14 unmanned systems
inside
April/May 2016
T
he first year AES Wind Generation's
Buffalo Gap Wind Farm deployed
unmanned aerial systems to inspect
its turbines, the team found about $1 million
worth of blade damage that needed repair.
That was in 2014, and over the last two years
the farm has continued to work with AAIR, the
company that operated the UAS, to make wind
turbine inspections more cost effective and safer.
"Finding that amount of damage was pretty
significant," farm site planner Justin Calcote
said, noting most of it was caused by lightning
LIKE
Images taken from
AAIR's Falcon 8 during wind
turbine inspections.
AIR INSPECTION AIR INSPECTION
FLY
information they need.
traditional methods to get the
aerial systems instead of
owners are turning to unmanned
which is why many wind farm
a costly, time-consuming task—
Inspecting wind turbines can be
by Renee Knight