Elevated Element

: UAV Flight Operations & Procedures

Manual

Introduction

This manual describes the operations procedures for all multirotor UAV owned by Elevated

Element, LLC. This includes roles and responsibilities, aircraft overviews, flight restrictions,

mission phases and emergency procedures.

Roles and Responsibilities

Pilot

● Assembly and breakdown of aircraft as needed for transport.

● Piloting the aircraft at all times including manual, stabilized,GPS or Auto flight modes.

● All pre and post-flight aircraft inspections. (Inspection items detailed below)

● Monitors UAV sensors and flight characteristics during all phases of the flight.

● Is the sole person in charge of the start and stop of each mission.

● Monitors UAV progression through mission waypoints.

● Oversees all flight planning with input from Payload Specialist.

● Monitors system health and terminates any flights that show errors.

● Manages entire UAV flight team

Payload Specialist

● Assembly and breakdown of payload as needed for transport.

● Advises pilot on the best flight path to optimize data capture (images, video, thermal,

elevation data, lidar).

● Monitors payload health and relays relevant info to the pilot (battery levels, image

capture success, gimbal effectiveness).

● Acts as a second set of eyes for critical telemetry data from aircraft (battery levels,

flight status, distance from home, satellite reception).

Visual Observer

● Keep eyes on both the immediate surroundings of the Pilot and Payload Specialist as

well as airspace outside of the pilots frame of view (behind the pilot, directly over head

and to the left and right of their normal field of view, while keeping a visual line of site).

● Confirm area is clear of people or objects prior to takeoff and landing.

Aircraft Overviews

DJI Inspire 1

● Quadcopter design with retractable frame and 13 inch propellers.

● Proprietary camera and gimbal designed to deliver high quality still and video content.

● Operated with 2 separate remotes for the flight control and camera/gimbal.

● Used primarily for cinema style video and stills.

● Owners manual included in docket for further details.
Elevated Element

: UAV Flight Operations & Procedures

Manual

DJI Phantom 2

● Quadcopter design with fixed landing gear and 9 inch propellers.

● Selectable payload, usually consisting of a GoPro camera on a brushless gimbal.

● Operated with a single remote and iPad Ground Control Software.

● Used for light video work as well as mapping and 3D capture.

● Owners manual included in docket for further details.

3D Robotics Iris+

● Quadcopter design with fixed landing gear and 9 inch propellers

● Selectable payload, usually consisting of a Canon S100 camera on a gimbal.

● Operated with a single remote and Android Mission Planner software.

● Used almost exclusively for mapping and data capture.

● Owners manual included in docket for further details.

3D Robotics X8+

● Coaxial Quadcopter design with fixed landing gear and 11 inch propellers (8 total).

● Selectable payload, usually consisting of a Sony A6000 camera on a brushless

gimbal.

● Operated with a single remote and Android Mission Planner software.

● Owners manual included in docket for further details.

3D Robotics Solo

● Quadcopter design with fixed landing gear and 9 inch propellers

● Selectable payload, usually consisting of a GoPro camera on an intellegent 3 axis

brushless gimbal.

● Operated with a single remote and Android Mission Planner Software.

● Aircraft is currently on pre-order and the owners manual will be uploaded when it

becomes available upon final release of the aircraft.

Setup

Assembling the UAV

● Start with a visual inspection of the airframe. Extend any booms that may have been

folded or removed during previous transport.

● Install any propellers that were removed for transport.

● Inspect any electronics connections that are visible through the airframe.

● Fasten a fresh battery and confirm that it is fully charged.

● Install any additional batteries that may be needed for the payload.

Setup of the Ground Station

● Radio links active and working.

● All laptops or tablets working and networked.
Elevated Element

: UAV Flight Operations & Procedures

Manual

● Confirm all software is updated and working as expected.

Power Up Sequence

● Power up RC Transmitter.

● Power up Ground Station Controller (hardware first, then software).

● Power up aircraft.

● Power up payload.

Pre-flight Checklist

● Confirm adequate GPS reception (minimum of 7 satellites).

● Confirm IMU and Compass do not require calibration, calibrate if they do.

● Confirm all required flight modes are able to be activated.

● Double check altitude measurements are correct and not fluctuating.

● Physically check mounting of all propellers.

Flight Restrictions

Geofencing

● Aircraft will remain below 400 feet at all times.

● Aircraft will not travel faster than 60 mph.

● Aircraft will remain within visual line of site (unassisted) at all times.

Flight Phases

Takeoff

● Pilot, Payload Specialist and Visual Observer should all visually inspect take off area

prior to the Pilot’s takeoff and confirm that no person or objects are in the projected

flight path or within 100 feet of the vertical takeoff location.

● Pilot will always use either Stabilize or GPS flight modes during takeoff. Auto takeoff

will not be used.

● Once pilot has successfully lifted the aircraft up to a minimum of 15 feet, additional

flight modes may be engaged.

Landing

● Pilot will maintain a visual line of site on the aircraft while the Visual Observer, and

sometimes the Payload Specialist, investigate the landing site and confirm that it is

free of people or objects for at least 100 feet.

● Pilot may use either stabilize, GPS or Auto flight modes when landing the aircraft.
Elevated Element

: UAV Flight Operations & Procedures

Manual

● Once pilot has successfully landed the aircraft, all motors will be disabled and power

will be shut off to the aircraft. This is followed by powering down any remotes or

ground stations if there are no further missions to be flown.

Emergency Procedures

Loss of RC Transmitter Connection

● All aircraft are equipped with GPS data and register a home point prior to takeoff. If the

connection between the RC transmitter on the ground, and the receiver in the aircraft,

is interrupted, the aircraft will use it’s GPS data to fly back to the home point and

autoland.

Loss of Data-Link

● Occurs if the telemetry radio on the ground station loses connection with the telemetry

radio on the aircraft.

○ If this happens while the aircraft is running a pre-programmed flight mission,

the aircraft will either continue it’s mission (only if the 2.4gHz radio is still in

communication) before returning to the home location, or abandon the mission

and automatically return to the home location. This is determined by how the

aircraft is configured for that particular mission.

Loss of GPS

● All DJI aircraft will switch into ATTI mode and the pilot will have to manually fly the

aircraft. If this happens during a pre-programmed flight path, the Pilot will abort the

mission and manually fly the aircraft back to the home location.

● All 3DR aircraft will automatically loiter around the point of GPS lock loss (via dead

reckoning) for 30 seconds. If GPS is not re-established during those 30 seconds, the

Pilot will manually switch to Stabilize mode fly the aircraft back to the home location. If

GPS is re-established, the mission may continue.

Ground Station Software Failure

● If the flight is not pre-programmed, the Ground Control Software can simply be

rebooted and the mission may continue. If the mission is pre-programmed, the mission

will be aborted and the Pilot will manually fly the aircraft back to the home point.