About
Mission items are the components that make up a flight plan. Mission items can be added to the flight plan using the plan menu on the left hand side of the Plan tab.
The flight planning wizard will automatically add all required mission items to the flight plan while stepping you through the flight planning process.
Mission items can also be manually added by using them left hand menu.
The mission item index is located on the right hand side of the Plan tab.
The mission item index shows what mission items are currently in the flight plan.
The mission items contain detailed information about the flight settings at that phase of the flight.
Mission Start
Mission Start is a non-user-editable mission item that sets parameters the PHX requires for successful flight.
This mission item can not be deleted.
Takeoff
The takeoff mission item inserts a takeoff pattern into the flight plan. This includes a planned launch point and a takeoff waypoint.
The default takeoff altitude is 250ft. It is not recommended to decrease this altitude for normal operation.
The takeoff distance can be reset to 500ft using the reset button at the bottom of the mission item box.
Launch Point
The launch point is where the aircraft is expected to be launched from.
Takeoff Waypoint
The takeoff waypoint is the location where the aircraft will fly to immediately after launch.
The takeoff waypoint is locked to be 500ft away from the launch point. This gives the aircraft enough time and space to climb to the launch altitude.
The aircraft will fly in a straight line between these two points while climbing to the take off altitude.
Waypoint
The waypoint mission item contains the settings for the individual waypoint it is associated with.
Altitude
Sets the target altitude of the aircraft at the waypoint location. The default waypoint altitude is 400ft AGL. Sentera does not recommend an altitude less than 150ft AGL.
Hold
This function is not supported for normal operation of the PHX.
Flight Speed
This function is not supported for normal operation of the PHX.
Camera
This function is not supported for normal operation of the PHX.
Survey/Corridor Scan
The survey mission item contains the settings related to the survey or corridor scan areas.
The survey/corridor scan mission item will initially be displayed in the shown simplified view. After the mission item has been fully initialized the expanded view will be displayed.
Preset Selection
Used to set the camera model, altitude, and overlap settings.
There are 5 Sentera created presets that are recommended for normal use of the PHX.
Custom presets and camera models can be created and save by the user. See the expanded view section for more information.
Transect Angle
The entry box or slider can be used to set the heading angle that the aircraft will fly across the survey.
Fly PHX automatically sets the angle direction based on the assumption that the takeoff waypoint is directly into the wind.
Flying crosswind, while snaking up wind across the survey area is the most aerodynamically efficient flight path.
Rotate Entry Point
The rotate entry point button changes which corner of the survey area that the aircraft will start at.
Fly PHX automatically sets the default entry point to be down wind based on the assumption that the takeoff waypoint is directly into the wind.
Flying crosswind, while snaking up wind across the survey area is the most aerodynamically efficient flight path.
Expanded View
Once the Survey mission item has been initialized by pressing next it will change to the expanded view when the mission item is returned to.
The expanded view gives more insight and control to the survey settings after a preset has been applied.
Grid
The grid tab displays the flight and camera settings.
Overlap
Defines the percent of each image that overlaps with the previous image in both the X and Y horizontal directions.
Altitude / Ground Resolution
Sets the altitude (AGL) the aircraft will perform the survey at.
The ground resolution or GSD can be used to set the altitude setting by using the radio button. Adjusting the ground resolution will automatically adjust the altitude required to achieve the set resolution.
Turn around Distance
Change the distance the aircraft will use to make a turn around between transects.
The default turn around distance is 410ft.
Reducing the turn around distance is not recommended for normal operation.
Options
The options tab displays several other survey settings.
Refly at 90 deg offset
After the survey is complete the aircraft will fly the survey area again with a perpendicular transect direction.
This can be useful for 3D reconstruction models.
Images in turnarounds
Images in turnarounds are enable by default and are recommended by Sentera.
Disabling images in turnarounds may cause missed photos near the edges of the survey area.
Fly alternate transects
The flight plan will be updated to fly a Zamboni like pattern. The aircraft will fly every other transect across the survey area, then fly the remaining transects in the other direction.
This feature is useful when for when a smaller turn around distance is required.
The feature is best suited for use on calm windless days as it reduces wind related efficiency and performance.
Terrain
This menu is used to enable terrain following and set the tolerance, max climb rate, and max descent rate.
Please see the terrain following article for more information.
Statistics
Displays statistics related to the survey area and camera settings.
Camera
The camera tab shows a drop down selection of camera models.
The current models are:
Sentera Double 4K
Double 4K 60 degree FOV lens model.
Custom Camera
Allows the user to add a custom camera model.
Manual
Used for spot scouting such as Stand count or Tassel count.
65R support will be added soon.
Presets
The presets tab displays the preset menu.
Presets in fly PHX are used to apply settings. When a preset is selected the appropriate settings will be applied to the survey mission item. This include altitude, overlap, and camera model.
The preset setting is not persistently displayed as a state. i.e. if QuickTile is applied the preset menu will not display QuickTile after the preset tab has been navigated away from. The grid tab will display the appropriate settings for a QuickTile survey.
Landing Pattern
The landing pattern mission item is used to adjust settings for the landing pattern.
The landing pattern defaults to the Sentera recommended settings for PHX.
Loiter Point
The settings for the loiter portion of the landing pattern
Altitude
The altitude to which the aircraft will descend to before beginning the final approach portion of the landing pattern.
The default and recommended loiter point altitude is 131.2ft.
Reducing the loiter point altitude will also automatically adjust the glide slope value.
Reducing the loiter point altitude may cause the aircraft to land with a greater velocity.
Radius
The radius of the descent loiter.
The default and recommended decent loiter radius is 246.1ft.
Reducing the descent loiter radius is not recommended for normal operation.
Loiter Clockwise
Changes the descent loiter direction.
This is useful to avoid obstacles that may be in the way when loitering one direction versus the other.
Landing Point
Heading
Sets the landing direction. The landing direction heading can be adjusted by dragging the loiter point or by manually entering a value between 0 and 360 in the value box.
Altitude
Tells the aircraft to land at 0ft AGL.
Changing this setting is not recommended.
Landing Distance/Glide Slope
The landing distance and glideslope are used to adjust the final approach distance.
The two values are tied together. If one is changed the other will also change.
The default glide slope is 6.0 degrees and a landing distance of 1248.6ft.
The maximum glide slope that the PHX will accept is 7 degrees (landing distance of 1068.8ft).
Camera
The camera settings are used to tell the aircraft to stop taking distance based photos or video during the landing pattern.
These are enabled by default.
