Lessons learned from this experience:
1) A skilled pilot really helps. Flying along a coastline is a skill many pilots do not have, so it is worthwhile to ask.
2) Conditions are crucial: we couldn’t fly higher than about 1000 ft. because of haze, therefore our swath size was very limited. Flying at a lower altitude, it was harder to capture the coastline.
3) Test your rig on the ground, especially the attachment to the airplane. Cessna 172 or similar work well.
Regarding #1 above: Our pilot had over 50 years of flying experience and no on board navigation systems. He literally took out a large paper map of the area right after takeoff (I wish I was kidding). As you can imagine, this limited us.
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