FlyCart 30 at 3000 m: How Dual-Battery Winch Delivery Turned a Brutal Apple-Orchard Mapping Job into a One-Flight Afternoon
FlyCart 30 at 3000 m: How Dual-Battery Winch Delivery Turned a Brutal Apple-Orchard Mapping Job into a One-Flight Afternoon
TL;DR
- The FlyCart 30’s 30 kg dual-battery payload and IP55 sealing kept power stable and motors cool while climbing from 2200 m to 3000 m in 9 °C air.
- Its winch system eliminated the need to land on 30° terraced slopes, cutting battery burn by 22 % versus conventional take-off/landing cycles.
- BVLOS-ready route optimisation and payload-to-weight ratio of 0.46 let us map 65 ha of high-density apple rows in 18 min of actual flight time—one battery set, zero downtime.
The Ghost from 2019: Why I Still Hate That Ridge
Three seasons ago I tried to map the same Piemonte orchard with a modified quad that had to touch down every 1.2 ha to swap batteries. The ridge drops 200 m in 180 m of horizontal run—think a stone staircase for giants. Each landing cost me 8 min of hover-taxi, plus the anxiety of sliding 15 kg of LiPo down loose scree.
Fast-forward to last week: the FlyCart 30 arrived with the winch module still smelling like fresh moulding oil. One look at that ridge and I grinned—this time the aircraft would never touch dirt.
Problem: Altitude, Cold, and the Battery Vampire
Air density at 3000 m is 30 % lower than at sea level; propeller efficiency plummets and every climb sucks 1.7× the watt-hours. Add 9 °C morning temps and the old rule of thumb says expect 55 % of nominal capacity. My mission profile demanded:
- 65 ha multispectral coverage at 2 cm GSD
- 30 m ceiling above tallest apple head-rows (3.5 m)
- No landing zones on 30° terraces
- BVLOS approval window of 45 min before regional traffic picked up
Translation: I needed at least 28 min of mixed hover-cruise with zero voltage sag, plus a safety parachute layer for the sudden valley gusts that spike to 14 m s⁻¹ by 10 a.m.
Solution Map: Engineering That Kills the Vampire
1. Dual-Battery Redundancy ≠ Just Two Packs
The FlyCart 30 ships with two 8 Ah / 51.8 V hot-swappable packs run in parallel through independent 60 A FET banks. If one sags, the controller re-balances load in <200 ms—no brownout, no RTL twitch. I started the day at 95 % SoC on both packs; touchdown showed 31 % on pack A, 34 % on pack B, proving the load-share algorithm works even when props are spinning 2180 rpm in thin air.
2. Winch System: Keep the Aircraft in the Efficient Envelope
Instead of descending 50 m to each terrace, I hovered at 80 m AGL and lowered the 1.2 kg gimballed sensor pod with the 40 m Kevlar winch line. Power draw during hover averaged 1480 W—320 W less than a controlled descent/ascent cycle. Over 12 drop points that saved 22 % energy, equal to 6 min extra endurance.
3. Route Optimisation: Less Stick Time, More Sun Time
I pre-loaded the 65 ha polygon into DJI Pilot 3, set corner radius to 18 m (tightest allowed for BVLOS here), and enabled adaptive speed: 12 m s⁻¹ on straight runs, 5 m s⁻¹ on headland turns. The algorithm shaved 1.8 km off the original flight path—4 min of motor time—enough margin to keep batteries above 25 % even if valley wind sheared early.
Technical Snapshot: FlyCart 30 in High-Altitude Mapping Trim
| Parameter | Sea-Level Rating | 3000 m Derate | Field-Proven Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max payload | 30 kg | 30 kg (no derate) | 30 kg (dual-battery included) |
| Hover thrust margin | 45 % | 28 % | 26 % (measured) |
| IP rating | IP55 | — | IP55 (rain & dust tested) |
| Winch line max load | 15 kg | — | 12 kg (safety factor 1.25) |
| Endurance @ 20 kg payload | 28 min | 18 min (derate 0.64) | 18 min 10 s (actual) |
| Payload-to-weight ratio | — | — | 0.46 (30 kg / 65 kg MTOW) |
| Emergency parachute deploy time | — | — | 1.9 s (redundant trigger) |
Pro Tip: At altitude, set the low-battery RTL trigger 5 % higher than you would at sea level. The FlyCart 30’s voltage estimator compensates for pressure, but cold-soak can still drop cell voltage 0.2 V in the last 3 min. I logged a 0.18 V dip at 31 % SoC—exactly the margin I’d added, so RTL kicked in with zero panic.
Common Pitfalls: What to Avoid on Alpine Orchard Runs
Ignoring wind-layer forecasts
Valley walls create shear at 40–60 m. Fly the winch 20 m below that layer or you’ll swing the sensor pod like a pendulum, ruining overlap.Under-ballasting the winch line
A 200 g multispectral camera sounds light, but add a 400 g gimbal and you’re still below 1 kg. Add a 300 g lead slug in the pod; the FlyCart 30’s winch encoder needs >1.2 kg tension to spool cleanly.Skipping prop-torque checks after cold start
At 9 °C the carbon-fiber props contract 0.8 mm on the hub. Re-torque to 0.95 Nm before flight; I’ve seen micro-slippage cost 4 % efficiency on long climbs.
BVLOS & Redundancy: Why the Regulator Smiled
The regional aviation office approved a single-pilot BVLOS waiver because the FlyCart 30 checklist ticked every box: dual IMU, dual GPS, ADT-2 redundancy link, and the emergency parachute rated for <6 m s⁻¹ descent even at 65 kg MTOW. I kept a 3 km Strobe Lume on the winch pod for visibility—legal here above 120 m AGL—and the parachute’s independent 900 MHz cut-off gave the inspector warm fuzzies.
Field Results by the Numbers
- 1 flight, 18 min rotor time
- 65 ha mapped, 2 cm GSD, 85 % forward overlap
- 22 % energy saved via winch vs. landing cycles
- Battery reserve at touchdown: 32 % combined
- Temperature delta inside battery bay: only +6 °C thanks to IP55 sealed airflow ducting—no hand-warmers needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: Will the FlyCart 30’s winch spool freeze at sub-zero dawn temps?
A: The winch gearbox is factory-filled with -40 °C aerospace grease. I started work at -1 °C cabin temp; spool speed stayed within 2 % of spec all morning.
Q2: Can I run the aircraft on a single battery if one pack fails in the mountains?
A: Yes. The hot-swap bus lets you remove the dead pack and continue on the remaining battery with 15 kg max payload. Expect 55 % of dual-battery endurance—still enough for 10 min of mapping at 3000 m.
Q3: Does the IP55 rating protect against the fine dust kicked up by orchard tractors?
A: Absolutely. The chassis passed 8 h of talcum powder ingress testing equal to >75 μm particles. After my flight, a quick compressor blow-off left no dust inside the battery trays.
Ready to map your own impossible ridge? Contact our team for a consultation on FlyCart 30 configurations, or compare the larger FlyCart 50 if your payload tops 40 kg.