Mission planning is not a paperwork step. It is the process that decides whether the entire job is going to go smoothly or create rework later. Aerotas has long approached drone projects by starting with a few simple questions: What does the client actually need? What accuracy matters? What aircraft is available? What ground data will be collected? What constraints does the site create?
If those questions are answered upfront, the rest of the workflow gets easier. If they are skipped, the problems usually show up later as blown field time, weak accuracy, or a deliverable that does not really match the project.
What you should decide before the field day
- Whether the site is actually a good fit for drone capture
- Whether photogrammetry, lidar, or a hybrid approach is needed
- What final deliverable the project requires
- What accuracy target matters in practice
- What ground control, checkpoints, RTK, or PPK strategy will be used
- Whether airspace, access, or safety constraints change the plan
The right planning mindset: plan backward from the deliverable, not forward from the drone you happen to own.
What Aerotas needs from clients when planning help is involved
The legacy Aerotas mission-planning workflow is still useful: send a KML or KMZ of the site, describe the scope and special conditions, state the accuracy tolerance, and identify what aircraft will be used. That puts everyone on the same page before the field crew burns time.
If the site has unusual geometry, active construction, poor imagery context, or likely airspace complications, surface that early. Mission planning works best when surprises are handled while the project is still a planning problem rather than an in-field problem.
What good mission planning buys you
Good planning creates three direct benefits: better data, less field waste, and fewer downstream corrections. That is why strong operators treat mission planning like part of production, not like administrative overhead.