Kopterflug inspects rotor blades from the inside, hubs, towers and nacelles – without rope access teams, without scaffolding, weather-independent. The Flyability ELIOS 3 flies through the blade root opening and documents what is invisible from the outside.
The Flyability ELIOS 3 – GPS-free, collision-safe interior drone for rotor blade and tower inspections.
Most wind turbine inspections focus on the exterior – surface cracks, leading edge erosion, lightning damage. But 90% of structurally relevant blade damage occurs on the inside: delaminations at bond lines, cracks at web adhesives, shell separations. These are invisible from outside – and cannot be captured by walk-arounds or exterior drones.
With the Flyability ELIOS 3, we inspect rotor blades from the inside: the drone flies through the root opening into the blade, systematically along pressure and suction sides, documenting bond lines, web connections and shell interior structures with 4K resolution and optional LiDAR. On removed blades on the ground as well as on the installed turbine.
In addition to rotor blade interior inspection, we capture towers, nacelles and support structures: corrosion in tower segment connections, cracks at flange connections, damage to walkways and fittings. For offshore and onshore turbines alike – coordinated with your condition monitoring team and inspectors.
Finding assessment and all decisions on repairs or continued operation remain with your rotor blade experts and certifiers – we deliver the data foundation: structured 4K video documentation of interior structures and LiDAR point clouds for geometry analysis on request.
ELIOS 3 for tower interior and nacelle, DJI M30T for rotor blades and external structure – combined for complete WEA inspection.
GPS-free SLAM navigation in the tower shaft, collision protection. Inspects weld seams, corrosion, cable runs and structural components without climbing work. Minimum opening DN 600 – suitable for standard service openings.
200x hybrid zoom for leading edge erosion, cracks and lightning damage. Radiometric thermography detects delaminations and voids. IP55 – deployable even in wind and rain.
Ground-level 3D capture of foundation structure, tower base and transitions. No tripod, spontaneously deployable. Output E57/LAZ for structural assessment and as-built planning.
ELIOS 3 inside, M30T outside – one inspection appointment for the entire structure. Report with 4K images, thermograms and 3D model for inspectors, insurers and operators.
Rotor blades, hub, tower – 80–150 m high. Industrial climbers = 3,000–5,000€/day, weather-dependent, fall risk. ELIOS 3 inspects from inside – in hours instead of days, without climbers.
With the Flyability ELIOS 3 we inspect wind turbines from the inside – safe, fast and without climbers. 90% of blade defects are only visible from inside. All 3 blades inspected in the shortest time. Early damage detection to avoid costly blade replacements:
Inspection through the rotor blade from the inside. 90% of defects only visible inside. All 3 blades in the shortest time. Early damage detection to avoid costly blade replacements.
Inspection of bearings, hydraulic components, transition pieces without disassembly. Cracks, corrosion, leaks.
Inspection of the tower inner wall, nacelle structures for corrosion, cracks and structural damage without climbers or scaffolding.
Inspection of the blade root from inside: bolts, inserts, laminate transitions. Critical area for structural integrity – damage here is not recognisable from outside.
Inspection of internal shear webs and bond lines over the entire blade length. Many critical damages arise exactly here – and are only visible from inside.
Inspection of conductors, contacts and cables inside the blade. Often underestimated, but extremely relevant – especially after lightning strikes.
Inspection of pitch bearings, hydraulic systems and electrical components in the hub. Thermography shows thermal anomalies without disassembly.
Inspection of the internal steel structure, frames and fixing points. Structural fatigue from continuous operation develops gradually.
Inspection of cable routes in hard-to-access nacelle areas. Thermography detects overheating points without intervention in the electrical installation.
Inspection of tower segments and flange connections over the entire height. Particularly relevant for long-term operation and repowering assessments.
Inspection of ladders, platforms and service equipment in the tower. Safety-critical components that must be regularly assessed.
