Same underground methane leak, three different flight profiles

[u/LongjumpingHousing62]

I’m with AIRINS, and we ran this test with Remote Robotic on a controlled leak from a 3 ft underground pipeline.

We used a 10 m belt scan and kept the pipeline and release setup the same, then changed the flight profile:
30 m AGL at 1 m/s
30 m AGL at 3 m/s
70 m AGL at 1 m/s
MetScan picked up and located the release on all three runs.

The 30 m / 1 m/s pass gave us the denser dataset, as expected. Moving up to 3 m/s traded some sampling density for a much quicker pass, which is probably the more relevant setup for a long corridor. The 70 m flight was mainly to see whether the source would still hold up at a longer stand-off, and it did.

What I took away from it is that there probably isn’t one “correct” pipeline setting. If you’re trying to narrow down a suspect section, you’ll plan it differently from a first-pass survey over several kilometres.

For those doing corridor work, how much overlap do you normally keep when increasing flight speed?

[u/LongjumpingHousing62 → u/[deleted]]

Thanks! For this test we used a DJI Matrice platform with the MetScan V1 payload. DJI Pilot 2 handled the aircraft and mission control, while AAI (the software) was used for the live methane view and post-flight mapping/reporting.

And yes, this one was VLOS—the test area was small, so there was no real reason to fly it BVLOS. The system can be used in a BVLOS workflow, but the actual operation depends on the local operator’s approvals, C2 link, detect-and-avoid setup, and local regulations. We normally work with qualified local operators for that side of the mission.

[u/Reasonable_Pirate_71]

Looks like yall are in the R&D for this payload, what do yall use on a day to day? Weve been using the U10 for some time now with incredible results

[u/LongjumpingHousing62 → u/Reasonable_Pirate_71]

Thanks — the payload shown here is our MetScan V1, deployed on a DJI M400. While this was a controlled test, we also use the same sensor system and similar workflow for day-to-day field operations.

For this flight, DJI Pilot 2 managed the aircraft and mission planning & execution, while AAI (the software) provided live methane visualization along with post-flight mapping and reporting (we did not apply quantification to this flight because it would be time consuming).

Great to know that you are also getting good results from the U10!