GsE

 188  Lecture  6:

 Flight
                     Planning

Department of Geodetic Engineering

University of the Philippines Diliman

jldfabila ’09
japrincipe ‘10
 Project  Planning
• Successful  execution  of  any  photogrammetric  
project  requires  thorough  planning  
• Must  first  determine  the  selection  of  products  to  
be  prepared,  their  scales  and  accuracies  
    aerial  photo  prints,  photo  indexes,    
    photomaps,  mosaics,  orthophotos,    
    planimetric  maps,  topographic  maps,    
    cadastral  maps,  digital  maps,  digital    
elevation  models
 Project  Planning
After  the  product  selection  process,  
– Planning  the  aerial  photography  
– Planning  the  ground  control  
– Selecting  instruments  and  procedures  
necessary  to  achieve  the  desired  results  
– Estimating  costs  and  delivery  schedules
 Flight  Planning
• Success  of  photogrammetric  project  depends  on  
acquisition  of  good  quality  pictures  
• Due  to  weather  and  ground  conditions,  time  frame  
for  photography  is  limited  
• Reflights  are  expensive  and  causes  long  delays  on  
project  
• Mission  must  be  carefully  planned  and  executed  
according  to  flight  plan  
• Consists  of  flight  map,  (where  photos  should  be  
taken)  and  specifications
 Specifications
• Camera  requirements  
• Film  requirements  
• Scale  
• Flying  height  
• End  laps,  side  laps  
• Tilt  and  crab  tolerances
 Stereopair
• Each  photo  covers  partially  the  same  area
overlap

photo 1

photo 2
 Neatmodel
• Area  of  the  overlap  bounded  by  the  principal  points  of  
the  consecutive  photographs
overlap

Neat model

photo 1

photo 2
 Overlap
• Forward  overlap  or  End  lap  
– Common  area  covered  by  two  successive  photos  of  
the  same  flight  line  or  strip  
– Usually  60%  ±  5%  

• Lateral  overlap  or  Side  lap  

– Common  area  covered  by  two  adjacent  flight  lines/
strips  
– About  25-­‐30%  ±  10%    (generally  30%)
 Overlap Direction of
flight

Forward overlap/
Endlap

Lateral overlap/
Sidelap

Flight lines
 Forward  Overlap
• If  stereoscopic  coverage  is  required,  50%  is  
absolute  minimum  
• To  prevent  gaps  due  to  crab,  tilt,  flying  height  
variations,  terrain  variations,  >50%  end  lap  is  
required  
• For  photogrammetric  control  extension,  points  
must  be  seen  on  at  least  3  photos  
 Side  Lap
• Required  to  prevent  gaps  between  flight  strips  
• Using  side  laps  >30%  eliminates  the  need  to  use  
extreme  edges  of  photo  
• Crab  –  disparity  in  the  orientation  of  camera  in  the  
aircraft  with  respect  to  aircraft’s  actual  travel  
direction;  causes  the  edges  of  the  photo  to  be  
unparallel  to  direction  of  flight;  reduces  stereoscopic  
coverage  
• Drift  –  failure  of  the  pilot  to  fly  along  planned  flight  
lines  
 Flight  Plan
• What  the  aircrew  has  to  do  as  indicated  by  
flight  lines  
• The  design  of  aerial  photography  flight  in  order  
to  obtain  desired  photos  at  a  certain  scale,  i.e.,  
how  the  air  crew  will  fly  (where  to  put  the  
flight  lines,  how  high,  etc.)
 Rules  in  determining  flight  line  direction

• Generally  follows  four  cardinal  directions  –  

East-­‐West  (E-­‐W)  or  North-­‐South  (N-­‐S)  
• Should  be  along  the  longer  dimension  of  the  
area  
• If  over  mountain  ridges  or  valleys,  go  along  the  
direction  of  the  features  –  to  maintain  an  
almost  constant  scale;  if  a  flight  line  crosses  
mountains,  scale  will  be  smaller  in  the  valley  
than  in  the  mountains
Direction  of  Flight  Lines
Flight lines along the valley

Cordillera
Sierra Madre
 Weather  Conditions
Flight  crew  should  be  able  to  interpret  weather  conditions  and  
make  sound  decisions  on  whether  to  fly  or  not    

• Ideally  cloud  free;  <  10%  cloud  cover  acceptable  

• Clouds  higher  than  the  flying  height  might  cast  large  shadows  
on  the  ground  
• Overcast  weather  might  be  more  favorable  when  large-­‐scale  
topo  mapping  is  done  over  built-­‐up  areas,  forests,  canyons  or  
other  features  which  cast  shadows  on  clear  sunny  days  
• Photos  for  industrial  areas  susceptible  to  atmospheric  haze,  
smog,  dust  and  smoke  are  best  taken  after  heavy  rains  
• Windy  days  might  cause  excessive  image  motion  and  
difficulties  in  camera  and  aircraft  orientation      
 Required  Data  for  Flight  Planning
• Project  area  boundary  
• Camera  focal  length  –  3.5”,  6”,  or  12”    
• Photoformat  size  –  standard  is  9”  or  23  cm  
• Photoscale    
• Overlap  requirements  (in  percentage)  –  
percentage  of  endlap  or  sidelap    
• Least  number  of  flight  lines   To be more
• Least   n umber   o f   exposures economical
 Flight  Planning  Computations
• Flying  height  
• Distance  between  exposures  or  Airbase  (B)  
• Distance  between  flight  lines  
• Total  number  of  exposures  
• Flying  height  above  mean  sea  level  of  each  
flight  line  
• Total  time  needed  for  photography
s = photoformat/size
f = focal length
Hmge = flying height above s
m.g.e.
o = overlap in % f
S = equivalent ground
distance of photoformat

