Plan flight

Flight planning is the process of completing preflight preparations before a drone takes off. This planning includes route, altitude, battery, weather, and flying restrictions. Flight planning is essential to ensure safety, efficiency, and mission success. It helps identify and avoid potential hazards, optimizes the flight route, and achieves mission objectives.

Create a new project

A project folder contains multiple missions that are completed over the same area or in close proximity, which simplifies the process of overlaying layers. You can create a project or select an existing project from the Projects list when you open the app.

To create a new project, complete the following steps:

1. Open the ArcGIS Flight app, and tap Create New Project.

   The Create Project window appears.

2. In the Project Name text box, provide the name of the project.
3. Tap Save Project.

   The project home screen appears with access to flight modes and flight plans.

Create a mission

A mission is designed to perform or collect data.

To create a mission, complete the following steps:

1. ArcGIS Flight has a variety of flight modes depending on the type of area or structure that you intend to map or model. Choose one of the following:
   • Flight Plans—Choose a flight plan configured for a previous mission.
   • Area Survey— Capture 2D orthoimagery to map large areas of interest using the lawn mower flight pattern.
   • Crosshatch Survey—Capture sites that have vertical features, such as buildings or sites with elevation changes. Use this mode for 3D output such as a textured mesh for a large area.
   • Perimeter Scan—Create high-resolution 3D models of tall individual structures.
   • Inspection—Manually fly to an object or structure for visual inspection without using a predefined flight plan.
   • Vertical—Capture imagery in a predefined vertical pattern of facades such as buildings, dams, or mining sites. Vertical scans can be merged with Perimeter scans and Crosshatch surveys to get enhanced 3D results.
   • Panorama—Create a 360-degree panorama photo that can capture a complete view of the job site and surrounding areas.
   • Corridor Scan—Capture 2D imagery of long and narrow areas of interest such as roads, pipelines, and airport runways, or for right-of-way inspections.

   The flight mode is selected, and the Enter Mission Data pane appears.

2. Provide the Mission Name and Mission Location for the new mission.

   Layers from ArcGIS Online can be used to add context to your mission, such as land parcels or city parks.

3. To add a layers from ArcGIS Online, complete the following steps:
   1. Tap ArcGIS Layers.
   2. You may need to login. Select log in to ArcGIS.
   3. Tap All My Content or All Group Content.
   4. Choose one or more layers.
   5. Tap back to return to Enter Mission Data.

      The app uses the GPS location of the tablet to center the view to your current location.

4. Tap Center Mission Area to Map is necessary.

   This is not available for Inspection.

5. Tap Next.

   The Mission Settings panel appears and is opened on the Settings tab. The Mission Settings panel includes individual settings and groups of settings, such as Camera Settings and Advanced. The available settings depend on the flight mode.

6. Update the missions settings if necessary.

   If you update settings in a group, click back to return Mission Settings.

   Learn more about flight mode settings.

7. Tap the Overlays tab.
8. For Site Scan users complete the following:
   1. Tap on No Orthomosaic to see the basemap over the mission area.

      Click back to return to the Overlays tab.

   2. Toggle on Ground Control Points to view the default Site Scan project ground control point locations on the map to ensure the drone mission captures them all within a flight.
9. Follow step 3 to upload a layer from ArcGIS Online.
10. Tap Center Mission Area to Map if necessary.

    You can save a flight plan for later use by tapping on Save Flight Plan.

11. For Site Scan tap Pre-Flight Checklist and complete the required tasks.
    A Site Scan Administrator can create custom preflight checklists in Site Scan for ArcGIS and assign them to projects to comply with your organization’s drone program. When these custom preflight checklists are enabled on a project, any drone operator who wants to fly a mission can answer the questions or skip the checklist before the drone takes off.
12. Tap Complete Flight Checklist.
13. Tap Fly to start the mission.

