Survey Flight at Potomac on 10 November

[GeoffSM1]

Can any one enlighten me as to the nature/purpose of this survey flight please? In particular, what exactly are the numbered lines the survey aircraft is following? Also, can anyone provide any details of flight ?214 which gets things wrong with the controller around the 11 minute mark?

[VASAviation]

As far as I know these kind of flights may refer to photography, meteorological survey or orographical survey.

They just fly lines of x length. I actually checked the track of this flight and they just flew south-north-south-north several times moving west.

I keep searching for that x214 aircraft

[sonnycol]

Right. For aerial photography or remote sensing you fly a grid pattern, then the data is assembled into a map.