Create a new operation

An operation in Dronecloud can consist of one or more flight plan areas.  Your operation may consist of multiple flights and may take place over several days, however they should all be covered by common documents (e.g. risk assessment, method statement) that are attached to the operation.  

 There are THREE ways to create flight plans within an operation in Dronecloud:

1. Drawing your flight plan polygon(s) using the polygon tool, then adding operation details
2. Importing flight plan polygons using the KML/KMZ import tool
3. Completing operation details first and adding polygons during Planning

Create an operation to start

Start by clicking the Create Operation button at the top of the side menu.

Note: The menu can be opened from anywhere within Dronecloud, via this button in the top left corner.

Use the search bar in the top left of the map screen to zoom to the desired location or move and scroll the map manually.

1. Drawing your flight plan polygon(s) using the polygon tool

Use the polygon tool to draw your first flight area. 

The polygon tool is also accessible from the operation planning page so you can add more areas later, if needed.

• Click on the map area to draw a polygon and double click to finish.
• To edit a polygon, click inside it and select the edit option.  You can click inside the polygon to move the flight area, or to change its shape, click on a point and drag it.

• Once the polygon is drawn you the side panel will automatically expand, where you can enter operation details.

See Option 3 for completing the DETAILS section.

2. Importing flight plan polygons using the KML import tool

You can upload a KML/KMZ file with pre-defined flight areas by clicking on the upload button to the right of the search box.

You can also upload KML/KMZ files from the operation planning page, by clicking "Import Flight Areas"

Note that KML/KMZ files must only contain flight area polygons.  If there are other items in the file (e.g. lines, markers, annotations) this may result in an import error.  

If you have issues importing a KML file, please contact us on support@dronecloud.io  including the problematic file if possible.  

See Option 3 for completing DETAILS section.

3.    Completing operation details first, and adding polygons during Planning

Alternatively, you can start by filling in Operation Details section to start.

Operational flight plan polygons can be added during the PLANNING stage to allow users to allocate times and dates to each polygon immediately.

On the Details page enter:

• Operation Name
• Internal Operation ID (optional)
• Type of Work (optional)
• Operation Description and Deliverables

If your account subscription allows, you can create an operation and then assign someone else (Operation Owner) to carry it out. To do this, select the person to assign it to in the Owner dropdown menu. For further help, please see Assignment support article.

Once you have completed the Details section, progress to the Planning section by clicking on: Done, move to next stage.

You can then draw or upload flight area polygons using the tools in the "Flight Times and Areas" section.

Notifications

If any of your flight areas intersect with an area triggering Dronecloud's Third Party Notifications service, such as Network Rail, a notification of this will appear in the header panel. Click the cog icon to find out more about which organisations will be notified of your operation.