Machinery Civil Air Patrol

Civil Air Patrol · 07:14 AM

1978 CESSNA 182Q
Does anyone know what the cylinder on the bottom of the fuselage is for?
Its roughly between the wheels. The plane circled a couple times and was gone.

SpecialK · 07-15-2018, 08:13 AM

I spent 1/2 hour googling up potential answers - nothing. Only a few photos even show the cylinder, and they were located about halfway back to the tail.

**dwalt** · 07-15-2018, 08:24 AM

Originally posted by SpecialK

I spent 1/2 hour googling up potential answers - nothing. Only a few photos even show the cylinder, and they were located about halfway back to the tail.

I wonder if it has anything to do with checking smoke from fires. The smoke does travel through here from the west coast.

Tako Kichi · 07-15-2018, 08:43 AM

It could be a camera mount (side scanning probably) as CAP is a group that are involved with search and rescue operations as well as US border patrol duties. The camera would scan to one side of the aircraft or the other while an on-board operator would view the real-time video images on a monitor. For example, if the aircraft were flying west along the southern US border (on the US side) then the camera could look to the south (into Mexico) for any signs of (potential) border incursion activity.

The same principle could also be used to search for lost hikers or for spotting wild fires etc.

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07-15-2018, 08:13 AM	#2
SpecialK Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: So California Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,480	I spent 1/2 hour googling up potential answers - nothing. Only a few photos even show the cylinder, and they were located about halfway back to the tail.

07-15-2018, 08:24 AM	#3
dwalt Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: Big Sky, MT Photos: Albums Posts: 217 Original Poster	Originally posted by SpecialK I spent 1/2 hour googling up potential answers - nothing. Only a few photos even show the cylinder, and they were located about halfway back to the tail. I wonder if it has anything to do with checking smoke from fires. The smoke does travel through here from the west coast.

07-15-2018, 08:43 AM	#4
Tako Kichi Veteran Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: SW Ontario, Canada (ex-pat Brit) Posts: 1,296	It could be a camera mount (side scanning probably) as CAP is a group that are involved with search and rescue operations as well as US border patrol duties. The camera would scan to one side of the aircraft or the other while an on-board operator would view the real-time video images on a monitor. For example, if the aircraft were flying west along the southern US border (on the US side) then the camera could look to the south (into Mexico) for any signs of (potential) border incursion activity. The same principle could also be used to search for lost hikers or for spotting wild fires etc.

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