Inspection of the tower-to-foundation transition for corrosion, moisture ingress and coating damage. Structural anomalies here are serious and often hard to access.
LiDAR 3D scan of a monopile – geometry documentation for structural analysis and condition monitoring.
Rotor blades, towers and nacelles often only reveal their critical damage from inside. We systematically document all safety-relevant areas without climbers – your WEA inspectors and service technicians assess the findings:
Result: Structured inspection report with 4K finding images, thermography evaluation and LiDAR 3D model – as data foundation for your WEA inspectors and operations management. Reproducible flight paths enable follow-up inspections with direct damage comparison over years.
Christian Engelke and Dipl.-Ing. Karsten Lehrke – your direct contacts for wind turbine drone inspection projects.
Christian Engelke and Dipl.-Ing. Karsten Lehrke are your direct contacts for wind turbine drone inspections. Since 2017, Kopterflug has been operating in complex industrial environments. We understand the requirements of the wind energy industry – minimal downtime, precise documentation, highest safety.
We advise without sales pressure – even if the recommendation is: commission the service rather than purchasing equipment.
From wind parks in Bremerhaven and Emden to turbines in Hamburg, Kiel, Rostock and Oldenburg – we inspect wind turbines nationwide across Germany.
Yes, the deployment is well established in the wind energy industry and is used worldwide by major wind park operators. DNV GL, TÜV and many OEMs accept the results as a basis for maintenance decisions and warranty cases – provided the data is structured, dated and reproducible. Well-prepared 4K and LiDAR data packages are recognised industry-wide as reliable inspection foundations.
The ELIOS 3 achieves penetration depths of up to around 65–70 m in one battery cycle (9–12 minutes flight time depending on payload). On modern blades of this length, it covers 60–80% of the blade length – significantly more than conventional rope access methods allow for interior inspection. For very long blades (>100 m), a second battery run can complete the coverage.
Exactly the damage responsible for 90% of costly blade failures and not recognisable from outside: delamination (layer separation), water ingress and moisture accumulation, fibre breaks, adhesive failure at webs and spar caps (bondline failures), blistering, cracks in spar caps, faulty or damaged lightning protection components and mechanical damage to fittings. Thermography additionally visualises moisture pockets and temperature anomalies.
Water and moisture change the thermal behaviour of fibre structures: moist zones cool faster or store heat differently than dry structural areas. Delaminations create air pockets that appear as temperature gradients in the thermal image. Thermography also detects hotspots from friction or electrical problems in the lightning protection system. The combination of 4K camera and thermography uncovers damage that would be recognisable neither visually alone nor from outside.
Yes. The LiDAR integrated in the ELIOS 3 generates centimetre-accurate 3D point clouds of the blade geometry. Crack widths and progressions, geometric deformations and thickness deviations can be measured in post-processing. The point clouds serve as the basis for digital twins – and when the same path is flown in a follow-up inspection, crack growth can be tracked exactly over years.
Typically 1.5 to 3 hours per turbine, including ascent to the hub, inspection of all three blades and return. The flight itself per blade takes a few minutes; positioning times (rotating blades into inspection position) are additional. At large wind parks, several turbines per day are realistic – significantly more than with conventional rope access. The turbine is back on the grid correspondingly quickly.
Standardly two people: a pilot who controls the drone secured in the hub, and an assistant/spotter at the ground or in the tower who secures and coordinates. The two-person team is our standard. No large rope access team of 5–10 people, no aerial work platform crew – personnel effort is significantly lower, and height exposure risk for our team is limited to the ascent to the hub.
Very high – once the drone is flying inside the blade, external wind has no influence. The turbine must stand still, but unlike rope access methods, there is no wind cut-out for the drone work itself. Classic rope access teams must stop work at wind speeds above 8–10 m/s; interior drone inspections can continue in this window. The only weather-dependent component: the ascent to the hub, which must be assessed according to safety protocols under extreme conditions.
