Westar Energy will soon deploy drones in the war on power outages. The state’s dominant electric company this week obtained a rule exemption from the Federal Aviation Administration to begin using two remote-control aerial drones. Company officials say that once a few final details are finished, the drones will be able to perform a variety of tasks such as searching out remote transmission line breaks, pinpointing storm damage and inspecting wind turbine blades. “The abilities with these systems are endless,” said Jason Klenklen, supervisor of transmission maintenance and one of Westar’s two drone-qualified pilots. “You name it, it can be done with them — anything from aerial inspection of wind turbines to shooting pictures for our communications department.” Predator drones they’re not. The two drones Westar is getting approved are quad-copter-style machines about 2 to 3 feet across including the propellers – similar to what a model airplane enthusiast might buy from a hobby shop. They weigh 5 to 12 pounds, mostly batteries, Klenklen said. But while they’re more or less the same size as hobby drones, they’re not toys. If one gets wrecked, it has to be reported like an actual plane crash. It’s not fun and games […]
