How do you actually prepare before a flight?

General Discussion
1

Hi everyone,

I have a practical question.

Before heading out to fly, how do you usually prepare?

  • Do you check only surface wind, or also wind at altitude?
  • Do you verify GPS satellite availability beforehand?
  • Do you always check airspace/maps before leaving?
  • Do you rely on specific apps, or mostly decide on-site?

Lately I’ve noticed that before a single flight I end up opening 3–4 different tools:
weather, maps, airspace info, signal checks, etc.

I’m curious about your real workflow.

Do you plan everything in advance?
Or do you make most decisions once you’re there?

Thanks — just trying to understand how others approach this.

2
  • I you go to a new area, always check if it is allowed to fly where you plan.
  • If the forecast say it is too much wind, you still dont know until you are there.
  • I don’t see how you can check GPS satellites before you leave. Just make sure there are sufficient before you take off (icon is white).

Why make it complicated? It also depends what kind of flight you are about to do. I will e.g. do different checks with the Neo 2 than my Air 3S.

Just make sure it is legal to fly (most important), then it’s up to you what you risk. I have been flying in 18m/s with the Air 3S and in -18 deg C with my Mini 5 Pro. None of which is recomendable (but if worked).

3

@Finn_Gange :

to name a couple

4

For recreational flights in previously flown locations, mostly just weather and LAANC if needed. For professional flights in new locations, everything you listed plus local jurisdiction rules (MPAs, State Parks, Reserves, municipalities, etc.). I check space weather more than GNSS satellite availability, unless the site has limited view of the sky, in which case I check both (see reply to other post for sources).

Wind at altitude is usually as or more important than at the ground (I use Windy, WindAlert and WindFinder). Tides matter as well for a lot of my work.

Depending on the sensor used and type of data being collected, lighting and sun angle are often important as well so that’s another thing to check or at least plan for.