Drone flight cheat sheetPre-flight
- Battery 100 % + spare
- GPS lock before takeoff (green in DJI app)
- SD card: 5-10 GB free
- Weather fits (overcast or soft sun, wind < 8 m/s)
Weather
- Optimal
- Overcast, diffuse light
- OK
- Morning or late afternoon, soft shadows
- No-go
- Rain, snow, fog, wind ≥ 8 m/s
Nadir rule (critical)
- ▸First nadir image (gimbal −90°) = reference altitude.
- ▸Hold that altitude ±5 m for the entire flight.
- ▸Never mix nadirs from different altitudes, otherwise ghosting in the orthophoto.
Method 1 - POI
Orbit flight for single-family and compact multi-family homes
- Altitude
- 20-30 m above roof (±5 m to nadir altitude)
- Distance
- 20-30 m from facade
- Gimbal
- −45° downward
- Speed
- 60-90 s per orbit
- Shutter
- every 2 seconds
→ Keep the roof edge visible on every side of the frame.
Method 2 - Parallel flight
All the way around long buildings (warehouses, row houses), Cruise Control or by hand
- Buttons
- Assign C1 or C2 to Cruise Control (optional)
- Altitude
- 20-30 m above roof (±5 m to nadir altitude)
- Distance
- 20-30 m from nearer facade
- Gimbal
- −45° downward
- Speed
- 2-3 m/s constant
→ Near roof edge with facade and corners must stay in frame. Once around all sides, keep shooting at the corners.
For 3D: facade orbit
In addition to the roof flight- ▸Nadir denser than for the 2D roof flight: one overview image plus closer, overlapping shots.
- ▸Fly the 45° orbit closer to the house (ground up to mid-roof); it replaces the wider orbit from the roof flight.
- ▸Facade orbit ~0° horizontal, same distance as the 45° orbit, only lower (1-2 rings); 70-80 % overlap, including between the layers.