    The following system checks appear and must pass before the drone can take off:

    • Aircraft Check—Ensures the drone's sensor hardware is calibrated for optimal performance.
    • Camera Check—Ensures the SD card has enough space to store the imagery and calibrates the camera.
    • Battery Check—Ensures the batteries have enough charge to conduct the mission.
    • Flight Check—Ensures the missions settings (flight altitude, speed, area to fly in, and so on) are preloaded into the drone.
14. Slide the green button to the right.

    The drone takes off to begin flying the mission.

Flight mode settings

ArcGIS Flight includes the following preset flight modes: Area Survey, Crosshatch Survey, Perimeter Scan, Inspection, Vertical, Panorama, and Corridor Scan.

Area survey

Area survey flights follow the tradition Lawn Mower flight pattern, which is efficient at mapping large areas designed to be flown quickly and to cover the area of interest. The gimbal is typically flown nadir with the camera pointed straight down at the surface at a 0-degree camera angle.

The table below describes the settings available for area survey flights:

Setting	Description
Define mission area from polygon	Add layers from ArcGIS Online to set boundaries for the mission area. This setting is optional.
Terrain Follow	When enabling this feature, the ArcGIS Flight app uses topographic maps from Esri as a baseplane and will have the drone fly to follow the different elevation across the site. This feature does not account for the elevation of buildings or vegetation, so ensure you are planning your flight height considering the elevation of nonground features. In addition, use with caution when flying over open-pit mines since the terrain database topography may be outdated and may not reflect current conditions of the site.
Flight Height	The flight altitude you want your drone to fly in. This parameter directly affects the resolution (Ground Sampling Distance) of your images. Flying at a lower altitude will increase your resolution but will also increase the number of images taken and the flight time. Conversely, flying at higher altitudes will make for a faster flight time but lower the resolution (Ground Sampling Distance) of your images. The default is recommended for this flight mode.
Gimbal Angle	The angle you want your camera to point to. For an Area Survey, set this parameter to 0 degrees nadir with the camera pointed straight down at the surface.
Hatch Angle	The angle you want for the flight legs inside the flight polygon you draw. This will affect the path the drone takes when flying the flight polygon you draw. The default is recommended for this flight mode.
Video Mode	Enables recording videos rather than images during flight.
Advanced	The following advanced settings are available: Overlap—Affects the number of images taken per each flight leg in your flight polygon. Do not lower this parameter below the default 70 percent. You can increase it in scenarios where you want to capture additional images to have a higher quality dataset. Sidelap—Affects the number of flight legs added to your flight polygon. Do not lower this parameter below the default 65 percent. You can increase it in scenarios where you want to capture additional images to have a higher quality dataset. Speed Adjustment—Adjust the speed of drone flight, which is primarily determined by flight height. Depending upon the drone & SD card used, adjustment to a higher speed may result in 1-2 photos being skipped. Departure/Minimum Return Height—Controls the height the drone will fly at when departing to begin capturing or when returning after finishing a mission or for a battery swap. Adjust this parameter to accommodate flying over any obstacle in the site. First Waypoint—Changes where the drone will begin flying in relation to its home position. Furthest will have the drone begin flying at the farthest point/vertex on the polygon, whereas Closest will have the drone begin flying at the closest point/vertex on the polygon. Continue without link—Allows your drone to continue flying even if it goes out of signal range from your remote controller. Use this parameter with caution because the pilot will not be able to control the drone if it is out of range. Camera Settings—Allows you to adjust the following settings: Lighting Mode—Controls the exposure level the drone uses when shooting images. Use Daylight when flying under normal conditions, Low Light when flying under low light conditions (early mornings or late evenings), and Manual to manually adjust additional camera parameters. Lens Settings—This parameter allows you to adjust the focal length value of your gimbal. Use when using custom payloads.
Geofence	This feature will restrict your drone’s flight area to within the boundary of the flight polygon you planned. It will color the boundary of your polygon in red, and it has two different behaviors depending on the drone’s take off point.
See FAA Advisories	For Site Scan users, view FAA Advisories notifications and request LAANC authorization in app.
Quick Map	This feature allows you to quickly capture images and process them into an updated basemap using your tablet and the app. When this feature is enabled, the flight plan automatically adjusts flight height to 400 ft to quickly map the site but you can adjust as needed. It is recommended that you fly as high as possible considering airspace restrictions to obtain the best and fastest results.