Hmge

S
 Flying  Height

H mge = f ∗ s p
 Distance  Between  Exposures

Dexp = De = S (1 − f .o.)

Where:
S = equivalent ground length of the photoformat
size (s)
S = (sp)(s)
f.o. = forward overlap (in decimals)
s = photoformat size
sp = photoscale factor
 Distance  Between  Exposures
Example:      
Given:    
    scale  =  1:15,000  
    f.o.  =  60%  
    s.l.  =  30%  
    s  =  9”  =  23  cm  
Required:    De
 Distance  Between  Exposures
Solution:
 Distance  Between  Flight  Lines

D fl = D f = S (1 − s.l.)
Where:
S = equivalent ground length of the photoformat
size (s)
S = (sp)(s)
s.l. = sidelap (in decimals)
s = photoformat size
sp = photoscale factor
 Distance  Between  Flight  Lines
Example:      
Given:    
    scale  =  1:15,000  
    f.o.  =  60%  
    s.l.  =  30%  
    s  =  9”  =  23  cm  
Required:    Df
 Distance  Between  Flight  Lines
Solution:
 Total  Number  of  Exposures

total number of exposures

= (number of exposures per flight line )
× (number of flight lines )
 Total  Number  of  Exposures

Where:
longer dimension
number of exposures per f.l. =
De
longer dimension
=
B
shorter dimension
number of flight lines =
Df
shorter dimension
=
W
Flying  Height  of  Each  Flight  Line
(above  Mean  Sea  Level)

H msl = H mge + m.g.e

 Total  Time  of  Photography

! De "
t = $ % × (number of exposures per f.l.)
& v '
× (number of flight lines )

Where:
! De "
t = # $ = time between exposures
% v &
 Total  Time  of  Photography
Example:      
Given:    
    scale  =  1:15,000  
    f.o.  =  60%  
    s  =  9”  =  23  cm  
    average  velocity  of  aircraft  =  300  kph  
    20  exposures  per  flight  line  
    10  flight  lines    
Required:    t
 Total  Time  of  Photography
Solution:
 Example
A   project   area   is   16   km   long   in   the   east-­‐west   direction  
and   10.5   km   in   the   north-­‐south   direction.   Aerial  
photography  of  scale  1:12,000  will  be  used  with  end  
lap   and   side   lap   of   60%   and   30%,   resp.   A   6-­‐in   focal  
length   camera   and   a   23-­‐cm   square   photo   format   is   to  
be  used.    
Prepare  the:  
– flight  map  on  a  1:24,000  base  map  
– compute  the  total  number  of  photographs  needed
 Solution
• Equivalent  ground  distance  of  the  photo  format  
and  distance  between  flight  lines
S = 23 cm *12,000 = 2760 m
D f = S (1 − s.l.) = 1932 m

• Create  two  lines  that  will  become  your  first  and  last  
flight  lines.  Align  these  lines  such  that  there  is  a  
0.3S  (side  lap  dimension)  coverage  overhang  
outside  the  north  and  south  project  boundary  lines.
 Solution
• Distance  of  the  first  and  last  flight  lines  inside  
North  and  South  boundaries:
0.5S − 0.3S = 0.2 S = 0.2 * 2760 m = 552 m

• Number  of  spaces  between  flight  lines:

(width − 2 * 0.2S ) = 4.9 (round up to 5)
Df
• Number  of  flight  lines:
number of spaces + 1 = 6
 Solution
• Adjust  the  percent  side  lap  (for  integral  #  of  flight  
lines)
& s.l. # & s.l. #
2$ 0.5 − ! S + # of spaces $ 1 − ! S = project width
% 100 " % 100 "

& s.l. # & s.l. #

2$ 0.5 − ! 2760 m + 5 $ 1 − !2760 m = 10500 m
% 100 " % 100 "

s.l. = 31.4%
• Adjust  spacing  Df:
& 31.4 #
D f = $1 − ! S = 1893.4 m
% 100 "
 Solution
• Distance  between  exposure  De:
& 60 #
De = $1 − ! S = 1104 m
% 100 "

• #  of  photos  per  strip  (take  2  extra  photos  at  both  ends):
16000 m
= + 1 + 2 + 2 = 19.5 (use 20)
1104 m
 Solution
• Total  #  of  photos:
= ( photos per strip )(# of flight lines ) = (20)(6) = 120

• Spacing  of  flight  lines  on  map:

1893.4
= 100 = 7.9 cm
24000
GsE  188  Lab  3:  Flight  Planning