GUIDE / MAPPING AIRFRAMES
Fixed-wing vs multirotor mapping
Fixed-wing is not automatically better for every large site, and multirotor is not automatically inefficient. The polygon, footprint, turns, exclusions, launch area, wind, and reserve determine the actual route.
Multirotor strengths
Compact launch and recovery, hover, tight geometry, point inspection, and simpler transitions. Common penalties are lower cruise efficiency and more sorties on very large open sites.
Fixed-wing and VTOL strengths
Efficient forward flight and wide-area coverage potential. Required turn radius, transition paths, payload configuration, and field constraints must be modeled rather than ignored.
Compare using the same requirements
Hold GSD, overlap, coverage polygon, exclusions, wind, and reserve policy constant. Then compare aircraft-specific distance, time, sorties, achieved detail, and missing evidence.