Recording flight data

The recording of flight data is important for troubleshooting when imagery quality is low and to explain unexpected issues in the data when processing. Flight logs provide a written record of all flights undertaken and the weather conditions and camera settings that were in place during each flight.

Information can be recorded in a simple spreadsheet and saved to a data file and the information can be written in pen in the field or can be converted to a digital data collection app to remove the need for manual data entry in the field.
Typical flight log information may include broad information such as:

  • Site name and location boundary (GPS coordinates)
  • Elevation of the site
  • Date and start time
  • Temperature and wind speed
  • Cloud cover percentage and last light
  • Base station handset height (for accurate GPS location)

Data collected for each flight might include:

  • Date and flight time
  • Flight number
  • Target weed species
  • Aircraft crew, payload crew and other attendees
  • Flight Height (m)
  • Pixel size (cm)
  • Flight details - sensor details
  • Notes column (shutter speed, variable altitude for take off, issues encountered during the flight)

Figure 3 shows a typical filled in flight log sheet for a Bitou Bush site  (MM):

Flight path log

Additional data collected during weed detection flight missions will include ground truthing information which is absolutely essential for effective image analysis and processing and facilitates detection capacity.