Wind Turbine Blade Inspections with the Elios 3

Discover how the Elios 3 transformed the process of wind turbine blade inspections, delivering results in just one day instead of five!

Key Benefits at a Glance

Safety Inspecting a wind turbine blade involves working at height and in tight spaces—something that can be dangerous for humans. The Elios 3 eliminates these risks by allowing remote inspections without the need for human entry into the blade.	Speed The Elios 3 completed an entire blade inspection in just 27 minutes, while traditional methods could take over two hours with a rover or up to two days with a person. This makes drone inspections the fastest option available.
Data Quality With its 4K camera and LiDAR point cloud, the Elios 3 captured high-resolution images of lightning damage and previous maintenance work along the length of the blades, providing detailed and accurate data for analysis.	Access Once inside the hub, the Elios 3 can easily fly into each blade without needing to reposition. Its compact design allows it to reach deep into the blade, making it possible to inspect areas that are otherwise difficult to access remotely.

According to the Global Wind Energy Council, there are more than 341,000 wind turbines installed worldwide. These towering structures are highly efficient, with the average wind turbine from 2020 capable of powering a household for a month in just 46 minutes. However, maintaining them is no small task.

Wind turbine inspections are challenging due to their height and confined spaces. Workers must undergo specialized training to safely enter and exit the blades, which adds to the complexity and cost of the process. Finding qualified personnel for such tasks can also be difficult, especially in remote areas.

Why Use Drones for Wind Turbine Inspections?

In February 2024, Swedish service provider Drone Solution partnered with a wind turbine management company to test whether drones could be used to inspect the inside of wind turbines. While they already used drones for external inspections, this was the first time they had attempted internal blade inspections. Drone Solution is one of the few operators in the world with the expertise to perform such tasks.

The sheer size of wind turbines makes them difficult to inspect

Inspections are critical for identifying manufacturing faults or lightning damage. A lightning strike might only leave a small mark on the outside, but internal damage could be severe and pose a serious risk. In some cases, a blade may even explode if the Lightning Protection System is not properly configured. Regular inspections help prevent such issues, especially considering that repairing a damaged blade can cost up to $1 million.

Drone Solution uses the Elios 3 for various complex inspections, including those in confined spaces. They wanted to show how drones could revolutionize the inspection process by offering a faster, safer, and more efficient way to check both the inside and outside of wind turbines.

Planning the Inspection with the Elios 3

Each wind turbine has three blades, and each must be inspected individually. Traditional methods require trained personnel to crawl inside, navigating through narrow sections and shear webs. This process is slow, labor-intensive, and costly. It can take between 5 to 9 days to inspect an entire turbine, depending on blade size.

Drone Solution aimed to demonstrate how much faster the Elios 3 could complete the same task, reducing inspection time significantly and improving safety for workers.

The Inspection Process: A Drone Wind Turbine Blade Inspection

The demonstration involved a turbine with 67-meter-long blades. After completing their training, the inspectors took a 20-minute elevator ride to the hub, where they accessed each blade through hatches. They pitched two blades upwards to 10 and 2 o'clock positions to ensure safe flight paths in case of any issues.

The Elios 3 outside of an access hatch on a turbine

The Elios 3 was flown into each blade, navigating along the shear webs for over 30 meters. Using the 4K camera, the pilot captured visual data and photos of potential issues. The FlyAware LiDAR scan helped navigate the space when the drone was out of sight, ensuring precise movement and coverage. The entire inspection was completed in just 27 minutes across three flights.

After inspecting the interior, the team used another drone to survey the exterior of the turbine.

Snapshot: the Elios 3 flying inside a turbine blade with the shear web on the left

Results of the Drone Wind Turbine Blade Inspection

Both Drone Solution and their client were impressed by the results. The Elios 3 revealed internal damage that wasn’t visible from the outside, proving the value of drone-based inspections over traditional methods.

Traditionally, two trained workers would be needed to inspect a single blade. With the Elios 3, only one person was required in the hub, significantly reducing risk and workload. Each blade was inspected in under 30 minutes, compared to over a day using manual methods or 4 hours with rovers.

This success showed that drone inspections offer a faster, safer, and more cost-effective solution. Following this demonstration, Drone Solution hopes to expand the use of drones for regular inspections across more turbines and wind farms, creating a new standard in wind energy maintenance.

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