By Grant Leaverton, Vice President & General Manager Advanced Aerial Inspection Resources (AAIR) Commercial-grade drones are proving to be more than a novelty. Advanced optics, cameras, battery life, data analytic systems, and the ability to remain stable in strong winds means these machines can provide a valuable service at wind farms. Drone inspections of turbine towers…
What drones can do for the wind industry
In this WindTalk podcast, we speak with Grant Leaverton, Vice President and General Manager of Advanced Aerial Inspection Resources (AAIR), about the use of unmanned aerial systems or drones at wind sites. AAIR is a conditional assessment firm that uses drones to provide aerial inspections and asset management to the wind and utility industries.
Drones are in the air
For wind farm owners, drones or unmanned aerial inspector, could be as good as a “$10,000 off your next blade inspection” coupon. Carrying 24-megabit pixel cameras or high-def video, inspecting blades is just their first assignment. Paul Dvorak / Editor Quadcopters and similar remote-controlled air vehicles have been available for years. YouTube is full of…
Here’s what drones might do for the wind industry
It’s been a long time coming, but the FAA has finally released guidelines for commercial UAV operations that would allow unmanned aerial vehicles – drones – carry cameras to inspect wind farms and other utility infrastructure. The technology has been available for years. YouTube is full videos from hobbyists flying quad-copters with GoPros showing the…
Webinar: New ideas for trimming O&M costs
There is plenty of room for improvement in operations and maintenance activities. James Parle will tell how a team from Muir Data systems developed a system that lets wind tech report more thoroughly on their activities with easy-to-use portable devices. And Grant Leaverton will report on how unmanned aerial vehicles can provides high resolution images…
Advanced Aerial Inspection Resources gets OK from FAA for its drone inspections
Advanced Aerial Inspection Resources (AAIR), a Houston based provider of inspection sUAS (small Unmanned Aircraft Systems) services to the electric power and wind energy industries says it has been awarded a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Section 333 Exemption allowing the use of its drone technology in the United States National Air Space (NAS). “Section 333…