CASE C15 · US ·
Pathfinder Optics: drone inspection inside wind turbine blades, four turbines a day
US firm Pathfinder Optics inspects wind turbine blade interiors with a caged drone. People no longer crawl inside the blades, and throughput reportedly rose from 1–2 to 4 turbines a day. The turbine must still be stopped and someone must climb to the hub, and the $1 million saving is a general estimate.
| Owner | Wind farm operator (not named) |
| Provider | Pathfinder Optics |
| Location | US West Coast, United States |
| Aircraft | Flyability Elios 3 with LiDAR payload |
| Sensors | visual camera, LiDAR |
Before
Inspectors climb to the hub and crawl into each blade through hatches; 1–2 turbines per day.
With drones
With the turbine stopped, the drone is carried to the hub and flown about 220 ft down each blade interior.
Outcomes
| Metric | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| throughput | 4 turbines per day vs 1–2 | Reported |
| time per tower | climb, inspection and descent within 3 hours | Reported |
| avoided cost | over US$1 million per blade replacement avoided by early detection | Estimate |
Caveats & limits
- Manufacturer case study; owner, site and year not named.
- The $1 million figure is a general claim about blade replacement, not a measured saving.
- Turbines must be shut down; an inspector still climbs to the cramped hub with the drone (or it is winched up).
Sources
- Saving over $1 million: wind turbine inspections with the Elios 3Flyability Full text read
Sources checked: 2026-10-22