Drone mapping day
From the resolution the client wants to the height, overlap, blur check, image count, and the hours of good light.
Planning and education aid. Not for primary navigation. The values here are an example; use your own. Full disclaimer
Step 1
Height for a target GSD
The height that gives a 2 cm ground sampling distance with this camera.
You should see Fly at 72.96 m above ground for that GSD.
Step 2
Part 107 maximum altitude
Check that height against the Part 107 ceiling of 400 ft above ground.
You should see You may fly up to 400 ft above the ground here. Not legal advice.
Step 3
Ground sampling distance (GSD)
The GSD at that height, along and across the flight line.
Carries height above ground from step 1.
You should see Each pixel covers 2 cm of ground, and one image spans 109.4 m across track.
Step 4
Overlap, trigger interval, and line spacing
75% front and 65% side overlap at 8 m/s set the photo interval and line spacing.
Carries height above ground from step 1.
You should see Take a photo every 2.28 s (18.2 m) and space flight lines 38.3 m apart.
Step 5
Motion blur and slowest shutter
At 8 m/s and 1/1000 s, is blur under half a pixel?
Carries GSD from step 3.
You should see The image smears 0.4 pixels; keep the shutter at 1/800 s or faster.
Step 6
Image count and survey size
How many photos and how long the block takes.
Carries line spacing from step 4, photo spacing from step 4.
You should see Plan on about 570 photos over 15 lines and 10.63 km of flying.
Step 7
Mapping light window
The hours when the sun is high enough for even light.
You should see The sun is high enough from 08:23 to 17:40.