A charity that flies needy and vulnerable people for medical purposes is using dome cameras from Rainbow at a facility within Houston Hobby Airport. Angel Flight South Central helps patients who do not have access to conventional transport or who are too ill to be driven or fly on a commercial service. Private pilots volunteer their planes and time to take people from their local airstrip to hospitals and clinics in other cities, often combining in relays so that a journey of thousands of miles can be made.
Working through its partner ADI, Rainbow has donated six HDCVF3D vandal-proof hammer tough dome camera units for use at Houston Hobby's hangars and a new 1,500 sq ft facility where patients wait in privacy for transportation and their pilots study routes in a planning room.
The Rainbow high-resolution colour dome is designed for any application such as an airport, school or civic area where there is a need to protect the camera from accidental or deliberate blows. Integrators recognise the benefits of the dome's 3-D gimble bracket which allows the user to pan, tilt and rotate the camera towards the side, so making wall mounting more effective.
The housing has a half-tint polycarbonate dome, is IP66 rated and can handle heavy impact. In all but extreme contacts only the dome is scratched while the camera remains intact. Angel Flight South Central flew 3,000 missions in 2005, operating from Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and parts of New Mexico, Mississippi and Western Tennessee. The charity also organizes general humanitarian flights and was active in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when its pilots demonstrated exceptional dedication.
Many of the passengers who take the South Central flights receive treatment at a cancer centre within the University of Texas or the Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. On arrival at their destination airport, patients are met by a ‘ground angel' and driven to the medical facility.