Flight Timing Explained: The Value of the Six-Mission Cadence

Flight Timing Explained: The Value of the Six-Mission Cadence

In-season crop scouting is critical—but let’s be honest, timing it right can be complicated. Growth stages don’t always follow the calendar. Conditions change, weather delays field access, and trying to fly every field “on demand” just isn’t practical at scale.

At Taranis, we set out to create a full-season flight program that’s as close to perfect timing as possible—without promising appointments we can’t guarantee or relying on textbook growth stages that real-world crops rarely follow.

So how did we do it? By developing a data-backed mission cadence built on agronomic priorities, regional experience, and a GDU-based model that actually works.

Why Six Missions?
Through years of testing and grower feedback, we landed on six strategically-timed flight missions to deliver high-value insights across the most critical decision windows of the season. It’s not arbitrary. It’s a carefully choreographed sequence designed to cover:
  1. Early emergence and stand assessment
  2. Weed pressure and herbicide validation
  3. Nutrient deficiencies and insect threats
  4. Disease onset and late-season control
  5. ROI-driving decisions from planting to harvest
Our goal: deliver timely, actionable, and profitable insights—not just snapshots.



Timing: Not By Growth Stage, Not On Request
You won’t see us offering “flights by appointment” or guaranteeing we’ll hit V5 on the nose. Crops develop differently across regions, hybrids, and conditions. That’s why we use a proprietary algorithm driven by GDU accumulation and best-practice agronomy to time each mission.

We anchor our first mission on actual planting dates and local soil temps to predict early emergence. From there, each flight builds off the previous one—layering data that adds context, confirms impact, and informs next steps.

Corn Mission Cadence



Mission 1 (GDU-triggered at ~120 GDUs)
Target: VE
  1. Stand count and early emergence evaluation
  2. Weed pressure baseline for herbicide timing
  3. Replant decisions and field prioritization
Mission 2 (~10 days later, ~V2-V3)
Post-emerge weed control review
  1. Herbicide efficacy assessment
  2. Weed escapes, species ID
  3. Insect pressure for non-GMO hybrids
Mission 3 (~10 days later, ~V4-V5)
Final chance to catch escapes
  1. Nutrient deficiency indicators emerge
  2. Critical scouting window before canopy closure
Mission 4 (~20 days later, ~V10-V12)
Nutrient stress + insect alerts
  1. Vigor analysis during rapid growth
  2. Timely insight for sidedress or foliar applications
Mission 5 (~18 days later, ~VT)
Early disease pressure detection
  1. Spray timing validation
  2. Opportunity for proactive fungicide application
Mission 6 (~18 days later, ~R1-R2)
Late-season disease + spray efficacy
  1. Monitor fungicide performance
  2. Determine second spray needs
Soybeans Mission Cadence


Mission 1 (GDU-triggered at ~260 GDUs)
Target: V1
  1. Emergence and population insights
  2. Early weed mapping for first-pass herbicide planning
Mission 2 (10 days later, ~V2-V3)
First post-emerge evaluation
  1. Herbicide impact and second pass decisions
  2. Early insect detection
Mission 3 (10 days later, ~V4-V5)
Weed escapes + nutrient flagging
  1. Confirm clean fields or act quickly
Mission 4 (20 days later, ~R1-R2)
Nutrient stress + insect activity
  1. Detect signs of yield-impacting deficiencies
  2. Time foliar applications when they matter most
Mission 5 (18 days later, ~R4-R5)
Early disease + defoliation tracking
  1. Gauge crop health at peak reproductive stage
Mission 6 (18 days later, mid-late R5)
Late disease, second fungicide validation
  1. Ensure clean finish and protect pod fill
The Bottom Line
Six missions. One full story. Taranis flights aren’t scheduled by guesswork or convenience—they’re powered by agronomic logic and the need for speed in decision-making. With every pass, we equip advisors and growers with the insights they need to act fast, validate recommendations and stay ahead of threats. That’s the power of a season-long strategy, backed by the world’s largest library of leaf-level crop intelligence.



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