Plan Mission Step 1
Click on the “Plan Mission” button on the grey nav bar.
Plan Mission Step 2
Click on “+Plan Mission” button.
Plan Mission Step 3
The first step is to enter the Pilot, (and if necessary, Visual Observer and Payload Operator. The personnel listed in the pulldown menu are the same ones in your “Personnel” tab. If you don’t see the person you want you need to add them to “Personnel” and make sure they have he appropriate role selected (you can find the roles in the edit (Pencil) button next to each person’s name in the personnel list). Note that it is not a requirement to enter any personnel at this time. Only the fields with the blue background are required (Mission Name, etc.)
Plan Mission Step 4
Next enter a mission name and select a drone from inventory (these steps are mandatory). If you do not see your drone you need to enter it into DroneLogbook (you do this on the “Inventory” tab. Note- If you use a DJI drone and sync with the DJI Cloud the drone from the telemetry data will be the drone entered on the final flight log (this assumes you have the serial number/name in inventory).
Plan Mission Step 5
The next step (optional) is to enter a customer, project and location for the flight. The customer and project fields (if chosen) will automatically enter the flight into the project folder (with other flights or planned missions with the same customer and project name).
The locations field is needed to use the weather forecast feature on the Plan Mission page. If you do not enter a location and import telemetry data we will automatically create a location for you. In addition, if you enter a location and import telemetry data the telemetry file will override the listed location (due to GPS coordinates).
Plan Mission Step 6
The next step is to enter a date, estimated flight duration and flight type (all mandatory). The date is always in the future as it is a planned mission. The duration is an estimate (to be used in the future for maintenance conflicts) and can always be adjusted after the flight for a more accurate number. In addition, if a telemetry file is imported it will override this field.
Plan Mission Step 7
Next, the user can choose operation type and if the flight is a night flight.
Plan Mission Step 8
Next the user can enter the equipment on board. There are several ways to enter this data.
1- Left click on the field and see a pulldown list of items from the “Inventory” section
2- Type in a serial number (and the system will start to filter our items with matching text)
3- If you are using a system that has serial numbers in the telemetry files (DJI batteries etc.) we will match the batteries etc. when you import the telemetry file (you must have the serial number entered in the inventory section for this feature to work)
4- Our mobile app has a bar code scanner to allow you to scan in QR codes to your flight which will sync with the mission plan later.
Plan Mission Step 9
If you entered a location you can get a weather forecast for that date and location by clicking the “Get Weather Data For That Date And Location” button.
Plan Mission Step 10
Finally you can enter any mission notes and tags (for search) an then click “Save”.
Plan Mission Step 11
After clicking “Save” a pop up box will appear with access to Airmap airspace tools. On the far left you will see the tools for drawing flight areas (various shapes), inserting markers, editing layers and loading KML files.
Plan Mission Step 12
If you want to mark your flight area, check on the shape on the left and then choose your color (there a 3 colors to choose from to help you demarcate different areas). Click “Save”.
Plan Mission Step 13
Once you have chosen your shape color you can draw a box on the screen outlining your flight area (or no fly zone as well if you want to note an area in which not to fly). You can draw multiple boxes on the same map.
Plan Mission Step 14
Once you have drawn your area you can also drop in markers (by choosing the marker icon on the left). There are 3 marker types to choose from (Information, Landing, and Hazard). You may use more than one marker at a time. Click “Save” to save the marker.
Plan Mission Step 15
Note the marker on the screen. Each marker type has a different symbol.
Plan Mission Step 16
To save the flight area first click “Save Flight Area” then click “Close” to bring you back to the mission plan screen.
Plan Mission Step 17
Once you are back at the mission plan screen you can enter any documentation you have ready. This can be from our electronic forms library or from your hard copy (imported) documents library.
Plan Mission Step 18
After you have entered documents (if needed) you are finished. You can edit the mission with the “Edit Mission” button a the top. In addition, if you have more than one flight in the same area you can clone the mission and then edit the mission to change any details of the following mission. The “Clone Mission” feature will also clone the documents and keep them attached to the new flight limiting your need to redo documents. If the documents needed are different you can delete them and replace them with new ones for that flight.
Plan Mission Step 19
Note – There is a visual forecast tool that is available from this page of Plan Mission that gives more detailed weather data.
Plan Mission Step 20
If you import flight automatically from DJI Sync feature, SenseFly eMotion, Autopilot…etc, you can append telemetry data to your planned mission, when completing it.
Select the mission and click on “Complete Mission” button, a popup with imported flights for the same day is displayed. Choose the good one and your mission will be appended with Telemetry data.