Find the Right Flight Package & GSD for Your Project

Accuracy and efficiency are a balance — explore examples and recommendations below

Flight Package: Cost vs. Capability

Your choice of flight package determines both cost and deliverable options. Our  Essential flight is fast and efficient for basic mapping, while our Standard  multiflight package enables advanced deliverables like contours and 3D models.

Essential (1-Flight)

  • Baseline cost (1x)
  • Lowest processing time, fastest delivery
  • Best for large AOIs, orthomosaics only

Standard (3-Flights)

  • 2 -3 x cost
  • Rich detail, strong edge quality
  • Best for 3D models, slope maps, construction sites
(Scroll down for sample images for Flight Package and GSD seleciton)

Which Flight Package Fits Your Project Best?

🚁 Essential Single Flight Package

Fast, cost-efficient capture for flat, open sites.

  • Straight-down imagery only
  • Best where horizontal measurements matter most
  • Simplest field workflow and shortest turnaround
  • RTK-enabled positional accuracy (same as 3-flight)

📐 Standard 3-Flight Package

Multi-angle capture that improves edges and verticals.

  • Essential Flight plus two angled passes
  • Higher fidelity on buildings, walls, slopes, utilities
  • Sharper seamlines and cleaner feature outlines
  • RTK-enabled positional accuracy (same as single nadir)
Feature comparison of Essential vs Standard Flight packages
Feature Essential Standard
Best For Flat, simpler sites Sites with vertical features or complex terrain
Output Look Clean top-down orthomosaic Sharper edges and clearer structure outlines
Upright Structures (Fidelity) Edges near walls/roofs can skew or stretch Straighter walls and improved roof/wall transitions
Accuracy RTK-enabled positional accuracy RTK-enabled positional accuracy
Turnaround & Cost Lower Higher
Resolution Note* Same GSD as 3-flight Same GSD; multi-angle views yield higher perceived detail

Why Package Choice Impacts Accuracy & Detail

Essential uses only straight-down photos. Tall features can “lean,” and edges near walls and rooflines may look stretched.

Standard adds angled views so the software sees walls and edges from multiple sides. The result is higher-fidelity vertical features, cleaner seamlines, and clearer definition around slopes and site edges.

*When flown at the same altitude, both packages share the same pixel size (GSD). The Standard flight package often appears up to 2× sharper because multi-angle imagery improves edge clarity and orthorectification around verticals.

Flight Package vs. Capability

Project Type Flight Package Recommended GSD Notes / Deliverables
Golf greens / fine features Standard 1.0–1.5 cm/px High-accuracy surfaces, slope analysis, bunker volumes
Subdivision progress Standard 2.0 cm/px Edge detail, 3D modeling for site planning
Floodplain mapping Standard 2.5–3.25 cm/px Cost-efficient coverage, ortho + contours
3D cut/fill models Standard 1.0–2.0 cm/px Stockpile volumes, earthwork, terrain changes
Landfill cap / large earthwork Standard 2.0–2.5 cm/px DEM, slope, compliance reports
Golf course (whole site) Standard 2.0–2.5 cm/px Balance between detail & coverage
Municipal drainage corridor Standard 1.5–2.0 cm/px Contours, slope heatmap, hydrologic modeling
Agricultural field mapping Essential 2.5–3.25 cm/px Fast coverage, crop health ortho only
Building façade / vertical detail Standard 1.0–1.5 cm/px Requires obliques for vertical capture
Stockpile inventory (simple) Essential 2.0–2.5 cm/px Quick volumetrics possible with nadir-only
Stockpile inventory (complex) Standard 1.5–2.0 cm/px Better geometry, accuracy, and surface modeling

How Resolution (GSD) Affects Cost & Clarity

Lower GSD captures finer detail at higher cost. Explore the impact of GSD for both Essential (single flight) capture of flat surfaces (football field markings) and Standard (multi-flight) dealing with vertical detail (soccer goals, benches) at multiple resolutions.

These demos combine results from separate, precisely repeated flights along identical routes and altitudes to permit you to directly compare the effect of GSD. Because the sun moves between passes, you may notice shifts in shadows—but the ground features remain perfectly aligned. Those subtle shadow changes highlight our flight path repeatability and the precision of RTK positioning.

