TCAS Training — Course 14 · Operations
Terrain-Follow Mapping & Altitude Troubleshooting
A diagnosis and correction workshop for the altitude-ceiling problems that block a legal terrain-follow route over uneven ground.
Included in the Matrice 4E Field Operations System — $349 ($426 individually), and in the Complete Mastery System ($799 introductory).
Prelaunch: online checkout is not open yet. The complete 15-course Rev. 3 curriculum is written and finalized — join the launch list and we will email enrollment details, pricing confirmation, and availability the moment it opens.
What You Will Produce
A documented diagnosis and correction record for an altitude-limit failure on a terrain-varied site.
Who This Is For
- Operators working in Appalachian or otherwise uneven terrain
- Pilots whose planned route is refused or clipped by an altitude limit
Prerequisites & Required Equipment
- Course 12 or equivalent mission planning experience
What You Will Learn
- Calculating required controller ceiling: planned AGL + highest terrain rise above takeoff + a small operating margin
- Setting Max Flight Altitude in DJI Pilot 2 > Safety above that takeoff-relative ceiling when a legal AGL terrain-follow route requires it
- Why the controller ceiling is a device setting and not the legal AGL limit
- That actual AGL, airspace, obstacles, and VLOS still control the flight
- Diagnosing altitude-reference confusion between takeoff-relative and terrain-relative systems
- How terrain variation affects GSD and reconstruction quality
- When to split a site into multiple altitude blocks instead
Hands-On Assignment
Take a terrain-varied site, calculate the required controller ceiling, correct the setting, and document the diagnosis and the legal AGL reasoning.
Required Final Deliverable / Success Criteria
- Required ceiling calculated and shown
- Correction applied and recorded, with the legal AGL limit stated separately
- Troubleshooting log completed
Planned Course Materials
The complete 15-course Rev. 3 curriculum is written and finalized. Online delivery, downloads, and checkout are being set up now — course files are not downloadable today. Join the launch list and we will email you when enrollment opens.
- Structured workflow training manual (Rev. 3 curriculum — written and finalized, delivered at launch)
- Exact verified reference settings, clearly separated from job-dependent decisions
- Printable field or processing checklist (delivered at launch)
- Project-folder template with the TCAS naming convention (delivered at launch)
- QA pass/fail release criteria for the final deliverable
- Troubleshooting notes from real failures on completed TCAS workflows
- Terrain-follow troubleshooting guide
Secure card checkout through Square is being connected. Until it is live, submit an enrollment request and TCAS will reserve your seat and send a payment link.
Paid courses can include a TCAS Certificate of Completion. It is a course-completion credential documenting the workflow you finished and the deliverable you produced — it is not an FAA certificate, surveying license, engineering credential, or any regulatory or professional certification.
An RTK FIX status alone is not proof of validated absolute accuracy. Projects that require survey-grade or control-based accuracy need appropriate ground control, independent validation, and licensed professionals where legally required. Students are taught to distinguish visualization and photogrammetry products from products that require validated survey control or licensed professional sign-off.
TCAS training is independent professional-development training and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the FAA, DJI, QGIS, Blender, Cesium, Apple, or other manufacturers, software providers, or professional licensing boards unless expressly stated. Completion does not grant an FAA certificate, surveying license, engineering credential, or other professional license.