Wind Turbine Inspection
An external visual record of the tower, nacelle and blade surfaces, flown at a standoff rather than by rope access.
An external visual record of the tower, nacelle and blade surfaces, flown at a standoff rather than by rope access.
What it shows
- Leading-edge erosion and surface wear
- Surface cracking, gel coat damage and delamination where visible
- Lightning strike damage and receptor condition
- Contamination, soiling and staining on blades and tower
- Coating breakdown and corrosion on the tower
- Nacelle, hub and spinner condition
- Oil and fluid staining
- Damage to vents, hatches and external fittings
- Bird strike and impact damage
- Condition of the base, foundation and immediate surroundings
Save time and money on blade inspections — catch erosion while it is still a surface repair.
Get in touchErosion is cheap to fix and expensive to ignore
Leading-edge erosion is the classic example of a defect that is trivial while it is small and ruinous once it is not. Early on it is a surface treatment. Left alone it becomes a laminate repair, and the output loss in between is real and continuous.
The difficulty is that the early stage is invisible from the ground. By the time erosion is obvious from the base of the tower, it has been developing for a long time.
Photographing the blades at a standoff, along their length, catches it while it is still cheap — and gives you a dated record you can put next to next year's to see how fast it is moving.
What you get
Save Time And Money On Turbine Inspections
Leading-edge erosion is the classic defect that is trivial while it is small and ruinous once it is not. Early on it is a surface treatment. Left alone it becomes a laminate repair, and the output loss in between is continuous.
The difficulty is that the early stage is invisible from the ground. Photographing the blades at a standoff catches it while it is still cheap.
An inspection records:
- Each blade surface along its length
- Leading-edge erosion and surface wear
- Cracking, gel coat damage and delamination
- Lightning strike damage and receptors
- Nacelle, hub and spinner condition
- Tower coatings, staining and external fittings
A Fraction Of The Cost Of Rope Access
Rope access needs a qualified team, a rescue plan and a weather window, and it takes the turbine out of service for the day. For a routine condition check that is a great deal of arrangement for a question a photograph can answer.
We fly it in a single visit, at a standoff, and hand back a dated record you can put next to next year's to see how fast something is moving.
The rotor must be stopped and secured before we fly, which is your side of the job. And we record rather than classify — deciding what needs repairing, and when, is the turbine engineer's.
Who asks for it
- Wind farm operations teams
- Owners of single and small-cluster turbines
- Maintenance contractors scoping a repair
What clients get from working with us
Timescales
Most sites are surveyed within two working days of instruction, with reports sent 24 hours after surveys.
Deliverables
Orthomosaics, 3D models, point clouds, elevation sets and edited media, supplied in the formats your team already works in.
Coverage
Operating throughout the East and West Midlands, Yorkshire and East Anglia.
Compliance
Fully authorised and insured, with a site-specific risk assessment issued before every attendance.
Continuity
One point of contact from enquiry to delivery. Data is processed in-house and is never passed to a third-party bureau.
Certainty
A fixed written quotation against an agreed deliverable. No day rates and no variation after the event.
Questions
Does the turbine need to be stopped?
Yes. The rotor must be stopped and secured before we fly anywhere near it. Arranging that is your side of the job and we will agree it before we attend.
Can you classify blade damage?
No. We record what is visible at high resolution. Classification against a damage standard, and deciding what needs repairing and when, is the turbine engineer's judgement.
Can you inspect the inside of a blade?
No. This is external only. Internal inspection needs a crawler or a rope team inside the blade.
What happens if the weather is wrong on the day?
We move it. Wind and rain make for unsafe flying and soft, unusable pictures, and a survey you cannot rely on is worse than no survey. We watch the forecast and give you as much notice as we can.
Is it legal to fly over my property?
Yes, within the rules. We hold a CAA Operational Authorisation and every flight is planned against the airspace, the surroundings and the people on and around the site before we attend. If a site needs a permission we cannot get, we tell you at enquiry rather than on the day.
Tell us about the site and we will take it from there
A site postcode and a sentence about what you need is enough to get started.
Get in touch
Provide a site postcode or boundary and a short description of the required output. We will confirm the deliverables, level of detail.
- A site postcode is sufficient to price most instructions
- Written quotation, in most cases the same working day
- Deliverables and formats agreed at instruction
info@midlandsaerialsurveys.co.uk
Stamford, Lincolnshire