TOW ASSEMBLY FOR FIXED WING AIRCRAFT FOR GEOPHYSICAL SURVEYING

A airborne geophysical electromagnetic (EM) survey tow assembly system for use with an aircraft, including a substantially rigid receiver coil frame that defines a central open area, the receiver coil frame forming a continuous internal passageway that extends around the central open area; a receiver coil housed within the internal passageway isolated from the central open area, the receiver coil being configured to measure the response of surveyed terrain to naturally occurring EM events; and a tow cable for suspending the receiver coil frame from the aircraft, the receiver coil frame being formed from rigid members configured to provide aerodynamic stabilization to maintain the receiver coil frame in a desired pitch and yaw orientation relative to a direction of travel and the horizontal when the receiver coil frame is suspended during flight.