DroneSOM test flights accomplished at SOKLI area!
Deep in the Finnish woods the Danish team, represented by René Forsberg and Bjørnar Dale from DTU and pilots Michael and technician Mickey Dines from Dines Avitech, teamed up with the Finnish partners from Radai. In the period 18-22. September the first combined field campaign within the DroneSOM project took place in Sokli, Finland.
Right after the teams gathered in Sokli, we underwent a safety meeting arranged by the Sokli mining company. Afterwards, we planned the coming days and started to check the instrument and drones after their long journey with the respective teams on its way to Sokli.
For the gravity team, Tuesday was spent conducting test flights to verify that all components of the drone and instruments were fully functioning. Due to an incoming weather system the test flights were stopped at noon. However, the electromagnetic team were able to successfully conduct their first two surveys.
With bad weather forecasts for the rest of the week, Thursday was the only possible remaining flight day. With some delays due to finding an appropriate landing and take-off location, the day ended on a high with two BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) surveys by the gravity team. These were the two first flights where the drone flew the full configuration with both the GNSS and IMU. Fuel consumption and battery capacity indicated a total flight time of 1,5 hours is feasible.
On Friday we waved goodbye and started the journey back to our respective home destinations. Next up is the MineralXploration Beyond 2025 workshop in Levi on the 30. October.
Registration for the on-line participation for the course is still open until 25.10.2023!
Link for the registration: Mineral Xploration Beyond 2025 (lyyti.fi)
DroneSOM Project Partners: Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) / Geologian tutkimuskeskus (GTK), Radai Oy, DTU – Technical University of Denmark Space, Beak Consultants GmbH.
Project Co-Funding: EIT RawMaterials
