Flying around Turbine Wind mills

Herongate · Jan 2, 2024

Hello,
i am a new drone pilot. i have a DJI mini4pro. I plan to fly around Turbine windmills and I was wondering if that can be dangerous in terms of possible magnetic fields interference or something else I don’t know about. I wouldn’t want the drone to flyaway or get fried.
What should I be mindful of, besides not getting to close to the blades !! ?
thank you in advance for your advice.

Robert Prior · Jan 2, 2024

Magnetic fields shouldn't be a problem if you keep a safe distance away.

Remember that the blades are moving a lot faster than they appear to, so be cautious about getting too close.

BobaFut · Jan 2, 2024

I've flown relatively close to windmills and not noticed any issues. By close I mean maybe a few hundred feet (in all directions) because there's no way I'm getting closer than that just given potential turbulence and the threat of physical impact. I was also in a position where I was at the end of the line of windmills and so could orbit without having to go in between the turbines.

If you get close enough where the drone is experiencing electronic interference, you're probably way too close for other reasons.

This is with the Mavic 3 Pro 70mm lens and I think the turbine closest in the photo was the closest one to the drone...although maybe it's zoomed in past one other turbine that's closer.

Herongate · Jan 2, 2024

BobaFut said:
I've flown relatively close to windmills and not noticed any issues. By close I mean maybe a few hundred feet (in all directions) because there's no way I'm getting closer than that just given potential turbulence and the threat of physical impact. I was also in a position where I was at the end of the line of windmills and so could orbit without having to go in between the turbines.

If you get close enough where the drone is experiencing electronic interference, you're probably way too close for other reasons.

This is with the Mavic 3 Pro 70mm lens and I think the turbine closest in the photo was the closest one to the drone...although maybe it's zoomed in past one other turbine that's closer.
View attachment 171531

Thank you for the info and photo @BobaFut .

Rchawks · Jan 2, 2024

WanderLost · Jan 2, 2024

Herongate said:
Hello,
i am a new drone pilot. i have a DJI mini4pro. I plan to fly around Turbine windmills and I was wondering if that can be dangerous in terms of possible magnetic fields interference or something else I don’t know about. I wouldn’t want the drone to flyaway or get fried.
What should I be mindful of, besides not getting to close to the blades !! ?
thank you in advance for your advice.

I've done windmill inspections but I use a Matrice M30 which has a great telephoto lens so I don't have to get closer than 100 -200 feet. However, there's lots of turbulence up there - you're 300-400 feet up and winds aloft are usually higher, plus the vortices off the blades can upset a small drone. Best done on a calm day when the blades aren't turning - they are awesome up close!

Rchawks · Jan 2, 2024

Herongate · Jan 2, 2024

WanderLost said:
I've done windmill inspections but I use a Matrice M30 which has a great telephoto lens so I don't have to get closer than 100 -200 feet. However, there's lots of turbulence up there - you're 300-400 feet up and winds aloft are usually higher, plus the vortices off the blades can upset a small drone. Best done on a calm day when the blades aren't turning - they are awesome up close!

Thank you for the useful advice. I will definitely go there on a calm day, because for now i am only doing photography with the drone i.e. static images.

jimlips · Jan 3, 2024

Timing is everything.

slup · Jan 3, 2024

@Herongate this with magnetic interference is mainly your enemy #1 just when you power on your drone... that's what can cause uncontrollable flights (read my post in your thread about props, if you haven't done that already). But I said "mainly"... eventhough it's the IMU that handles the flight after the power on & not the compass, all sensors like gyro, accelerometer including the compass slowly feed in adjustments to the IMU during the flight... so being very near a large magnetic object during a longer time can cause that a slightly constantly deflected compass mess with the i initially set IMU heading which over time can cause unexpected flight behaviors.

In this case with windmills I wouldn't expect any of this, you will not be close enough, instead it's the already mentioned vortexes & general turbulence in a place like that.

One thing not mentioned is a RTH due to hogged down control signal... either due to electronical interference or that you go out of a unobstructed line of sight. Make sure you set the RTH height well above the mills with a blade in the upper position... but if you already are up on 400ft AGL you need to plan it so you always have a clear straight path to the HP, otherwise your drone might collide with a windmill on the way back.

WanderLost · Jan 3, 2024

slup said:
@Herongate this with magnetic interference is mainly your enemy #1 just when you power on your drone... that's what can cause uncontrollable flights (read my post in your thread about props, if you haven't done that already). But I said "mainly"... eventhough it's the IMU that handles the flight after the power on & not the compass, all sensors like gyro, accelerometer including the compass slowly feed in adjustments to the IMU during the flight... so being very near a large magnetic object during a longer time can cause that a slightly constantly deflected compass mess with the i initially set IMU heading which over time can cause unexpected flight behaviors.

In this case with windmills I wouldn't expect any of this, you will not be close enough, instead it's the already mentioned vortexes & general turbulence in a place like that.

