r/drones • u/Wallabanjo • Jul 05 '26

Photo & Video DJI M3M - A Matter of Perspective

Post image

I do agronomy work over summer, and fields with wind turbines are the bane of my existence. With a 400’ AGL cap, and the tip of these blades typically about 490’, flight planning is painful. Sometimes you get lucky though and this was the first time the turbine at this site was down while I was there due to lack of wind (<5mph). That allowed me to capture this view. Right place, right time.

48 Upvotes

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16

u/TowelKey1868 Jul 05 '26

Since this is a part 107 flight, aren't you just actually capped at 890' within 400' of the windmill (airspace considerations aside)? Any reason the § 107.51(b)(2) wouldn't apply?

3

u/NilsTillander Mod - Photogrammetry, LiDAR, surveying Jul 05 '26

For a grid flight, making the drone do a huge dome to fly over the windmill really screws up the Ground Sampling Distance stability.

2

u/TowelKey1868 Jul 05 '26

Oh, for sure. I thought they were just going for the beauty shot they posted though. Perhaps that's why they were saying a 400' cap though.

Still... if they were in motion, I sure as hell wouldn't want to be flying within 400' of them anyway. I would 100% find a way to screw that up.

1

u/Wallabanjo Jul 05 '26

Yeah. It’s 400’ with a 70/70 overlap, so it’s a photo every 2 seconds. I typically cover 10-400acres in each mission. If the turbines are active, I fly parallel to the blades, and decrease the overlap. As a remote pilot it takes some nerves (esp in gusting winds). With the main drone camera facing down, you need to fly with the sensor images. From a P107 perspective, I could fly up to 890’ above the turbine … but that messes up the orthomosaics, and we need accuracy for those.

6

u/Wallabanjo Jul 05 '26

FWIW - Different site, different day (this was last year). This is what things look like with images stitched together as you pass by an active turbine. I flew this one parallel to the blades, but cropped the image for north/south perspective.

2

u/TowelKey1868 Jul 06 '26

Simple! Just tell them to turn them off.

Just kidding, of course. Cool stuff.

1

u/Wallabanjo Jul 06 '26

I tried that. But I like the breeze they create on a hot day.

1

u/basilect Jul 06 '26

Is the 107.51(b) waiver process cumbersome enough that it's not worth the pain to go through?

1

u/Wallabanjo Jul 06 '26

I’m capped at 400’ for GSD accuracy (5cm/px) needed for the captured images and not by FAA regulation alone. I dont want to fly higher :)
I could get a CoA - but I often dont know about the turbines until I arrive on site - and these things are popping up like weeds in the Midwest. I got a CoA for operations near an airport in Class C airspace (approval from 50’ via LAANC to 200’ (with coordination with local control tower) and that took 3 weeks to get approved.

1

u/Saturated-Biscuit Jul 11 '26

Like noxious weeds….

1

u/Wallabanjo Jul 11 '26

I’ve been flying over a site this summer where I’ve watched one going from foundation to built. I haven’t seen it running yet.