Here's my opinion/perspective only.
Lots of dependencies as you could imagine (vehicle mfg, airspace, connectivity, components required, etc.) Checklists can also fold in generic requirements about the client & location (corp. requirements for a private company or local municipality mandates). Consider that administrative, but necessary.
I break all the steps into efficient, related, bite-sized pieces. Some are performed in the office where gear is stored, some are at the customer site on check-in, and some are at the launch/recovery area immediately prior to spin-up.
Here is a generic pre-flight checklist that could work for most small COTS multi-rotor UAS. Fixed wing and sub-surface ROVs are
slightly different/more specialized.
- All required notifications made (internal/external)
- Proper flight mode selected on radio controller for this mission (GPS, Manual, Attitude, Sport, etc)
- All hardware properly connected/secured on vehicle
- Weather conditions are within safe limits for this flight (Part 107 minimums, but also adequate to provide imagery required)
- All system batteries have adequate charge for mission (verified thru FCS, not push-button led's on battery)
- Lens covers removed/storage card inserted (verify storage capacity via FCS if able)
- Launch area free of personnel and obstructions & Airspace clear of other aircraft, birds, other
I have seen pre-flight checklists that look like pre-flight Safety Manuals; defeats the purpose in my mind.
When you fly a commercial carrier to Vegas, he's not breaking out the manufacturer's manual to check flaps & stabs.
Checklists are meant to be distilled, abbreviated, most-high-risk items that we must do every time without fail. That's a short list.
Training, instructions/procedures, and repetition make up the rest.
You could certainly add additional steps if they will help your flight crew maintain the proper margin of safety or data delivery minimums.
Example:
- Verify connection with at least x # of satellites
- inspect propellers for wear/damage/proper connection
- perform EM/RF survey
- check NOTAMS for GPS outages
- verify camera lenses are clean, and on, and on.
- All of this, except a site EM/RF interference survey, can be performed ahead of time in the office though, right?
You could also consider adding a couple of checks immediately
after taking off. Example: verify proper vehicle response to stick inputs prior to departure from launch area, or verify RTK signal strength reading of x with ground station, and on, and on.
My respectful guidance here is to:
- Keep your checklist tight, tidy, and meaningful. More value as a brief but meaningful reminder to PIC
- Have a process to prepare the gear for field use, check in with the customer, verify the vehicle is safe to operate, make/get your clearances and announcements, scan the airspace, and get to work. You may have "checklists" for all these activities...and they're all "pre-flight".
- If you have a cadre of flight crews, trust but verify. Audit frequently to verify compliance & set expectations. Set up time for them to get questions answered and run through scenarios, what-if's, and hold after action/hot wash sessions. They'll feel heard and part of the process.
I hope that wasn't too much or more than you asked for Mr. Fuzz. Hope it helps as well.