Crosshatch survey

Use for sites that have vertical features that need to be captured, such as buildings or sites with elevation changes. This flight mode has a crosshatched pattern flight polygon, which will take double the resources (time, batteries and images taken) to complete compared to a traditional Area Survey flight. Due to the crosshatched pattern and the oblique gimbal angle used when flying, this flight mode will capture the features of your site in different angles to provide you with 3D data, such as a Point Cloud or a 3D Mesh.

The table below describes the settings available for crosshatch survey flights:

Setting	Description
Define mission area from polygon	Add layers from ArcGIS Online to set boundaries for the mission area. This setting is optional.
Terrain Follow	When enabling this feature, the ArcGIS Flight app uses topographic maps from Esri as a baseplane and will have the drone fly to follow the different elevation across the site. This feature does not account for the elevation of buildings or vegetation, so ensure you are planning your flight height considering the elevation of nonground features. In addition, use with caution when flying over open-pit mines since the terrain database topography may be outdated and may not reflect current conditions of the site.
Flight Height	The flight altitude you want your drone to fly in. This parameter directly affects the resolution (Ground Sampling Distance) of your images. Flying at a lower altitude will increase your resolution but will also increase the number of images taken and the flight time. Conversely, flying at higher altitudes will make for a faster flight time but lower the resolution (Ground Sampling Distance) of your images. The default is recommended for this flight mode.
Gimbal Angle	The angle you want your camera to point to. For an Area Survey, set this parameter to 0 degrees nadir with the camera pointed straight down at the surface.
Hatch Angle	The angle you want for the flight legs inside the flight polygon you draw. This will affect the path the drone takes when flying the flight polygon you draw. The default is recommended for this flight mode.
Video Mode	Enables recording videos rather than images during flight.
Advanced	The following advanced settings are available: Overlap—Affects the number of images taken per each flight leg in your flight polygon. Do not lower this parameter below the default 70 percent. You can increase it in scenarios where you want to capture additional images to have a higher quality dataset. Sidelap—Affects the number of flight legs added to your flight polygon. Do not lower this parameter below the default 65 percent. You can increase it in scenarios where you want to capture additional images to have a higher quality dataset. Speed Adjustment—Adjust the speed of drone flight, which is primarily determined by flight height. Depending upon the drone & SD card used, adjustment to a higher speed may result in 1-2 photos being skipped. Departure/Minimum Return Height—Controls the height the drone will fly at when departing to begin capturing or when returning after finishing a mission or for a battery swap. Adjust this parameter to accommodate flying over any obstacle in the site. Continue without link—Allows your drone to continue flying even if it goes out of signal range from your remote controller. Use this parameter with caution because the pilot will not be able to control the drone if it is out of range. Camera Settings—Allows you to adjust the following settings: Lighting Mode—Controls the exposure level the drone uses when shooting images. Use Daylight when flying under normal conditions, Low Light when flying under low light conditions (early mornings or late evenings), and Manual to manually adjust additional camera parameters. Lens Settings—This parameter allows you to adjust the focal length value of your gimbal. Use when using custom payloads.
Geofence	This feature will restrict your drone’s flight area to within the boundary of the flight polygon you planned. It will color the boundary of your polygon in red, and it has two different behaviors depending on the drone’s take off point.
See FAA Advisories	For Site Scan users, view FAA Advisories notifications and request LAANC authorization in app.

