Best Practices for Flying Drones
Daniel Tal, John Altschuld · 2021
Learning to fly a drone responsibly involves more than simply starting up the drone and taking off. It requires the mindset and awareness of all the different pre-flight checks and planning. Prior to taking off, time should be spent researching the drone's controls, how the flight controller app works, and what to expect during the flight. For many projects, automated flights can capture more consistent photograph angles and overlaps, as well as smoother video paths. The paths can be saved to be re-flown at future dates and compare site conditions over time. Many flights, particularly nadir photogrammetry flights, and certain video capture techniques, utilize flight controller apps that automate the flight operations. One key advantage of automated flights is the ability to pre-flight program the automated flight paths. This is done on a laptop or desktop, although many apps require flight planning to occur on the smart device or controller being used with the drone.