Free Elios 3 Demo On Your Site For Confined Space Inspection

Seeing an inspection drone on a conference stand tells you very little about how it will cope inside your own boiler, tank or culvert. That is why Coptrz and Flyability now bring the Flyability Elios 3 to UK sites for a free, half-day confined space inspection demo, flown inside one of your own assets while your team watches. This guide explains what the demo involves, what you need to prepare, and why so many asset owners are replacing man entry with a single flight.

Why A Confined Space Inspection Demo Beats A Brochure

Every asset has its own geometry. Hatch sizes, internal bracing, dust, standing water and poor light all change how an aircraft behaves, and no video filmed somewhere else can show you that. An on-site demo removes the guesswork because the Elios 3 is flown in your vessel, under your conditions, with your inspectors asking the questions.

It also changes the internal conversation. Instead of presenting a spec sheet to your operations or HSE lead, you walk them through footage and a point cloud captured inside an asset they already know. That evidence is far easier to build a business case around.

What Happens During Your Free Elios 3 Demo

The visit is designed to take up half a day, either a morning or an afternoon, and there is no charge or obligation attached. It runs in four simple stages.

Before The Visit

A short call with the Coptrz team confirms which asset will be flown and how access will work. Site inductions and any permits on your side are arranged at this stage, so nothing holds things up on the morning itself.

Arrival On Site

A Flyability engineer and a Coptrz specialist arrive with the aircraft, payloads, lighting and software. All you need to provide is the asset and someone who knows it well enough to point out the areas you care about most.

The Flight

The Elios 3 is flown inside your asset, navigating your hatches and internal structures. This is the part that matters, because you see exactly how the drone handles your environment rather than a controlled demo rig.

After The Visit

You keep the footage and the 3D model from your asset, even if you decide not to take things further. Many teams use that data straight away as internal evidence for budget approval.

What The Flyability Elios 3 Brings To Indoor Inspection

The Elios 3 is purpose built for flying inside structures where GPS is unavailable and contact with walls is almost guaranteed. Its key features include:

• A collision tolerant cage that lets the aircraft bump into structures and keep flying.
• LiDAR and SLAM that build a live point cloud during flight and hold position without GPS.
• Oblique, dust proof lighting that rakes across surfaces so pitting and cracking stand out.
• 4K visual and radiometric thermal imaging captured on the same pass and tagged to the 3D model.
• A modular payload bay for ultrasonic thickness testing, radiation dosimetry and surveying payloads.

The aircraft can pass through openings from 50 x 50cm, which covers most standard manways and inspection hatches, and it can stay inside far longer than a person safely could.

Time, Safety And Data Gains From Drone Inspection

Asset owners who switch to the Elios 3 usually point to three benefits.

Time. A large share of any inspection window is spent building access rather than inspecting. Flying the asset means inspection starts on day one, repairs can be scoped before an outage begins, and sometimes you discover that no repair is needed at all.

Safety. Confined space entry is usually the highest risk line on an inspection plan. Take people out of the asset and the scaffolding, gas testing, entry permits and standby rescue teams go with them.

Data. Instead of a folder of torch lit photographs, you get a dated and dimensioned point cloud of the interior. It can be measured, shared with contractors and compared against next year's scan to track deterioration.

Coptrz has recorded a 20% cost saving on a stack inspection flown with the Elios 3 compared with conventional access, alongside a significant reduction in inspection time.

Which Sectors And Assets Suit An Elios 3 Demo

Demos are available to organisations across nine sectors, including power and energy, oil and gas, water, manufacturing, nuclear, utilities, infrastructure, asset integrity and NDT, and inspection service providers. Typical assets flown include:

• Boiler furnaces, HRSGs and flue ducts
• Storage tanks, pressure vessels and silos
• Sewers, culverts and water mains
• Cooling towers, coal bunkers and turbine halls

In power generation, for example, boiler internals can only be inspected during a fixed outage window. Most of that window is usually consumed by scaffolding, so removing the access phase frees up days for the work that actually matters.

How To Book Your On Site Drone Demo

Booking takes a couple of minutes on the Coptrz Elios 3 demo page. Choose your UK region (North, South, East or West), share your company details, and the team will get a date in the diary. If you are not ready to host a visit yet, you can book a 15 minute call to talk through your assets first.

FAQs

What is the Flyability Elios 3 used for?

The Elios 3 is an indoor inspection and mapping drone used to inspect confined and hard to reach spaces such as tanks, boilers, sewers, mines and chimneys. It captures 4K video, thermal imagery and a LiDAR point cloud so inspectors can assess an asset without entering it.

Can drones be used for confined space inspection?

Yes. Caged drones such as the Elios 3 are designed specifically for confined space inspection, tolerating contact with walls and flying without GPS. They remove the need for people to enter the space, which cuts out scaffolding, entry permits and rescue standby teams.

Do you need a licence to fly a drone indoors in the UK?

Flights inside a fully enclosed structure do not fall under the same CAA requirements as flights in open airspace. Coptrz will explain what applies to your specific operation, and dedicated Elios 3 training is available for your team.

Do we have to shut anything down for the demo?

Usually not. The Coptrz team selects an asset that is already accessible or already offline, so the demo shows what the Elios 3 can do without disrupting your operation.

How much does an Elios 3 demo cost?

The on site demo is free and carries no obligation. It lasts around half a day and you keep all the data captured from your asset.

Final Thoughts

An on site demo is the quickest way to find out if the Elios 3 can replace man entry on your assets. In half a day you see it fly your geometry, your team gets hands on answers, and you walk away with real inspection data to support the decision.

Book your free on site Elios 3 demo and see it fly inside one of your own assets, at no cost and with no obligation.