Perimeter scan

Create high-resolution 3D models of tall individual structures. The drone will fly vertically at different altitudes around the perimeter you planned. You can merge a Perimeter Scan with the imagery of an Area Survey to enhance 3D results.

The table below describes the settings available for perimeter scan flights:

Setting	Description
Video Mode	Enables recording videos rather than images during flight.
Offset	Affects the resolution and number of photos taken. A 100-foot (30 m) offset works well for small- to medium-sized buildings, such as residential towers. Fly far enough from the building so a corner of the building is visible in most of the photos.
Advanced	The following advanced settings are available: Vertical Overlap—Add additional perimeters or loops around the building for the drone to scan. Sidelap—Affects the number of flight legs added to your flight polygon. Do not lower this parameter below the default 65 percent. You can increase it in scenarios where you want to capture additional images to have a higher quality dataset. Speed Adjustment—Adjust the speed of drone flight, which is primarily determined by flight height. Depending upon the drone & SD card used, adjustment to a higher speed may result in 1-2 photos being skipped. Continue without link—Allows your drone to continue flying even if it goes out of signal range from your remote controller. Use this parameter with caution because the pilot will not be able to control the drone if it is out of range. Camera Settings—Allows you to adjust the following settings: Lighting Mode—Controls the exposure level the drone uses when shooting images. Use Daylight when flying under normal conditions, Low Light when flying under low light conditions (early mornings or late evenings), and Manual to manually adjust additional camera parameters. Lens Settings—This parameter allows you to adjust the focal length value of your gimbal. Use when using custom payloads.
See FAA Advisories	For Site Scan users, view FAA Advisories notifications and request LAANC authorization in app.

Inspection

Manually fly to an object or structure for visual inspection. You can manually take photos of areas of interest or you can record a video. An Inspection flight is not automated; therefore, it relies on the pilot flying the drone to the areas of interest.

The table below describes the settings available for inspection flights:

Setting	Description
Show Terrain	Display the basemap using the terrain elevation from Esri's world terrain
Takeoff Height	The drone will climb to after passing the preflight checklist and taking off.
Manual Takeoff	Manually fly to an object or structure for visual inspection.
Minimum Return Height	Manually trigger RTH mode (using the app or the remote controller) so the drone can automatically return to its launch point instead of the pilot manually flying back and landing.
Video Mode	Enables recording videos rather than images during flight.
See FAA Advisories	For Site Scan users, view FAA Advisories notifications and request LAANC authorization in app.
Camera Settings	Lighting Mode—Controls the exposure level the drone uses when shooting images. Use Daylight when flying under normal conditions, Low Light when flying under low light conditions (early mornings or late evenings), and Manual to manually adjust additional camera parameters. Lens Settings—This parameter allows you to adjust the focal length value of your gimbal. Use when using custom payloads.

Vertical

Designed to capture complex vertical structures such as a building, a dam, or mining sites. This flight mode has additional settings that allow for flights that are vertical and with a slope or angle. You can merge a Vertical scan with an Area Survey or a Crosshatch Survey to enhance 3D results.

The table below describes the settings available for vertical flights:

