Every face, recorded and referenced
We fly a structured pattern around the asset so each face and level is captured at a known position, rather than collecting an unordered set of photographs. Findings are recorded against the component and level where they were seen.
The output is a defect register with severity ratings and recommended action, and the imagery that supports each entry. Where you want the client or the asset owner to see it directly, the same inspection can be published as an Asset View panorama with the findings pinned in place.
Where drone inspection pays
Telecom masts
Steelwork, mounts, antennas, feeders and lighting.
Transmission and substations
Towers, gantries, insulators, fittings and conductor condition.
Bridges and structures
Soffits, bearings and joints reached without access equipment.
Industrial and roofs
Plant, stacks and roof areas, including thermal survey.
How a tower inspection actually runs
An inspection is only worth having if the next one can be compared with it. That means flying the same structure the same way each time, so a change in the record is a change on the tower rather than a change in how it was photographed.
We fly a planned orbit at fixed radius and fixed height steps, with the camera held at a set angle for each pass. Every face is covered at every level, with overlap between frames so nothing falls between them. Position and height are recorded for each capture, which is what lets a finding be placed on the structure rather than described loosely as "near the top". Close detail is flown separately, after the general pass, on anything the first sweep flags.
Nobody climbs. The structure stays in service, there is no scaffold, no rope access team and no permit-to-work for working at height. On a live mast that usually means the inspection happens in a morning instead of being scheduled around a shutdown.
- 1
Scope and authorisation
Asset list, access arrangements and flight permissions, settled before anyone travels.
- 2
General pass
Planned orbit at fixed radius and height steps, every face and level covered with overlap.
- 3
Detail pass
Close capture of anything the general pass flags, at the position it was found.
- 4
Register and handover
Defects rated, located and dated, with the supporting frame attached to each entry.
A register you can act on, not a folder of photographs
The common failure of drone inspection is that it ends with several hundred images and nobody with time to open them. What arrives here is a defect register: one row per finding, each with a severity rating, a location on the structure, the date it was recorded, and the frame that shows it.
That shape matters because it is what a maintenance team can work from directly. Findings can be sorted by severity, assigned, closed off, and checked again on the next visit. The imagery sits behind the register rather than in front of it.
- Severity rated. Each entry carries a rating, so urgent work is separable from what can wait for the next maintenance window.
- Located on the structure. Face and level, not a vague description, so a climbing team knows where to go before they arrive.
- Dated and comparable. Because the flight pattern is repeatable, this year's record can be set against last year's and the difference read directly.
- Evidence attached. The supporting frame travels with the finding, so a landlord, a tenant or an insurer can see what was seen.
Where a structure carries equipment for more than one tenant, the same record serves the site owner and each operator, which saves repeating the inspection three times for three different reports.
What operators usually ask first
Does the mast have to be taken out of service?
No. The inspection is flown while the site stays live. That is most of the reason it costs less than a climb: there is no outage to schedule and no downtime to cost in.
How close can you actually get?
Close enough to read the condition of fittings, mounts and feeders. The general pass is flown at a standoff that keeps the whole face in frame; anything that needs a closer look gets a second, tighter pass at the position it was flagged.
Can you compare against an earlier inspection?
Yes, provided the earlier one was flown to a repeatable pattern. That is why ours are. If the previous record came from an unstructured set of photographs, the first flight we do becomes the baseline instead.
Who handles the flight permissions?
We do, as part of the scope. Many masts sit near roads, settlements or controlled airspace, and that is settled before the team travels rather than discovered on the day.
What about thermal?
Available where it earns its place, which on this kind of asset usually means connections, plant and roof areas rather than steelwork.
Ask about the structure, not the photo set
Condition, mounting and change on your own tower, described in words rather than buried in a folder of images. Ask whether anything is loose or missing on the upper section, and read the answer.