The OP VTOL drone is aesthetically pleasing, I feel, but is over-engineered for a task such as mapping long distances. For your needs, a slow-stick with a KFM

The OP VTOL drone is aesthetically pleasing, I feel, but is over-engineered for a task such as mapping long distances. For your needs, a slow-stick with a KFM wing would suffice - the smallest, lightest, simplest, most capable airframe one can build, and that is a slow-stick[0] with KFM wings[1]. VTOL is cool for those of us raised on a healthy sci-fi diet, but is entirely unnecessary for a slow-stick, which can be hand-launched directly into the air (vertically) and landed at a stall within a meter. Plus, it is small, light, effective and extremely simple, which means its a lot easier to repair and maintain. Add some ardupilot magic and you've got a really capable platform for surveys and reconnaissance. tl;dr Consider building a small fleet of slow-stick+KFM planes, attach your camera to it, and do your survey that way .. [0] - https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?1395335-Beginner-plane-both-easy-to-build-and-easy-to-fly-%28with-plans-and-videos%29 https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?1395335-Begin... [1] - https://www.flitetest.com/articles/kfm-wings-a-basic-explanation https://www.flitetest.com/articles/kfm-wings-a-basic-explana...