Setting	Description
Terrain Follow	When enabling this feature, the ArcGIS Flight app uses topographic maps from Esri as a baseplane and will have the drone fly to follow the different elevation across the site. This feature does not account for the elevation of buildings or vegetation, so ensure you are planning your flight height considering the elevation of nonground features. In addition, use with caution when flying over open-pit mines since the terrain database topography may be outdated and may not reflect current conditions of the site.
Switch Side	The green line represents the flight path of the drone which needs to face the facade of the structure you are scanning.
Slope	Fixed—Choose this option if the site and structures have fixed features. Variable—Choose this option to carefully align the polyline of the flight on the sites and structures that have variable features.
Slope Angle	Allows you to enter an angle if you are scanning an object with a slope.
Bottom Elevation	Allows you to assign a bottom elevation where the drone will start scanning. You can set it at 0 ft to begin scanning from the ground surface or at a higher elevation.
Top Elevation	Allows you to assign a top elevation where the drone will end its scanning. It should be higher than 0 ft, and you can set it at any altitude needed for capturing the area of interest. This parameter should not exceed the total height of the structure to be scanned.
Minimum Flight Height	The minimum flight altitude you want your drone to fly in. For safety reasons, adjust this value to be slightly higher than the top of the structure scanned.
Maximum Flight Height	The maximum flight altitude you want the drone to fly at. Change this value to be one and a half to two times higher than the minimum altitude.
Departure/Minimum Return Height	Controls the height the drone will fly at when departing to begin capturing or when returning after finishing a mission or for a battery swap. Adjust this parameter to accommodate flying over any obstacle in the site.
Offset	Affects the resolution and number of photos taken. A 100-foot (30 m) offset works well for small- to medium-sized buildings, such as residential towers. Fly far enough from the building so a corner of the building is visible in most of the photos.
Video Mode	Enables recording videos rather than images during flight.
Advanced	The following advanced settings are available: Overlap—Affects the number of images taken per each flight leg in your flight polygon. Do not lower this parameter below the default 70 percent. You can increase it in scenarios where you want to capture additional images to have a higher quality dataset. Sidelap—Affects the number of flight legs added to your flight polygon. Do not lower this parameter below the default 65 percent. You can increase it in scenarios where you want to capture additional images to have a higher quality dataset. Speed Adjustment—Adjust the speed of drone flight, which is primarily determined by flight height. Depending upon the drone & SD card used, adjustment to a higher speed may result in 1-2 photos being skipped. First Waypoint—Changes where the drone will begin flying in relation to its home position. Furthest will have the drone begin flying at the farthest point/vertex on the polygon, whereas Closest will have the drone begin flying at the closest point/vertex on the polygon. Continue without link—Allows your drone to continue flying even if it goes out of signal range from your remote controller. Use this parameter with caution because the pilot will not be able to control the drone if it is out of range. Departure/Minimum Return Height—Controls the height the drone will fly at when departing to begin capturing or when returning after finishing a mission or for a battery swap. Adjust this parameter to accommodate flying over any obstacle in the site. Continue without link—Allows your drone to continue flying even if it goes out of signal range from your remote controller. Use this parameter with caution because the pilot will not be able to control the drone if it is out of range. Camera Settings—Allows you to adjust the following settings: Lighting Mode—Controls the exposure level the drone uses when shooting images. Use Daylight when flying under normal conditions, Low Light when flying under low light conditions (early mornings or late evenings), and Manual to manually adjust additional camera parameters. Lens Settings—This parameter allows you to adjust the focal length value of your gimbal. Use when using custom payloads.
See FAA Advisories	For Site Scan users, view FAA Advisories notifications and request LAANC authorization in app.

Panorama

Create a 360-degree panorama photo that you can use to capture a complete view of the job site and surrounding areas (including the area underneath the drone). This is a tool to use for project tracking and for marketing collateral.

The table below describes the settings available for panorama flights:

