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Ground Elevation

If flying in areas with a large difference in ground elevation, it is important to ensure the safety of the drone, as well as a relatively constant GSD across the entire survey. To do this you can use a combination of background elevation maps and the ‘Expected ground elevation’ function. 

If you have made a flight plan, set a home point, and have a background elevation map loaded, you can use the ‘Elevation Map’ function by clicking on the mountains icon highlighted. 

Elevation Map

After setting a home point, this will show up on the graph as shown. The elevation map at the bottom of the screen shows the path of Marlyn throughout its mapping flight and the terrain directly beneath the aircraft at each point in the flight.

The path of Marlyn during its mapping flight is shown as a solid line, with the Helicopter Modes and climb/descent shown as a checked line, the terrain is shown in grey. If you move your cursor onto the graph, the information bar will show the line number, ground elevation, flight altitude, and GSD at that specific point in the flight.     

Collision Warning

If Marlyn is expected to collide with the ground at any point during the flight, a red circle will show as seen in Figure 58, and if Marlyn is within 50m of the ground at any point an orange circle will show. 

In the example image, 5 collision points (circled) have been identified by Navigator.

Accounting for Terrain

To account for terrain in your flight plan, adjust your flight lines to run parallel to the contours of the terrain as shown. Then create multiple Mapping Regions and adjust the expected ground elevation to ensure that the GSD across the survey is equal and that Marlyn is a safe distance above the ground.