AIR902A Determination of Distance from Ground Observer to Aircraft for Acoustic Tests

This document describes a practical system for a user to determine observer-to-aircraft distances. These observer-to-aircraft distances can be either closest point of approach (CPA) distances during field measurements or overhead distances during acoustic certification tests. The system uses a digital camera to record an image of the subject aircraft. A method of using commercial software to obtain the distance from such an image is presented. Potential issues which may affect accuracy are discussed.