In the United Kingdom, the major source of training 
for aerial photographers has been the Royal Air 
Force which, since the First World War, has trained 
thousands of qualified photographers to use and 
service a variety of air cameras as well as to process 
air films and to produce mosaics. Although RAF 
courses established the majority of trained 
photographers, up to 1960 at least (when the subject 
became a part of general education), only a few had 
specific experience in mapping. In the meantime, 
commercial survey companies provided on-the-job 
training to mostly former RAF personnel employed 
as survey flight navigators, camera operators and 
laboratory technicians, a system not without merit at 
the time, but soon to become inefficient for an 
industry that needed to keep up with the latest 
developments in technology and method. 
By 1971, the International Institute for Aerospace 
Survey and Earth Sciences (ITC) had moved from 
Delft to Enschede, The Netherlands where courses in 
aerial photography became well established. For the 
next 20 years, the one year ITC Diploma courses in 
Air Survey Photography provided a valuable service 
for the international mapping community. With 
custom designed laboratories, its own twin engined 
survey aircraft (Piper Navajo Chieftain) complete 
with Zeiss RMK or Wild RC10 cameras and 
supported with various survey simulators, the course 
expanded and became ever more efficient, to the 
point of being vastly uneconomic! As with many an 
enterprise, as soon as things become ideal, they also 
become too expensive. Finally the ITC course ended 
in 1990. 
THE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON 
CERTIFICATE IN AIR SURVEY 
PHOTOGRAPHY (CASP) 
In order to retain the initiative established by ITC, a 
similar but shorter four month course in air survey 
photography was established by the Department of 
Photogrammetry and Surveying at University College 
London, in co-operation with two commercial survey 
companies, Aerial Imaging Systems Ltd., which 
specialises in consultancy and training, and 
PhotoAir, which provides the aircraft and laboratory 
facilities. The first CASP course was conducted from 
April to August, 1991. 
The nature of the CASP course is to offer a 
foundation study of four months covering the basic 
principles of air survey navigation and photography, 
with elements of photogrammetry, cartography, 
remote sensing and aviation in support. The course is 
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costed realistically and, as a foundation course, is 
predominantly theoretical in content, the overall 
principle being to learn on the ground and practice in 
the air. To this end,the course is about 65 per cent 
theoretical. It covers all aspects currently required by 
students who need a refresher course as well as those 
who require initial training in the subject. 
Since practical training for survey flying is expensive 
and, in many cases, is best experienced with the 
survey organisation concerned, the UCL CASP 
course is designed to provide the most economic and 
cost effective training possible. It gives a sound 
theoretical foundation supported by intensive 
demonstration and adequate supervised practical 
experience. 
A considerable number of trained and experienced 
air survey personnel, including many ITC alumni, 
now require further training in a variety of subjects 
(such as advanced survey navigation methods) and so 
the CASP course is designed to enable further 
practical training in a number of specialised areas. 
These advanced additional courses are provided by 
Aerial Imaging Systems Ltd. (AIS) and PhotoAir and 
are extra to the CASP course (Appendix A). 
DETAILS OF THE CASP CURRICULUM 
The four month CASP course is divided into two 
parts , separated by a week in which students visit air 
survey and photographic organisations in Belgium. 
Part 1 is held at University College London and is 
mainly theoretical, together with demonstrations and 
educational visits. Instruction is provided by staff of 
University College London (UCL) and Aerial 
Imaging Systems Ltd. (AIS). 
Part 1 Studies 
Week 1 (UCL/AIS). Registration and introduction to 
the course. Mathematics. Calculator software. Visit 
to PhotoAir. 
Week 2 (AIS). Photography, cameras, air survey 
cameras. Basic mission calculations. Types of 
mission, specifications, mapping cameras, small 
format cameras, photographic theory, image quality, 
film processing. 
Week 3 (UCL). Introduction to photogrammetry. 
Photographic geometry, scale and cover. Map 
projections. Demonstrations.