One of the most important responsibilities of operating your drone is conducting a thorough and proper preflight inspection. Unfortunately, we see this as often one of the most overlooked and misunderstood parts of executing a safe and successful mission. Remote pilots often take for granted the small UAS, its capabilities and that they are operating in the national airspace system along with other aircraft, manned and unmanned. While we all expect the flight mission to go according to plan, there are many reasons as to why it may not. Ignorance to having a “bad day” for a professional aviator is simply not acceptable, therefore following a preflight checklist is important to mitigate the hazards and risks associated with flying. The preflight planning starts as soon as you accept the mission and you must learn to live by checklists as humans are fallible – we forget stuff and are distracted easily!

We strongly recommend you use a general drone preflight checklist and add to it as necessary with specifics to your aircraft, crew and mission objective. Don’t forget to include tracking your maintenance items like props, batteries, SD cards and equipment firmware updates just to name a few.

Here is the general preflight checklist from our Dronitek Remote Pilot Logbook:

▪ Remote Pilot self-checks completed – IMSAFE & PAVE.
▪ Weather, airspace, NOTAM’s briefing completed – 1800WXBRIEF.com, mobile apps.
▪ Airspace authorization received for controlled airspace (if necessary).
▪ Required pilot documentation (remote pilot certificate, aircraft registration, FAR waiver if necessary).
▪ FAA Sectional chart, Chart Supplement or equivalent accessible.
▪ Flight area inspection complete including RF, magnetic, Kp index & GPS interference points.
▪ Flight crew briefing complete including lost communications and emergencies.
▪ Public and private property, persons not involved in flight mission identified / notified.
▪ Flight logbook available to record flight data.
▪ Remote pilot / crew vests on, “remote aircraft in operation” sign posted, perimeter secured.
▪ Aircraft inspection including fuselage, landing gear, camera / gimbal attachment secure.
▪ Propellers inspected for cracks, chips, locked in place and secure.
▪ Motors checked for abnormal noises prior to start.
▪ Aircraft batteries fully charged, cycles noted, spares available and ready.
▪ RC transmitter batteries fully charged, spares available and ready.
▪ Adequate SD card memory storage, installed in aircraft, spares available and ready.
▪ Camera / Sensor lens clean.
▪ Battery installed in aircraft and secure.
▪ Aircraft antenna(s) secure.
▪ Controller display / tablet working, secure and battery fully charged, visor?
▪ 2-way radio communications with all crew confirmed, batteries charged, backup device (cell phone).
▪ RC controller ON then aircraft ON, binding confirmed, IMU & compass calibrated if necessary.
▪ Control and video feed interference, GPS signal (if required), compass all checked.
▪ Aircraft battery voltage telemetry confirmed, set battery voltage warning to 30%.
▪ Failsafe mode function enabled, RTH settings correct (GPS or RC controller return).
▪ Takeoff and landing areas identified and clear of debris and obstructions.
▪ Camera / Sensor function checked.
▪ Verbally “CLEAR” flight area.
▪ Elevate and confirm flight control and all systems operating normally before departure.
▪ Maintain VLOS at all times, be aware of your surroundings and fly safe!