Equipment careMachinery, drones and services
Daily and weekly drone care — a checklist you can do yourself in 10 minutes
Most repairs can be prevented by short checks before and after flying. This checklist applies to every agricultural drone model.
About 2 min read
In this article
Agricultural drones work in dust, water and chemicals, conditions that are harsh on electronics. Short, regular checks are therefore far cheaper than major repairs.
Before every flight
- Check the propellers for chips, cracks or bends. A chipped propeller causes vibration, which drains the battery and wears out the motor.
- Check that every propeller is firmly attached.
- Check that the arm joints are fully locked.
- Check the battery charge level, and that the battery is not swollen or unusually hot.
- Run the spray system briefly to see that every nozzle is spraying and the spray pattern is even.
- Check that the filter is clean.
After every flight
- Clean the spray system following the steps.
- Wipe the aircraft dry, especially where there is chemical residue, because residue corrodes surfaces and connectors.
- Let the battery cool before charging.
- Check underneath the aircraft for water or chemical that has leaked inside.
Weekly
- Check wires and connectors for burn marks, corrosion or looseness.
- Check that the motors turn smoothly with no unusual noise.
- Clean the sensors and camera lens, because dust on the sensors makes the obstacle avoidance system malfunction.
- Check the real flow rate of the nozzles by timing and measuring the output, and compare it with what it should be.
What to keep in the toolbox
- Spare propellers, spare nozzles, spare filters, the spanners for that model, a clean cloth and clean water. The first four are the parts that fail most often and will stop work in the middle of a field if you have no spares.
When to have a technician look at it
- New noises or vibration, the drone tilting or pulling to one side while hovering, warnings that keep coming back even after a restart, or abnormal battery behaviour. Do not keep using it with these symptoms, because one crash costs far more than an inspection.
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