Mission planner

The mission planner is the heart of Downlink — type an address and it produces a terrain-following flight grid your DJI drone can fly, with the overlap, ground sample distance (GSD), and photo-interval math done live.

Where to find it #

Sidebar → Plan — or start it from a job or client so the property loads automatically.

The mission planner: a serpentine mapping grid with numbered waypoints over satellite imagery, with live overlap and GSD readouts — A finished mapping grid — numbered waypoints, live overlap & GSD, over satellite imagery.

Plan a mission, step by step #

Find the site — type an address in the search box, or open the planner from a client's property so it's already centered. The parcel outline is pulled in automatically where county data is available.
Draw the area — trace the boundary you want to cover, or use the pulled parcel. Downlink fills it with a lawnmower (single-direction) or crosshatch (double-grid) pattern.
Dial in the shot — set your camera/drone, target GSD or altitude, and front/side overlap. The readouts update live so you hit spec before you leave the driveway (see the example below).
Let it follow the terrain — altitudes adjust to the ground so GSD stays constant over slopes.
Name & save — give the mission a name and optionally attach it to a job so it lives on that record.
Export — head to Send to controller to get the DJI Fly KMZ.

✅ Worked example — a Skyward Aerial mapping mission

A 6-acre residential lot survey for the Bluebird Realty listing:

Setting	Example value	Notes
Mission name	Bluebird — 1200 Market St survey	Shows up on the job and in your mission list.
Attach to job	Bluebird Realty — aerial survey	Optional, but keeps the flight with the record.
Pattern	Crosshatch (double grid)	Best for 3D/photogrammetry; lawnmower for flat orthos.
Front / side overlap	80% / 70%	Higher overlap = cleaner stitch, more photos.
Target GSD	1.2 cm/px	Drives the altitude; terrain-following keeps it constant.
Drone	DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise	Sets the sensor for the GSD/interval math.

🔢 The 200-waypoint limit, handled

DJI Fly caps a mission at 200 waypoints. Downlink auto-splits large grids into multiple missions cleanly at line boundaries — never mid-pass — so you just fly them in order. You don't have to do anything.

Corridor missions (Max plan) #

For roads, rail, powerlines, and pipeline, switch to a corridor mission: trace the line and set a buffer width, and Downlink lays down a there-and-back pattern that follows it. Corridor planning is included on the Max plan.

💡 Check airspace and weather first

Before you commit a day to a flight, open Airspace & weather for the site — you'll get the FAA verdict (Class G? LAANC ceiling?) and the ranked flight windows for the next 7 days.