Close visual inspection by drone, without the ropes
Every face of the asset recorded from safe standoff, with detail frames at sub-millimetre ground sample distance and no rope access crews, no scaffold and no EWP hire.
A close visual inspection (CVI) by drone puts a stabilised camera a few metres from every face of a structure, including soffits, bearings, upper members, tower mounts and dam faces, while your inspector reviews from the ground, live or afterwards. Each item of note is captured as a pair from one hover position: a wide frame for context and a 168 mm tele frame for the detail, with a laser-rangefinder position on the detail frame, and every inspection is delivered as an itemised defect register. No 3D model is built unless one is scoped. Indicative pricing as at October 2026, exclusive of GST: single-asset jobs from a few hundred dollars, telecommunications towers roughly $800–$2,500, bridges and major structures from about $2,000.
From full span to fastener, one capture
Detail frames are planned to reach sub-millimetre ground sample distance while the aircraft holds a safe standoff. The same flight that documents the structure end to end resolves individual rivet heads and coating failure. Each pair is a wide frame for context and a tele frame for condition, both taken from the same position so the detail can be placed on the structure without guesswork.
CONTEXT FRAME
DETAIL — SAME PASSThe itemised register
Findings can be reviewed live over video while the aircraft is still up, with your inspector or a third-party witness calling the shots, or afterwards from the referenced frames. Either way, the inspection comes back as an itemised register: each finding numbered, tied to the member or element it was found on, described in plain words, located on the structure, and carried with both of its frames and the capture metadata behind them.
The wording stays descriptive: it records what the frames show, not a condition rating or a judgement on structural adequacy; those, and the call on what happens next, stay with your engineer. Because each detail frame carries its position, a later flight can return to the same spots and compare like with like.
| Capture | PAIRED WIDE + 168 MM TELE, ONE HOVER |
|---|---|
| Positioning | LASER RANGEFINDER, EVERY DETAIL FRAME |
| Review | LIVE DURING FLIGHT, OR AFTERWARDS |
| Register | ITEMISED, EVERY INSPECTION |
| 3D model | NOT BUILT UNLESS SCOPED |
What the drone replaces
A conventional close inspection means access: rope crews, scaffold, EWP hire, traffic control, permits, and people suspended next to the structure being inspected. Most of that cost buys access, not information.
Flown from standoff, the same information arrives without the exposure: full coverage of soffits, bearings and upper members that ground-based passes sample at best. A visual inspection builds no 3D model, which is why it's the more cost-effective option. When you need automated detection across the whole capture and every finding pinned to a measurable 3D model, step up to AI defect detection.
| Replaces | ROPE ACCESS · SCAFFOLD · EWP HIRE |
|---|---|
| Coverage | EVERY FACE, INCLUDING SOFFITS + UPPER MEMBERS |
| Exposure | ZERO WORKING-AT-HEIGHT |
| Deliverable | ITEMISED REGISTER · PAIRED FRAMES |
CAPTURE — STANDOFF POSITIONWhere this earns its keep
Anywhere condition matters and access is the expensive part. Indicative 2026 pricing, exclusive of GST, is shown where there's a typical range; everything else is scoped on the asset.
Bridges and rail structures
Soffits, bearings, truss nodes and upper members, over water or beside a live corridor, without a snooper truck or lane closure. Rail work is planned inside the owner's possession arrangements. From about $2,000.
Telecommunications towers
Antennas, mounts, welds and coatings recorded in place, with no climb crew and no shutdown. Roughly $800–$2,500.
Dams, spillways and water assets
Concrete faces, chutes and outlet works imaged end to end, including the areas that are unsafe to reach on foot. Scoped on the asset.
Roofs and facades
Commercial roofs roughly $600–$1,500 and buildings or facades roughly $1,000–$3,000. Brisbane work is set out under drone roof and facade inspections.
Wharves and industrial plant
Silos, stacks, conveyors and process structures captured at height, with the flight planned around anyone working below, and roof steel inside an operating workshop flown indoors without GPS. Scoped on the asset.
Single small assets
One roof or one suspect area that needs a closer look before anyone books access. From a few hundred dollars.
