Plan a survey in Mission Control, check it, upload it to the flight controller and fly it in Auto.
Read Safety before flying a mission. An uploaded mission flies without stick input once the drone is in Auto, so set a geofence and know how to take control back.
This guide plans a survey grid over an area, uploads it to the flight controller and flies it in Auto. Fly Your first flight first so you know the Cockpit controls.
Click Plan in the top navigation. With no plan open, the FLIGHT PLANS library sits at the left of the map. Click New Plan. The library hides and the planner opens: the planner bar on top, the plan outline on the left, the tool rail on the map, the inspector on the right and the review dock along the bottom of the map.
Plan view with an empty mission.
2
Set the mission defaults
Click the plan name in the planner bar and type a name. With nothing selected, the inspector shows Mission; in Defaults, set Altitude and Speed.
3
Draw the survey area
Press G to open the pattern settings, pick Survey grid, then click Draw area and click the map to place the corners of the area. You can also draw first with the polygon tool (P) on the tool rail. Make the area slightly larger than you need, so the image footprints overlap at the edges.
4
Generate the pattern
Choose a Survey preset or Camera profile, or a deliverable preset (Orthomosaic, 3D model, Fast / low detail). Set Altitude above home, Line spacing and Speed. Show Advanced adds Grid angle, Trigger distance, wind alignment and more.Click Generate. Pattern stats shows the distance, estimated time, waypoints and photos. Click Apply N waypoints to mission to put the pattern into the mission. Applying replaces every waypoint already in the mission. Add a Return to Launch or Land waypoint at the end so the drone comes home when the survey finishes.
Survey grid generated over a polygon.
5
Add a geofence and rally points
Click Geofence in the plan outline, draw a boundary with a margin around the survey area and set its breach action. Mark safe alternate landing spots with the rally point tool (Y). See Geofences and rally points.
6
Check the mission
The Issues tab in the dock (I) checks the mission continuously as you edit. Fix every error it lists; sending stays blocked until there are none. Warnings are advisory. The Terrain tab shows the altitude along the route against the ground.
To try the plan without flying, open Simulate in the top navigation. See Simulation.
Run the same checks as in Your first flight: GPS fix, battery, level attitude, pre-flight checklist, wind.
2
Arm and take off
Open the drone’s Cockpit tab. Use Arm (slide to confirm), then Take Off (hold to confirm, with the take-off altitude shown in the sheet), or take off by hand in Alt Hold or Loiter. Check the drone is stable at a few metres.
3
Switch to Auto
Use Auto. It is in the skill drawer; add it to an empty skill-bar slot before the flight. The drone flies to the first waypoint and works through the survey, then runs the finish action.
A mission running in Auto on the Flight tab.
4
Watch and take control if needed
Watch altitude, ground speed and battery. To stop the mission:
Pause pauses the mission and holds the drone in place.
Loiter holds position.
Return to Home flies back to the launch point and lands.
Land lands where the drone is.
Kill Motors stops the motors in the air and the drone falls. Use it only in an emergency.
