Our Primoco UAV One 150 drone took off from St. Peter-Ording airfield in North Frisia and flew over 70 km out to sea to the Kaskasi wind farm. Our pilots controlled the drone during the flight from the ground control station at the airport, monitoring and supervising the flight continuously.
The drone is equipped with all the necessary safety systems. What makes this flight unique is that the drone operates like an aeroplane in open airspace. It is visible via transponders, and the pilots are in radio contact with other aircraft and air traffic control.
This survey flight, which was funded by the wind farm operator RWE as part of the SeaMe research project, used digital cameras to monitor seabirds and marine mammals as part of the environmental monitoring for the Kaskasi offshore wind farm.
‘We are very proud to be taking this step and starting a new era of marine environmental monitoring,’ said Dr Georg Nehls, BioConsult SH's managing director. ‘We would like to thank RWE for its support and all in preparation and operation of the mission involved parties for their constructive assistance of the project.’
The Primoco drone used by BioConsult SH is ideal for large-scale survey flights such as those routinely carried out as part of offshore wind farm planning. The 150 kg long-range drone can remain airborne for up to 15 hours and is equipped with a HiDef video system. This ensures methodological continuity, as the camera system provides the same coverage and image resolution as previous surveys conducted from aircraft.
During its first offshore flight, the drone flew approximately 400 km at an altitude of around 540 m, reaching a maximum distance from the coast of around 100 km.
BioConsult SH and Primoco UAV SE are at the forefront of European drone aviation, integrating drones into non-segregated civil airspace. This has been made possible through the use of state-of-the-art aviation technology and safety systems, including transponders and radio systems.
Within the SeaMe project, BioConsult SH is exploring the potential of using drones for environmental monitoring, with the aim of enabling CO₂-efficient, low-emission, and interference-free recording of birds and marine mammals in the future.
Read more about our remote sensing methods, our digital aerial surveying and our drone-based aerial surveys.