Airborne Survey Operations in Chile

AeroStratus is the local executor of airborne survey campaigns in Chile for foreign technology companies. We coordinate certified local aircraft operators, obtain the permits, run the mobile operations base and the crew logistics, process the data on site and export it to your systems. Since 2021, with more than 500 missions executed and a 100% delivery rate on committed datasets.

Who executes an airborne campaign in Chile when the company is abroad?

A geophysics company in Canada, a sensor maker in Australia or a mapping platform in the United States has the product and the know-how. The work is in Chile. Between the two there is a whole operation that someone has to stand up before an aircraft takes off. The aircraft itself, sourced, certified, crewed, authorised, fuelled and moved across the country. Somewhere to process: servers in the field, connectivity where there is no network, backup and transfer from remote areas. Someone to do it: qualified people on the ground to install the sensor, run the base, check every flown line and fix what breaks far from any workshop. And the means to move all of it: ground logistics for the equipment, housing and transport for the crews, fuel, access permits for mine sites and border areas. None of that comes with the sensor. We deploy it, test it before the first flight and keep it running for the whole campaign. One interlocutor, in Chile, who answers for the whole operation.

What do you get?

Certified Chilean operators and their pilots, selected for your sensor and your terrain, from a network with preferential conditions.
Flight permits from the DGAC and any area authorisations, obtained by us.
A mobile operations base with its own connectivity, deployed next to the survey, reliable where there is no infrastructure.
Crew housing, transport and field logistics in remote areas.
Processing and quality control on site, in your standard, with coverage monitored in real time.
Secure delivery to your cloud or servers, with export documentation. One mission identifier ties the flight, the technical record, the invoice and the customs document together.

Can we bring our own sensor, or our own aircraft?

Your sensor is the normal case. Magnetometers, radiometric and gravity systems, hyperspectral and thermal cameras, or your own imaging camera go into the aircraft the operator provides, and the mission is built around them. Your aircraft is also possible. We can manage bringing a foreign aircraft under a Chilean air operator certificate for the campaign, so it works legally in the country with a crew and a base. Ask us for the requirements before you plan around it.

This route is written into Chilean regulation. DAN 119, the rule of the DGAC for air operator certificates, lists in section 119.107 (f) what a Chilean air company must file to operate a foreign-registered aircraft. Its section 119.205 states that an aircraft received under a lease with transfer of operational control becomes part of the fleet of the operator that receives it. Article 101 of the Aeronautical Code (Law 18.916) defines the aircraft lease, the contract that transfers the status of operator.

Why Chile, and why an aircraft?

If you	Without a local executor	With AeroStratus
Charter an aircraft yourself	You source the operator, the permits, the crew and the base from abroad	One call, one quote, one interlocutor in Chile
Fly a drone	Hectares per battery, line of sight, no room for a heavy sensor	Hundreds of km² per flight, hours of endurance, your sensor on board
Buy satellite data	Fixed orbits, fixed resolution, no custom instrument	Your instrument, your lines, your season
Open a local office	Months and fixed cost before the first flight	Operational for a single campaign, from the first order

Chile puts desert, high mountains, glaciers, coast and forest a few flight hours apart, under one serious aviation authority, with a mining, energy and infrastructure sector that buys airborne data every year.

Which industries does this serve?

Mining exploration: airborne geophysics and mineral mapping with the client's own instruments.
Energy and pipelines: corridor inspection with thermal and imaging sensors over long distances.
Water, snow and glaciers: hyperspectral and thermal studies across the Andes.
Environment and climate: wetlands, vegetation, carbon and burned-area mapping, season after season.
Cartography and 3D models: orthophotos, elevation models and point clouds from photogrammetry over regions.
Infrastructure, telecommunications and insurance: corridors, towers and urban imagery at high resolution.
Sensor manufacturers and research institutions: flight testing and field campaigns over varied terrain.

How does a campaign work?

Scoping call. Sensor, area, lines, season, data products and format. You get a formal quote in US dollars.
Operator and permits. We match a certified operator to your sensor and obtain the DGAC and area permits.
Mobilisation. Your sensor is integrated, the mobile base is deployed, the crews are housed near the survey.
Flight. The operator flies your lines while our team runs the base and watches coverage in real time.
Delivery and export. Processed data reaches your systems with the export paperwork attached.

Reference

Since 2021 we have run the airborne operations in Chile for a US analytics company that flies its own sensors and runs its own processing pipeline. We run the operator coordination, the mobile base, connectivity and field IT, mission after mission. More than 500 missions executed, 100% delivery rate.

Questions foreign teams ask us

Who executes an airborne survey campaign in Chile for a foreign company?

AeroStratus does. We are a Chilean technology company that runs the whole operation on the ground: we coordinate certified local operators and their pilots, obtain the permits, deploy a mobile operations base with its own connectivity, house and move the crews, process the data on site and deliver it to your systems with export paperwork. You bring the sensor and the specialist.

Can we bring our own sensor?

Yes. That is the usual case. Magnetometers, radiometric and gravity systems, hyperspectral and thermal cameras, or your own imaging camera. We integrate it into the aircraft the operator provides and run the mission around it. Our reference client has flown its own sensors with us since 2021.

Can we bring our own aircraft?

We can manage bringing a foreign aircraft under a Chilean air operator certificate (AOC) for the duration of the campaign, so it can work legally in the country with a crew and a base. Ask us for the current requirements before planning around it.

What permits does an airborne survey in Chile need?

Flight permits from the DGAC, the Chilean civil aviation authority, through the certified operator; authorisations for restricted or border areas where the survey crosses them; and the export paperwork for the data. We obtain them as part of the operation. You do not deal with any Chilean authority yourself.

How is the data delivered and exported?

Processed and validated on site, then transferred securely to your cloud or servers in your format and reference system. The service is registered with Chilean customs as an export of services, and each mission carries one identifier that links the flight, the technical record, the invoice and the export document.

Do you work in mining only?

No. Mining exploration is one case. The same operation serves energy, water and glacier studies, environmental monitoring, cartography, infrastructure, telecommunications, insurance, sensor manufacturers testing new instruments, and research institutions. Anyone who needs an aircraft in the air over Chile with their own product on board.

Your sensor, our operation in Chile