Free access now available

DJI drone mission planning for mapping surveys

Draw your survey area, choose semi-auto or full-auto capture, and export a WPML-format KMZ. Terrain-following heights and automatic flight splitting are built in.

Start Planning Free See how it works

Browser-based Terrain-aware WPML-compatible KMZ

Build your flight

Aircraft

Mission stats

Mission

— Flight time

— Distance

— Area

— Batteries

Capture quality

— GSD/px

— Front overlap

Route details

— Strips

— Waypoints

— Photos

Survey

Mapping mode

Side Overlap

Speed

m/s

Altitude

Margin

Direction

Turn style

Cross-hatch

Simulation The full planner adds terrain following, flight splitting, and mission export.

0lifetime QGIS plugin downloads

0average QGIS downloads per day

Freeaccess for version 1

WPMLstructured DJI mission format

Supported DJI drones

DJI Mavic 4 Pro
DJI Mini 3 Pro
DJI Mini 4 Pro
DJI Mini 5 Pro
DJI Air 3
DJI Air 3S
DJI Mavic 3 Classic

The Problem

Survey cameras got cheap. Survey flying didn't.

Anyone can afford a drone with a survey-grade camera. Almost nobody can fly it as a survey aircraft. DJI is where the gap is widest today, and where FlyPath starts.

Survey tools depend on the aircraft

DJI mapping, terrain, and mission-transfer features vary by aircraft, controller, application, and firmware. Consumer workflows do not consistently include survey-grid, overlap, and resolution planning.

Compatibility remains fragmented

Third-party support also varies by aircraft and controller. A planner must separate route creation from the exact application and transfer workflow used to load and verify the mission.

Large sites are hard to coordinate

Dividing one survey across several pilots while preserving overlap, coverage, and field progress still requires careful coordination. Corridor routes and cross-hatch passes already help single-pilot large sites in FlyPath today.

Multi-pilot handoff: available soon

Survey Patterns

Choose your survey pattern

Choose the route that fits your survey area and the imagery you need.

Parallel 2D survey grid covering a polygon on the map

2D area grid

Cover a survey area with parallel passes for mapping imagery.

Cross-hatch

Add a perpendicular pass for stronger 3D reconstruction.

Corridor

Follow a road, pipeline, or coastline with a narrow route.

Orbit 3D

Circle a subject to capture it from multiple angles.

Step by Step

How to plan a mission

Draw your area, configure the route, and export a WPML-format KMZ for review.

Survey area polygon drawn on the satellite map in the FlyPath planner

Draw or import a boundary

Draw a survey polygon on the map or import a polygon from a KML file.

Generated flight route with the flight settings panel in the FlyPath planner

Tune and validate the route

Choose semi-auto or full-auto capture, then set aircraft, altitude, speed, overlap, margin, safety actions, and automatic fastest direction.

Cochrane survey centered on the map with terrain follow enabled and two flights shown in yellow and orange

Plan terrain and flight splits

Preview elevation and clearance, add terrain-following heights, and divide long routes around battery and waypoint limits.

Confirmed mission review ready to download a ZIP with two DJI WPML KMZ flights

Save and export

Reopen saved missions and download one WPML KMZ or a ZIP of continuous KMZ flights.

Terrain Aware

Missions that follow the ground

Built-in elevation data helps you plan per-waypoint heights, with no separate elevation account or subscription.

⛰️

Terrain follow

Set a tolerance in metres and FlyPath inserts waypoints wherever the ground rises or falls beyond it, keeping height above terrain steady.

🗻

Contours and elevations

Overlay contour lines at your chosen interval and colour, and show ground elevation beside each waypoint while you plan.

📈

Elevation profile

Draw a line across the site to see its elevation profile, with the line length and the ground height at both ends.

Flight Safety

Plan with confidence. Fly with responsibility.

FlyPath is a planning aid, not flight authorization or a substitute for pilot judgment.

⌖

Review every route

Confirm the boundary, waypoints, altitude, speed, camera behavior, finish action, and controller-loss action.

◆

Verify compatibility

Loading and flying the file still depends on the target aircraft, controller, DJI application, and firmware. Open every export in your intended workflow and verify its heights and actions before flight.

☁

Assess the real site

Check airspace, permissions, people, obstacles, weather, battery reserve, and current conditions before every flight.

Global Reach

Used in 19 countries

FlyPath QGIS plugin downloads, tracked across the drone mapping community worldwide.

Source: QGIS Plugin Repository · 1810 tracked downloads (top 19 countries) · Updated 6 Oct 2026 UTC

FAQ

Before you plan your first mission

Is FlyPath free?

Yes. The current web release is free. If paid plans or limits are introduced later, they will be presented before any charge applies.

What can I export today?

FlyPath exports one DJI WPML KMZ or, with flight splitting enabled, a ZIP of continuous KMZ flights. Terrain-following heights can be included. Always inspect every file in the intended DJI application before flying.

How does flight splitting work?

Set a minimum number of flights and a per-flight waypoint limit. FlyPath divides the route at existing waypoints into continuous flights, not the survey area itself. Each flight starts where the previous one ended, and all of them download as separate KMZ files in one ZIP.

How does terrain following work?

Choose a tolerance in metres. Along each flight line, FlyPath samples built-in global elevation data and inserts a waypoint whenever the ground has changed more than your tolerance, giving every waypoint its own flight height so the drone holds a steady height above terrain.

What are semi-auto and full-auto capture?

Semi-auto keeps capture control with the pilot. Full-auto adds photo actions along each flight line from the selected front overlap and the aircraft camera profile. Review every generated camera action before flight.

What is corridor mode?

Draw a centre line instead of a polygon and set a corridor width. FlyPath plans a linear route along it, for roads, pipelines, coastlines, and other narrow sites where an area grid wastes flight time.

What does cross-hatch do?

Cross-hatch flies the survey grid a second time, perpendicular to the first pass. It roughly doubles flight time and photo count in exchange for stronger 3D reconstruction and point-cloud stability.

Which aircraft profiles are available?

FlyPath includes DJI Mini 3 Pro, Mini 4 Pro, Mini 5 Pro, Air 3, Air 3S, Mavic 3 Classic, and Mavic 4 Pro profiles. Multi-camera aircraft must use the wide mapping camera. The Matrice 4E remains in validation.

Can FlyPath check airspace or weather?

FlyPath can display elevation contours, preview terrain clearance, and export terrain-following heights. It does not provide airspace authorization, no-fly-zone, weather, or obstacle checks.

Does an exported mission guarantee a safe flight?

No. FlyPath is a planning aid. The pilot remains responsible for route review, compatibility checks, legal compliance, site assessment, and safe operation.

Team

Built by drone mapping people

Salar Ghaffarian

Co-founder · CEO

Sets the survey maths behind overlap, terrain following, and capture quality.

Alireza Ahmadi

Founding Engineer

Builds the planner, the route engine, and the WPML export pipeline.

FlyPath is made by Dronnix. Questions or feedback? Get in touch.

Start Planning

Plan your next mapping mission

Create a free account to save your survey plans and export mission files.

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