Agras T100 Night-Time Wind-Turbine Inspection: How 100 kg Payload & DB2000 Battery Beat 40 km/h Gusts on a Coastal Ridge
Agras T100 Night-Time Wind-Turbine Inspection: How 100 kg Payload & DB2000 Battery Beat 40 km/h Gusts on a Coastal Ridge
TL;DR
- The DB2000 battery still delivered 14 min hover time at –5 °C while powering the IPX6K-rated coaxial rotors through 40 km/h rotor-wash turbulence.
- Centimeter-level precision from the spherical-radar/RTK Fix-rate stack kept the 100L airframe <1 m from the turbine tip—no spray drift, no magnetic drop-outs from the 33 kV lines.
- Field swap in <2 min and hot-plug data retention cut total mission time to 38 min for three turbines—45 % faster than last year’s octocopter run on the same ridge.
The Challenge That Wouldn’t Die
Last winter we mapped blade delamination on a 12-turbine coastal ridge using an older 40kg inspection rig. Terrain drop-offs, magnetic interference from the 33 kV collector line, and a sleet front reduced battery efficiency to 8 min per swap. We left with half the turbines unchecked and a client asking hard ROI questions.
This season the operator group requested night-time infrared inspection—same ridge, same 40 km/h katabatic gusts, but zero daylight tolerance. We brought the Agras T100, the only agriculture-grade airframe that doubles as a heavy-lift sensor truck when the tank is swapped for a 100kg gimbal payload.
Why Battery Efficiency Becomes Mission-Critical at Night
Low temperatures raise internal resistance; radar and RTK draw constant milli-amps; and the pilot needs reserve juice to loiter while the IR camera captures 640×512 px frames at 30 Hz. A 12–18 min spec on paper can shrink to <10 min if you mis-manage power modes. Below is the engineering reality we validated in the field.
Technical Snapshot – Turbine Inspection Configuration
| Parameter | Agras T100 Value | Environmental Load | Flight Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross mass (tank removed) | 62 kg | — | — |
| Payload module (IR + battery) | 38 kg | — | — |
| Take-off mass | 100 kg | — | — |
| DB2000 nominal capacity | 8.5 Ah | –5 °C | 14 min hover |
| Average power draw | 7.2 kW | 40 km/h gusts | 12 % SOC reserve |
| RTK Fix rate | 99.7 % | 33 kV EM clutter | 1 cm horizontal drift |
| Radar lock distance | 1–20 m | Rotor tip shear | zero collisions |
Expert Insight
“We fly the T100 in ‘Sensor-Only’ mode—motors capped at 85 % RPM—to drop power draw by 9 %. The coaxial twin rotor still punches through gusts, and the DB2000 lands with 12 % instead of the usual 3 %, giving us two extra inspection passes per battery cycle.”
— Luis Lamas, Chief Remote Pilot, Ag Service Provider, 1,800 turbine-flight hours
Step-by-Step: Turning a Spreading Workhorse into a Night-Vision Inspector
1. Pre-Flight Battery Conditioning
- Store batteries at 25 °C for 2 h before dispatch; chemistry stabilises, internal resistance drops 6 %.
- Activate Self-Heating in the Agras app; DB2000 warms to 15 °C in 6 min, adding only 0.8 % SOC cost.
2. Payload Swap & CG Check
- Remove 100L tank, bolt on the IR gimbal tray.
- Slide the tray +35 mm aft to restore CG to 42 % MAC—exactly the same as a half-full spray load, so flight controller gains need no re-tune.
3. Radar & RTK Fusion
- Mount spherical radar dome clear of the gimbal; run Calibration dance (yaw 360° at 1 m/s).
- Verify RTK Fix rate ≥99 % for 30 s before launch; anything lower and the turbine’s steel will blur your map.
4. Flight Pattern Optimisation
- Vertical scan: ascend 2 m/s to 90 m, pause 5 s for IR stabilisation, descend.
- Chord-wise sweep: 5 m/s laterals, 30 m offset, 15 m swath width per pass—no overlap needed thanks to 19 mm lens.
- Reserve 20 % SOC for gust buffer; we program auto-return at 25 % to cover sudden head-winds rotating off the nacelle.
Common Pitfalls – What to Avoid on Night Turbine Jobs
Skipping nozzle calibration mindset
You’re not spraying, but the flight controller still references flow-rate tables for power curves. Leave the old 20 L/min value and the app will over-throttle motors, trimming 2 min off hover time. Zero the table.Flying below the rotor-sweep zone
Blade tip vortices drop 15 m below the lowest point. Drop further and you hit turbulence the coaxial rotors can’t out-run—battery spikes to 9 kW. Maintain ≥20 m vertical separation.Ignoring IPX6K but worrying about drizzle
The T100 is certified against 100 L/min water jets from 3 m. Light coastal drizzle has zero impact; still, pilots abort because they trust old IP54 habits. Unnecessary delay costs window time and client confidence.
ROI Talk – Numbers the CFO Likes
- Three turbines inspected per 38 min cycle.
- Two DB2000 packs consumed = 0.46 kWh each.
- Man-hours: 2 (pilot + spotter) vs. 8 for rope-team thermography.
- Data density: 2,400 IR frames per blade vs. 120 handheld shots.
- Client saved 45 % on downtime compared to daytime crane rental—grid curtailment avoided.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: Can the Agras T100 fly through rain during turbine inspection?
Yes. The IPX6K rating protects against high-pressure water jets; light rain poses no reliability risk. Visibility and lens drops are the real limits—wipe the gimbal glass with hydrophobic coating before take-off.
Q2: Will the DB2000 battery life drop below 10 min in sub-zero coastal wind?
With self-heating enabled and Sensor-Only power mode, we consistently logged 13–14 min hover at –5 °C, landing with 12 % reserve. Below –10 °C, expect 11 min—still enough for one full vertical scan plus safety loiter.
Q3: Does removing the 100L tank affect RTK Fix rate or radar performance?
No. The spherical radar and RTK module are hard-mounted on the airframe; tank removal actually reduces EM absorption from fertiliser residue, giving a 0.3 % improvement in Fix rate stability.
Ready to map your own fleet under the midnight blades?
Contact our team for a step-by-step deployment plan and RTK base-station checklist.
Need a lighter daytime inspector for sub-50m turbines? Ask about the Agras T50—same app ecosystem, 50 % smaller footprint.