atu.ca/FLIR ] may seem a little bit expensive, but
when the eBay seller tells you that "these units are just
off a fleet-wide upgrade by a major federal government
agency", the prospect of adding it to your home-made
cardboard helicopter or drug-smuggling vehicle looks better
and better by the second. Don't think this is your usual
night vision system, however. A FLIR is much more advanced
than that.

Whereas your typical night vision system operates in the
visible light and near infrared ranges (0.4 to 1.0
micrometres), a forward looking infrared (FLIR) is an
imaging device capable of capturing infrared radiation in
real time, assembling a video image that pilots can use
under any weather and light conditions.

A forward looking infrared (FLIR) is an imaging device that
can capture infrared radiation in real time.

The whole package includes and interface distribution (I
don't know what those ports are, but they don't look like
your mom's USB ports), a precision pointing system with
infrared imager unit, a hand control unit, and the box and
manuals.