The short answer
Most site drone surveys – whether drone LiDAR or photogrammetry – are flown in a single visit, with the actual flying often taking well under an hour, and the finished data delivered within 48 hours.
How much ground you cover in a day depends on the method and the detail required: photogrammetry covers more area faster, high-density LiDAR trades area for detail, and corridors are measured in kilometres rather than acres. The honest rule is that on smaller jobs the time on site is short and the schedule is driven by mobilisation and processing, not by flying – the same reason smaller surveys are priced by mobilisation rather than by the acre.
How long is the flying itself?
Less than most people expect. A defined site – a development plot, a yard of 10–15 stockpiles, a building and its grounds – is typically flown in roughly 20–40 minutes of flight time, sometimes across two or three battery swaps. The drone flies a pre-planned automated grid or corridor at a set altitude and overlap, so the capture is fast and repeatable. The rest of a site visit is setup: placing and measuring ground control points, and safety and airspace checks.
How much area can you cover in a day?
It depends on the method and the accuracy you need, so treat these as planning ranges, not promises:
- Photogrammetry covers the most ground – a single day can survey a large site or several smaller ones, because the camera captures a wide swath per pass.
- High-density LiDAR trades area for detail. To get 150–500+ points per m² through vegetation, the drone flies lower and slower with tighter line spacing, so daily coverage is smaller than photogrammetry – but it reaches ground that photogrammetry cannot.
- Corridors (power lines, roads, rail, rivers) are measured by length: we have surveyed a 15 km high-voltage corridor as a single project rather than by area.
The variables that move these numbers most are ground-sample/point-density spec, flight altitude (controlled airspace can cap height), terrain and vegetation, and how much ground control the accuracy target demands.
Why small jobs aren’t proportionally faster
Below roughly 50 acres, the clock is dominated by mobilisation – travel, flight planning, airspace coordination, setting control – not by the size of the site. Doubling the area does not double the day, which is exactly why a LiDAR survey of a small site has a higher effective cost per acre than a large one. The flying is the quick part.
When do I get the data?
Deliverables are issued within 48 hours of the final flight – classified point cloud, bare-earth DTM, contours, DXF/DWG and orthomosaic as required, in ITM (EPSG 2157) with Malin Head heights. Processing millions of points and classifying ground from vegetation is the step that sets the turnaround, not the flight. Larger or higher-density datasets take proportionally longer to process, and we will give you a firm delivery date with the quote.
Planning your project timeline
For a typical single site, plan for one flying visit and data within two working days of that visit – from your first call, a fixed-price quote comes back within 24 hours. For multi-site programmes or long corridors we schedule the flights and stage the deliverables. Send us the site boundary (a line on a map or an Eircode) and the outputs you need, and we will confirm the flying time, coverage and delivery date up front.
Not sure which approach fits your site?
Send us the site boundary and the deliverables you need – we’ll come back with a methodology and a fixed price within 24 hours.
Request a 24-Hour Quote →Frequently asked questions
How long does a typical drone survey take on site?
The flying is usually 20–40 minutes for a defined site; the full visit including ground control and checks is often a couple of hours. Most site surveys are completed in a single visit.
How much land can a drone survey in one day?
It depends on method and detail: photogrammetry covers large areas or several sites in a day; high-density LiDAR covers less because it flies lower and slower for detail; corridors are planned by kilometre. We confirm expected coverage with the quote.
How soon do I get the results?
Within 48 hours of the final flight – point cloud, DTM, drawings and orthomosaic in your CAD coordinate system. Larger datasets take a little longer to process; you get a firm date with the quote.
Why isn’t a small survey much quicker than a large one?
Because mobilisation – travel, planning, airspace, setting control – dominates smaller jobs, not the flying. The area has less effect on the day than people expect, which is also why small sites cost more per acre.
Can you survey multiple sites in one day?
Often yes, for photogrammetry on nearby sites, depending on travel and airspace. For high-density LiDAR or corridors we plan the schedule around the detail required. Tell us the sites and we will map out the day.