A finished map is not a deliverable until it leaves your hands in a form the client's team can actually open. The engineer wants a georeferenced ortho in their GIS. The surveyor wants elevation as a grid. The CAD tech wants contours as linework. And nobody wants to wait on a cloud queue before the files exist.
That is the case for building GeoTIFF deliverables on the desktop: the same workstation that processed the flight produces the export, in the coordinate system the client asked for, with no per-map cloud processing fee in the middle. That is the SkyView Desktop approach. SkyView is on the waitlist and is not available today. You can join at pilotledger.com/#pricing.
What a GeoTIFF deliverables package usually means
On most commercial mapping jobs, "send me the files" really means a short, predictable list:
- Orthomosaic as a georeferenced GeoTIFF, for GIS, site planning, and markups.
- Elevation surface as a GeoTIFF grid, for cut-and-fill, drainage, and grading checks.
- Point cloud as LAS or LAZ, for anyone running their own analysis.
- Contours as CAD-ready linework.
- A 3D mesh when the client wants to see the site, not just measure it.
The work is not in any single file. It is in producing all of them consistently, from the same processing run, in the same coordinate system, so the ortho and the surface line up when someone stacks them.
What SkyView Desktop exports, per the product documentation
We checked the current SkyView documentation through Ask Mav, the Pilot Ledger assistant, before writing this. Here is what is confirmed:
- Orthomosaic: exports as a GeoTIFF.
- Surface grid: generated from selected point cloud classes and exported as a GeoTIFF.
- Filtered point cloud: exports as LAS or LAZ.
- Contours: export as DXF and GPKG.
- Source XYZ linework: exports as native XYZ JSON or CSV.
- 3D mesh: exports from the desktop.
Two details matter for professional delivery. First, the ortho process does not upsample. It keeps the native sampling of the source imagery, so the deliverable reflects what the flight actually captured rather than a resolution that was never there. Second, nothing here is labeled as a Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF. The documentation confirms a GeoTIFF export, and that is what we will claim.
Two ways to package the job
SkyView supports two delivery workflows, and most firms will use both.
1. Individual layer exports. Select a layer, such as the ortho GeoTIFF or the LAS/LAZ cloud, and export it. If the client works in a different coordinate system, choose Export in another CRS to save a converted copy. The original source file is preserved, so your processing record stays intact while the client gets the CRS they asked for. This is the path for the folder of GeoTIFFs, DXF contours, and point cloud files that goes to an engineering team.
2. Offline client package. For clients who want to view rather than analyze, select a point cloud, orthomosaic, or mesh layer and choose Deliver, then Create offline client package. The package can combine prepared point clouds, georeferenced orthomosaics, and meshes in one delivery.
Different audiences, same source data, same workstation.
Coordinate systems and vertical datums, stated plainly
CRS mismatches are where good maps become bad deliverables. SkyView lets you keep the source CRS at import or convert to another, and convert again at export. What it will not do is guess. If the original height unit is unknown, SkyView does not assume or shift a vertical datum for you.
That is the right behavior. A silent vertical shift is how a grading plan ends up a foot off. Confirm the vertical datum with the client before the job, record it with the project, and export to match.
It also means a DXF or a specific CRS is not, by itself, a survey-grade accuracy claim. Exporting to a client's coordinate system makes the file usable in their stack. It does not certify it. If accuracy matters on the job, check it before export, as we covered in orthomosaic QC checks on your own desktop.
Why the export belongs on the processing machine
From an operations standpoint, the argument is simple.
Fewer handoffs. The data is already on the workstation that processed it. Export there, and you skip uploading gigabytes of imagery just to download the products again.
Reprocessing stays cheap. If the client changes the CRS, wants a different contour interval, or asks for the surface built from different point cloud classes, you rerun locally. No per-map cloud processing fee means a revision is a work item, not a budget conversation.
One source of truth. The ortho, surface grid, point cloud, and contours all come from the same run. When the client overlays them, they agree.
The surfaces themselves are covered in DSM and DTM on your own desktop and contours from your local DSM. For clients who only need to look at the map, not load it into GIS, browser tiles are often the better delivery than any file. See client ortho tiles in the browser and sharing client orthos.
A practical export checklist
Before a deliverables package goes out:
- Confirm the client's horizontal CRS and vertical datum in writing.
- Run your QC pass on the ortho and surface on the desktop.
- Export the ortho and surface grid as GeoTIFF, in the client's CRS if it differs.
- Export the filtered point cloud as LAS or LAZ.
- Export contours as DXF for CAD users, GPKG for GIS users.
- Build an offline client package if the client also wants a viewing copy.
- Note the CRS, datum, and processing date in your delivery email.
Where Pilot Ledger fits
SkyView sells processing first: your hardware, no per-map cloud processing fee, deliverables built where the data lives. It is on the waitlist and not available today.
Pilot Ledger's quoting, jobs, and pay tools are the short second beat. Once the package ships, the job moves to invoice in the same system you quoted it in.
Join the waitlist
If your clients expect GeoTIFF deliverables from the desktop that processed the flight, in their coordinate system and without a cloud processing fee per map, join the SkyView waitlist at pilotledger.com/#pricing. Not available today. Processing first, then the package.