8. Search methods in the simulator
Translated from the Finnish manual (manual/fi); the Finnish text is authoritative.
Matches version: 0.4-dev (phase 4b, 2026-10-26). Status: the method is selected and logged; there are no programmed routes yet, everything is flown by hand.
The methods come from the society's own material (the thermal camera method and the aerial rescuer's handbook). Select with M / Shift+M; the HUD shows the name, the altitude range and the speed limit. The debrief compares what was flown with the method and does not score it.
| Method | Altitude | Speed | Camera | Idea |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | 90–120 m | ≤ 2 m/s | thermal | 1–2 slow circuits above the launch site, get the thermal settings right |
| Area overview | 80–120 m | 4–5 m/s | thermal and/or visible | about 40° down, strips about 100 m wide, open terrain |
| Detailed search | 50–60 m | ≤ 3 m/s | thermal | −70…−80°, strip width ≈ altitude, slower in covered terrain |
| Parallel track | 45–60 m | 3–4 m/s | thermal | 3 min straights, 1 min turn, image footprint ≈ 2 × altitude |
| Route search | 40–80 m | ≤ 5 m/s | visible | road, shoreline, power line; ditch bottoms and the foot of banks |
| Point search | 40–60 m | ≤ 3 m/s | thermal | circuits around the point where the person went missing |
| Sector search | 50–80 m | ≤ 4 m/s | thermal | sectors around a point |
| Expanding square | 50–60 m | ≤ 3 m/s | thermal | 1 S = 50 m |
Practical advice on coverage: in a detailed search the strip width is about the flight altitude, so at 55 m fly strips 50 m apart; the green shading on the map shows whether gaps were left between strips. Thermal camera on a summer day: POD stays low even though the area is "covered" — switch to visible light or fly lower.
Coming: programmed routes (parallel track, expanding square) and drawing the route on the map before the flight.