Remote sensing has become a more accessible tool for site investigations, environmental monitoring and study area mapping. We’re using a DJI Phantom 4 for mapping the Saint Helena cloud forest for DEFRA funded project DPLUS051 and have had support and advice from the Royal Botanic Garden Kew’s remote sensing team.
We were granted permission to fly some test flights at Wakehurst Place, the home of the Royal Botanic Garden Kew’s Millennium Seedbank, and in September spent a day flying drones with Kew’s remote sensing team. We spent the day learning more about flying in remote locations, gaining certification for flying drones close to operational airspace, techniques for obtaining good aerial photographs and the pitfalls of taking drones through customs at international airports! The Kew team use a long range fixed wing drone for mapping habitats, whereas the DPLUS051 team had opted to use a short range quadcopter on Saint Helena. The teams had a really useful day flying the drones, understanding the advantages and disadvantages of a long range fixed wing solution over a short range quadcopter. At the end of the day, both solutions are great for different applications. You just need to know when to apply the right solution. We’ll talk more about flying the DJI Phantom 4 on Saint Helena and our experience taking the drone through airport customs in later posts.
Many thanks to Justin Moat, Ed Ikin and Tim Wilkinson at Kew for making the day happen.
