Joined about 2 months ago
Large scale mapping, Wingtra operator
on Night flying for thermal inspections - tips and gotchas
Bring a spotter with a radio. Seriously. It's not required for every scenario but it's cheap insurance. For thermal settings: manual temperature range, not auto. Set your range based on expected panel temperature. Auto will constantly adjust and make comparison between panels difficult.
on Using Starlink for NTRIP corrections in remote areas
How does the cost compare to just running a local base? If you've got two receivers you can set up base/rover and skip the internet entirely. Obviously less convenient but zero monthly cost.
on LAANC authorization denied - what are my options?
Alternative approach: can you fly lower and use a higher resolution camera? The M3E at 200ft gives you about 1" GSD. What resolution do you actually need? Sometimes the answer is working within the constraints rather than fighting them.
on Cold weather drone operations - tips for Alaska/Canada folks?
Keep batteries warm until launch. I use a cooler with hand warmers - keeps them around 70F. Insert battery, launch immediately. Cold batteries lose capacity fast. Also preheat the drone if it's been sitting in the cold. DJI has a battery preheat function, use it.
on 12,000 acre ranch mapping - Wingtra results
@CorridorKate About 45-50 minutes per flight covering 300-400 acres each. Went through about 60 battery cycles total. The Wingtra batteries held up great.
on 12,000 acre ranch mapping - Wingtra results
@PPK_Pete The ranch manager let us use their ATVs. We'd set 15-20 GCPs in the morning, fly that section, then move to the next area. Took about 2 hours of ground work per flight area.
on Best NDAA compliant drone for survey work?
If you're considering fixed wing at all, Wingtra has Blue List configurations. Swiss made. We use it for large federal projects and haven't had compliance issues. For multirotor though, Skydio X10 or Freefly Astro are your best bets. Parrot Anafi is more for quick recon than survey-grade mapping imo.
on Is the Zenmuse L2 worth it over L1?
For what it's worth, we're still running L1 and outsourcing the truly dense vegetation to a contractor with a higher-end system (RIEGL). L2 closes the gap but for serious forestry work you might still want more. Depends on your client's accuracy requirements really.
on Fixed wing for DOT corridor work - Wingtra vs Trinity?
Run a WingtraOne GEN II with the Sony RX1R II (42MP). Absolute game changer for corridors. We mapped 340 miles of transmission line ROW last year. Would have taken weeks with multirotors - did it in 4 days with Wingtra. PPK accuracy is solid, consistently hitting 1-2cm horizontal when processed correctly. The VTOL is clutch. Literally land it on the shoulder, swap batteries, launch again. 400+ acres per flight at 400ft AGL easy.