The ELIOS 3 is designed for this scenario: the collision protection cage allows wall contacts without crash, reverse-spinning motors enable self-rescue if jammed, and the return-to-signal function safely returns the drone to the operator upon communication loss. In real deployments in confined spaces, the drone is extremely robust – collisions with blade structure are part of normal operation. For the very rare case of failure, a safety cord on the device is possible.
The resolution is sufficient for most relevant damage: the ELIOS 3 films in 4K Ultra HD (3840×2160, 30 fps) and takes 12-megapixel photos from close range. With 16,000 lumens LED lighting the dark blade interior is evenly illuminated. Fibre breaks, blistering, adhesive delaminations and micro-cracks are visually recognisable. For very fine hairline cracks under 0.5 mm, detectability depends on approach angle and distance – proximity and light are decisive.
Yes, this is one of the decisive advantages over climber inspections. FlyAware SLAM stores trajectories, 3D live maps and point clouds. In the next inspection, the same paths and camera positions can be reproduced. Crack growth, delamination progress or moisture increase over months and years can be cleanly documented. For condition-based maintenance and extended operational life, this is a significant advantage over one-time visual inspections.
Generally yes. The data is objective, timestamped, position-referenced (via SLAM positioning) and reproducible – exactly the properties that manufacturers, insurers and certifiers require for reliable damage documentation. Many wind park operators use drone inspection data as evidence for early damage detection, to avoid costly blade replacements or to invoke manufacturer warranty.
There is no fundamental height limit for the drone itself. The limit is hub accessibility – whether and how safely a pilot can reach the hub (interior ladder, lift or exterior ascent). In real deployments, hub heights of over 80–100 m have been inspected without problems. The higher the turbine, the larger generally the rotor blades – and the more relevant the drone, because rope access teams for interior inspections can only go so far anyway.
Yes, the hub and its components are a classic deployment area for the ELIOS 3. Corrosion, oil leaks, weld seam cracks, damage to pitch components and hydraulic components can be documented visually and by thermography – without disassembly. LiDAR captures the geometry. The transition piece at the tower-to-foundation transition can also be inspected from inside for cracks, corrosion and structural damage.
Very well – the tower is an ideal confined space for the ELIOS 3. The drone flies along interior walls, documents weld seam areas, corrosion spots, moisture damage in the base and foundation area, and transition points between tower segments. LiDAR captures geometry for deformation analyses. Older turbines (>15 years) often show first corrosion signs in the lower tower area – an early finding saves considerable costs compared to full renovation.
Rope access teams typically cost 3,000–5,000€ per day, are weather-dependent and need multiple days per turbine. Drone inspection with a small team working through several turbines daily is – in overall consideration of personnel, downtime days and logistics – up to 80% cheaper. Added to this is the revenue gain through shorter downtimes. Specific figures depend on park size, turbine type and scope – ask us for a tailored quote for your wind park.
Yes. Flyability documents several real cases: in a published case study, blade replacement costs of over 1 million USD per blade were avoided through early defect detection – four turbines were inspected in one day. Another documented deployment shows a complete blade inspection in 27 minutes compared to 1–2 days with conventional methods. On request we are happy to describe our own deployment examples.
As a guideline: 1–2 interior inspections per year for active turbines, 2 or more for older turbines (over 10–12 years) or at unfavourable site conditions (coast, high lightning density, aggressive moisture). After a lightning strike or unusual vibrations, an event-triggered immediate inspection is recommended. The biggest argument for shorter intervals: with reproducible drone data, inspection becomes condition-based rather than fixed – you inspect more frequently, because each inspection is cheap and fast.
The effort on your side is typically minimal: access to the hub (interior ladder or lift), brief safety briefing by your on-site safety officer, and stopping the turbine for the inspection period. No scaffolding, no large rope access teams, no special preparation for confined space entry. We coordinate access with your team and provide our own safety equipment for the ascent.
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