Our unit has been using a hand held FLIR with a stabilizing gyro for the last 4 years. The observer is usually in a Bell Jet. To date ... ZERO lost person finds for the FLIR in actual use. In training and practice exercises they do quite well though. Go figure. I think it is an operator's mind set ... if you know there are subjects in a given area ... you hover lower, longer, and look harder until you find your victim. Going into an actual search ... their brains are playing that "if I was lost, I would be here" game and they are not as thorough. During exit debriefing with actual victims, they have stated that the helicopter had past overhead and that they "were waving". Helicopters with or without FLIRs are only as good as their Pilot/Observer Team. Very similar to the Dog/Dog Handler Team a good dog will be ruined by a bad handler but that's another subject.
Del
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FLIR in use for 5 years 
Image Enhancement
(Stan Nowak)