Operations are planned around your site constraints and the relevant approvals. A JSA, site-specific flight documentation and insurances go across before anyone mobilises, with a SWMS wherever the site requires one.
What a visual inspection can't tell you
It records what can be seen, and nothing else. A camera can't sound concrete for delamination, measure coating thickness, test a weld or see corrosion behind cover, and it can't tell whether a crack is still moving. When a finding needs hands-on work, rope access or EWP crews go to that exact spot with the frames in hand, instead of searching the whole structure for it.
Where findings have to be detected automatically across the whole capture and pinned to a 3D model, the step up is AI defect detection. The detail on what drone imagery can and can't establish is in our explainer on AI crack detection by drone.
DEMONSTRATION — COMMS TOWERFlown on hard-access structures
This is the method behind two published Brisbane bridge case studies. The Indooroopilly Rail Bridge inspection ran inside a single weekend track possession, alongside the repaint crews, with a live HD relay to Queensland Rail and third-party inspectors throughout. The Story Bridge under-deck netting verification confirmed the netting intact after Riverfire 2025, reviewed live over video with the contractor. Same workflow, scoped to your structure.
Questions we get at scoping
Q/01What is a close visual inspection (CVI)?
A close visual inspection is a detailed, near-range assessment of a structure's surface condition, traditionally done from ropes, platforms or scaffold. Flown by drone, the same inspection records every face from a safe standoff, with detail frames at sub-millimetre ground sample distance, and the inspector reviews live or from the referenced record afterwards. The structure stays in service and nobody works at height.
Q/02What do we receive at the end?
An itemised defect register: each finding numbered, described in plain words, located on the structure and carried with a paired wide and tele frame from one hover position, the detail frame carrying a laser-rangefinder position. The flight footage comes with it. No 3D model is built unless one is scoped; when findings need automated detection and a 3D model to sit on, that's AI defect detection.
Q/03How close do you fly, and what does the imagery resolve?
Typically a few metres off the face, set in the flight plan around the structure and the airspace. Detail frames are planned at sub-millimetre ground sample distance, fine enough to show cracking, coating breakdown, fastener and sealant condition.
Q/04What can't a drone visual inspection detect?
Anything that can't be seen. Delamination needs sounding, coating thickness needs a gauge, weld quality needs testing, and corrosion behind cover needs instruments or a core. The inspection tells you exactly where to send people for those, so access is booked for the spots that need it instead of the whole structure.
Q/05Can our inspector watch the flight live?
Yes. The feed can be relayed live so your inspector or a third-party witness reviews each face as it's captured and asks for a closer look on the spot, as Queensland Rail and third-party inspectors did at Indooroopilly. If nobody can attend, the review happens afterwards from the referenced frames.
Q/06What about airspace and site approvals?
Hover operates under CASA ReOC #9398. Routine work in controlled airspace clears through the automated airspace authorisation service, which is open to ReOC holders only; flights over people, above 120 m or inside restricted airspace need a CASA Form 101-09 lodged at least 60 days ahead, so raise those at scoping. A JSA, flight documentation and insurances are supplied ahead of mobilisation, with a SWMS wherever the site requires one.
Q/07How much does a drone visual inspection cost?
As a 2026 guide, exclusive of GST: single small assets from a few hundred dollars, telecommunications towers roughly $800 to $2,500, commercial roofs roughly $600 to $1,500, and bridges or major structures from about $2,000. Height, access, airspace and the number of faces to cover all move the number. See the cost guide; Hover returns a written, fixed quote within one business day.
Q/08Drone inspection, rope access or EWP: which should we use?
For the visual layers of an inspection program, the drone is usually the fastest and lowest-cost option, and nobody leaves the ground. Rope access and EWPs earn their cost the moment the job needs hands on the structure: testing, sampling, repairs. The efficient pattern is to fly first, then mobilise access crews only where a finding demands hands-on work. The full costed comparison is in the drone vs rope access vs EWP guide.
Scope this for your site
Send the asset and the deliverable you need. A scoped method and quote come back within one business day.
HARRY BILLING — CHIEF REMOTE PILOT
0411 445 458
[email protected]
CASA ReOC #9398 · $28M PUBLIC LIABILITY