How to Fly Mapping Missions in High Wind (and Rain!)

Flying Mapping Missions in High Wind

·       First, you should understand that the most likely causes of an accident when flying in high winds, will be from flipping/crashing during takeoff or landing, or running out of battery.

·       Second, make sure you are familiar with your drone’s maximum wind speed rating for takeoff/landing, and whilst in the air (these are usually different ratings)

·       Find a place that shelters the drone from the prevailing wind when taking off and landing, but doesn’t otherwise obstruct the path of the drone

·       Turn on RTK and make sure it has a good, stable connection

·       Reduce flight mapping speed in the mission parameters by up to 50% of your usual setting

·       Increase front and side overlap in the mission parameters to at least 80%

·       Increase warning level for low battery condition to at least 25%, or more!

·       Set camera shooting mode to “Distance Interval Mode”, rather than “Timed Interval Mode”

·       Once the flight is underway, closely monitor the progress of the drone’s flight path in the Mapview window, making sure that deviation from the planned route does not exceed 10% of the space between grid lines. If it does (but only occasionally), consider taking manual shots at these locations after the mission has finished, to “fill in the gaps”.

·       Do NOT ignore or cancel automated RTH actions

·       Strongly consider manually initiating RTH much earlier than automated levels, especially if the drone’s path home is directly into the wind! Check your battery voltages frequently, and try to estimate how much battery is required for the return flight, by observing/estimating how much battery the drone used to get to where it is now. (Your estimates will get better with experience). Typically, flight times can be cut by up to half, in very strong wind!

·       If manually initiating RTH, try to optimise when you do this, so that the drone’s position when you hit RTH is already as close as possible to its home point

·       Change the course direction so the drone is flying perpendicular to the prevailing wind direction. If you are getting blown off-course too much, try flying at 45 degrees to the wind

·       If the drone is getting blown away and won’t come back, immediately reduce altitude to a level that is as low as possible, whilst still at a safe level. This should reduce windspeed that the drone is subject to and also reduce damage if you run out of batteries!

·       If the drone is still getting blown away, consider landing in a safe place asap

When returning to home;

·       As soon as possible, reduce altitude to a level that is as low as possible, whilst still at a safe level.

·       Plan your route home, so that if you do run out of batteries early, you can still land in a safe place

·       If you are a confident operator, switch to Sports mode and fly at maximum speed. Use FPV and Mapview windows to manually navigate home as quickly and directly as possible

·       When the drone is nearing the Home point, keep reducing altitude to a level that is as low as possible

·       Land as soon as possible!

Flying Mapping Missions in Rain

·       Make sure that the drone you are flying, the payload, the controller and all accessories, are rated to be used in rainy conditions. If not, don’t use that drone in the rain!

·       Make sure that all rubber blanking plugs and weatherproofing items that came with the drone, its controller, the payload and all accessories, are fitted properly

·       Try to keep the drone, payload and controller out of the rain, as much as possible

·       Do not expose any electronic connections directly to the rain. If you need to change batteries, payload or assemble/disassemble the drone, do it somewhere dry

·       If you have a hood for the camera lens, use it!

·       When on the ground and when flying to the first waypoint, keep the camera lens pointing away from the rain, or straight down

·       Try to only do missions where the camera is at Nadir, otherwise rain may get on the lens

·       Before taking off each time, use a soft cloth to wipe the lens and all sensors clean and free of water

I hope you enjoyed these tips!