Setting	Description
Terrain Follow	When enabling this feature, the ArcGIS Flight app uses topographic maps from Esri as a baseplane and will have the drone fly to follow the different elevation across the site. This feature does not account for the elevation of buildings or vegetation, so ensure you are planning your flight height considering the elevation of nonground features. In addition, use with caution when flying over open-pit mines since the terrain database topography may be outdated and may not reflect current conditions of the site.
Flight Height	The flight altitude you want your drone to fly in. This parameter directly affects the resolution (Ground Sampling Distance) of your images. Flying at a lower altitude will increase your resolution but will also increase the number of images taken and the flight time. Conversely, flying at higher altitudes will make for a faster flight time but lower the resolution (Ground Sampling Distance) of your images. The default is recommended for this flight mode.
Advanced	The following advanced settings are available: Overlap—Affects the number of images taken per each flight leg in your flight polygon. Do not lower this parameter below the default 70 percent. You can increase it in scenarios where you want to capture additional images to have a higher quality dataset. Departure/Minimum Return Height—Controls the height the drone will fly at when departing to begin capturing or when returning after finishing a mission or for a battery swap. Adjust this parameter to accommodate flying over any obstacle in the site. Continue without link—Allows your drone to continue flying even if it goes out of signal range from your remote controller. Use this parameter with caution because the pilot will not be able to control the drone if it is out of range. Camera Settings—Allows you to adjust the following settings: Lighting Mode—Controls the exposure level the drone uses when shooting images. Use Daylight when flying under normal conditions, Low Light when flying under low light conditions (early mornings or late evenings), and Manual to manually adjust additional camera parameters. Lens Settings—This parameter allows you to adjust the focal length value of your gimbal. Use when using custom payloads.
See FAA Advisories	For Site Scan users, view FAA Advisories notifications and request LAANC authorization in app.

Corridor

Use to capture long and narrow areas of interest such as roads, pipelines, airport runways, and so on, or for right-of-way inspections.

The table below describes the settings available for corridor scan flights:

Settings	Description
Define corridor from polyline	Add layers from ArcGIS Online.
Terrain Follow	When enabling this feature, the ArcGIS Flight app uses topographic maps from Esri as a baseplane and will have the drone fly to follow the different elevation across the site. This feature does not account for the elevation of buildings or vegetation, so ensure you are planning your flight height considering the elevation of nonground features. In addition, use with caution when flying over open-pit mines since the terrain database topography may be outdated and may not reflect current conditions of the site.
Select Corridor Width	This parameter will set the width of the scanned area. Adjust this value to cover the area of interest completely.
Fly Over Corridor	This parameter allows you to choose if you want to fly the drone on top of the area of interest or if you want to fly the drone alongside the area of interest. This parameter is helpful when you will fly in areas that have airspace regulations.
Flight Height	The flight altitude you want your drone to fly in. This parameter directly affects the resolution (Ground Sampling Distance) of your images. Flying at a lower altitude will increase your resolution but will also increase the number of images taken and the flight time. Conversely, flying at higher altitudes will make for a faster flight time but lower the resolution (Ground Sampling Distance) of your images. The default is recommended for this flight mode.
Video Mode	Enables recording videos rather than images during flight.
Advanced	The following advanced settings are available: Overlap—Affects the number of images taken per each flight leg in your flight polygon. Do not lower this parameter below the default 70 percent. You can increase it in scenarios where you want to capture additional images to have a higher quality dataset. Sidelap—Affects the number of flight legs added to your flight polygon. Do not lower this parameter below the default 65 percent. You can increase it in scenarios where you want to capture additional images to have a higher quality dataset. Speed Adjustment—Adjust the speed of drone flight, which is primarily determined by flight height. Depending upon the drone & SD card used, adjustment to a higher speed may result in 1-2 photos being skipped. Gimbal Angle—The angle you want your camera to point to. For a Corridor Scan, set this parameter at 0 degrees nadir with the camera pointed straight down at the surface. Departure/Minimum Return Height—Controls the height the drone will fly at when departing to begin capturing or when returning after finishing a mission or for a battery swap. Adjust this parameter to accommodate flying over any obstacle in the site. Continue without link—Allows your drone to continue flying even if it goes out of signal range from your remote controller. Use this parameter with caution because the pilot will not be able to control the drone if it is out of range. Camera Settings—Allows you to adjust the following settings: Lighting Mode—Controls the exposure level the drone uses when shooting images. Use Daylight when flying under normal conditions, Low Light when flying under low light conditions (early mornings or late evenings), and Manual to manually adjust additional camera parameters. Lens Settings—This parameter allows you to adjust the focal length value of your gimbal. Use when using custom payloads.
See FAA Advisories	For Site Scan users, view FAA Advisories notifications and request LAANC authorization in app.