The demos use a limited zoom range and simplified tools for fast loading. Want full-resolution tiles and the full feature set? Open the full sample viewer. (link beneath each demo viewer)

Flight Package: Essential (1-Flight, for flat fields/areas)

This demo combines results from separate, precisely repeated flights along identical routes and altitudes to permit you to directly compare the effect of GSD. Because the sun moves between passes, you may notice shifts in shadows—but the ground features remain perfectly aligned. Those subtle shadow changes highlight our flight path repeatability and the precision of RTK positioning.

This demo uses a limited zoom range and simplified tools for fast loading. Want full-resolution tiles and the full feature set? Open the full sample viewer.

Flight Package: Standard (Multi-Flight, for buildings/structures)

The Standard Multi-Flight package delivers a sharper result at the same GSD compared to the Essential Single-Flight package. In the single-flight output, the tattered fabric on the top of the goal post appears blurred, while in the multi-flight output the torn edges are clearly defined. Similarly, the upright post to the right of the goal is captured as a straight, well-formed object only in the multi-flight dataset. These examples show why additional captures and finer GSD matter: at coarser resolutions railings blur and geometry degrades, but at finer GSD details remain measurable and 3D models more accurate..

As resolution increases, capture costs rise, but so does the accuracy and range of uses.

Higher-resolution GSD (< 1.0, recommended only for small AOI) available on request — contact us for details

Start Your Project Conversation

Frequently Asked Questions

Photogrammetry is the science of creating accurate maps and 3D models from overlapping aerial images. Software triangulates features from multiple viewpoints to compute geometry, enabling measurements and geospatial deliverables.
Accuracy depends on GSD, flight method, site conditions, and GNSS corrections. With our RTK-enabled workflow, typical outcomes are <1 inch horizontal and 2–3 inches vertical under suitable conditions and control.
Common outputs include orthomosaic maps, digital elevation models (DEMs), contours, slope/heat maps, volume calculations, and interactive 3D models or web viewers.
An orthomosaic is geometrically corrected so scale is uniform across the image. You can measure distances and areas directly—unlike standard photos that contain perspective distortion.
GSD (cm/px) defines real-world detail per pixel. Lower GSD (e.g., 1.0 cm/px) captures finer detail but requires more images/processing; higher GSD (e.g., 3.0 cm/px) covers more area at lower cost with less fine detail.
Construction, real estate development, municipal planning, golf course management, agriculture, and environmental monitoring. We tailor deliverables to each sector’s decision needs.
Yes. We schedule recurring flights—weekly, monthly, or at milestones—and produce consistent orthomosaics and time-series reports for tracking change and documenting work.
Yes. Using dense 3D point clouds and validated workflows, we deliver volume calculations suitable for construction management and compliance reporting.
Coverage depends on required GSD and airspace. Coarser GSD enables larger daily coverage; finer GSD prioritizes precision. We’ll recommend the best balance for your site and timeline.
Yes. Based in Milwaukee, we serve southeastern Wisconsin and can travel regionally depending on project scope and schedule.
Yes. Flights are conducted under FAA Part 107 with appropriate authorizations, and we carry commercial liability insurance for drone operations.
Often yes. We obtain LAANC authorizations where available and coordinate additional approvals for complex sites when needed.
Dry conditions with manageable wind and good visibility are required for safety and quality. Rain, snow, and strong winds typically delay operations.
We provide secure hosting or encrypted file delivery. Access is limited to authorized stakeholders as specified by the client.
Standard orthomosaics are usually delivered within 3–5 business days after the flight. Larger jobs or analytics (e.g., contours, volumes) may take longer. Rush options may be available.
GeoTIFF/COG, DWG/DXF, SHP/GeoPackage, LAS/LAZ, PDF mapbooks, and interactive web viewers, depending on the deliverable and your workflow.
Not always. Our RTK workflow achieves high accuracy without GCPs. For survey-grade requirements, we can use GCPs or checkpoints based on your specifications.
Yes. We offer web viewers where you can inspect layers and perform measurements in the browser, or we can hand off files for your GIS/CAD.
Project location/AOI, desired GSD, flight package (Essential Nadir vs Standard 3-Flight), required deliverables (e.g., contours, volumes), accuracy expectations, schedule, and any access or safety requirements.
Use our Request a Quote form. It captures GSD, flight package, AOI, deliverables, accuracy targets, and timeline so we can provide a tailored estimate without lengthy follow-ups.