One thing not mentioned is a RTH due to hogged down control signal... either due to electronical interference or that you go out of a unobstructed line of sight. Make sure you set the RTH height well above the mills with a blade in the upper position... but if you already are up on 400ft AGL you need to plan it so you always have a clear straight path to the HP, otherwise your drone might collide with a windmill on the way back.

In Canada here, I specifically asked about this during a Transport Canada briefing on existing and upcoming drone regulations. They said that the allowance to fly up to 100 feet to clear an existing structure holds for windmills as well. Here, the windmills I've surveyed are around 450-475 feet high, so I set my RTH at 550 feet in order to clear the blades as they rotate to the top of their radius.

Herongate · Jan 3, 2024

slup said:
@Herongate this with magnetic interference is mainly your enemy #1 just when you power on your drone... that's what can cause uncontrollable flights (read my post in your thread about props, if you haven't done that already). But I said "mainly"... eventhough it's the IMU that handles the flight after the power on & not the compass, all sensors like gyro, accelerometer including the compass slowly feed in adjustments to the IMU during the flight... so being very near a large magnetic object during a longer time can cause that a slightly constantly deflected compass mess with the i initially set IMU heading which over time can cause unexpected flight behaviors.

In this case with windmills I wouldn't expect any of this, you will not be close enough, instead it's the already mentioned vortexes & general turbulence in a place like that.

One thing not mentioned is a RTH due to hogged down control signal... either due to electronical interference or that you go out of a unobstructed line of sight. Make sure you set the RTH height well above the mills with a blade in the upper position... but if you already are up on 400ft AGL you need to plan it so you always have a clear straight path to the HP, otherwise your drone might collide with a windmill on the way back.

Thank you @slup for your reply. I had read your first reply on my other question about propellers but not the second one that was addressed to someone else. I will most definitely read it later when i have free time. Thank you so much for all the help.

jccvk2106 · Jan 3, 2024

Herongate said:
Hello,
i am a new drone pilot. i have a DJI mini4pro. I plan to fly around Turbine windmills and I was wondering if that can be dangerous in terms of possible magnetic fields interference or something else I don’t know about. I wouldn’t want the drone to flyaway or get fried.
What should I be mindful of, besides not getting to close to the blades !! ?
thank you in advance for your advice.

not sure in your country germany , only commerical pilots hobby drone pilot 100 meter away by law

Melvoid · Jan 3, 2024

Herongate said:
Hello,
i am a new drone pilot. i have a DJI mini4pro. I plan to fly around Turbine windmills and I was wondering if that can be dangerous in terms of possible magnetic fields interference or something else I don’t know about. I wouldn’t want the drone to flyaway or get fried.
What should I be mindful of, besides not getting to close to the blades !! ?
thank you in advance for your advice.

I've flown around them too. I keep my distance and don't try to do anything fancy like flying through or between the blades. I've heard - this is rumor to me - that hitting one of the blades could cost you a lot for a follow-up inspection. The only other concern is whether or not you're on private property when doing so. All that said, it should make for some cool shots.

https://youtu.be/TKAu2GwtZcM

Flying Shroppie · Jan 3, 2024

In a strongish wind the tips on the blades of a large wind turbine are traveling close to the speed of sound ie. 720-760 mph Unless your reactions are super human stay away.

MS Coast · Jan 3, 2024

Flying Shroppie said:
In a strongish wind the tips on the blades of a large wind turbine are traveling close to the speed of sound ie. 720-760 mph Unless your reactions are super human stay away.

I'm not a wind turbine expert, but, intuitively, that sounds a bit overstated.

So, I ran some quick numbers. For a tip velocity to reach 720 mph at 20 rpm (ballpark figure for big turbines) the rotor radius would have to be a little over 500 feet. That largest wind turbine blade I could find a reference to is 107 meters long, about 351 feet.

Also, a quick search seems to indicate that wind turbines are controlled to limit tip speeds to about 180 mph.

Is there are source for the near-sonic speed? In any case, I'm not advocating trying to fly a drone through the rotor area of a turbine.

Herongate · Jan 3, 2024

Flying Shroppie said:
In a strongish wind the tips on the blades of a large wind turbine are traveling close to the speed of sound ie. 720-760 mph Unless your reactions are super human stay away.

Wow! I did not know that @Flying Shroppie ! So you are saying that a turbine (windmill) that appears to be turning very slowly from where I stand, is in fact going very fast at the tips of the blades???

Herongate · Jan 3, 2024

jccvk2106 said:
not sure in your country germany , only commerical pilots hobby drone pilot 100 meter away by law

@jccvk2106 : in Canada, we can fly 122 m up . But we can also fly 30m above the structure itself to clear it, so that would mean 152m high (if i understand the rules correctly).

Herongate · Jan 3, 2024

WanderLost said:
In Canada here, I specifically asked about this during a Transport Canada briefing on existing and upcoming drone regulations. They said that the allowance to fly up to 100 feet to clear an existing structure holds for windmills as well. Here, the windmills I've surveyed are around 450-475 feet high, so I set my RTH at 550 feet in order to clear the blades as they rotate to the top of their radius.

Thanks for the info @WanderLost .