Sprayers 101 Drone Productivity Calculator

Define the mission

Treatment area and flight settings

Treatment length

Treatment width

Pass orientation

Flight speed

Effective swath width

Width of the band reliably applied.

Pass spacing

Distance between adjacent pass centrelines.

Application rate

Drone tank capacity

180° turn time

seconds

Headland passes

Plan servicing

Tender setup and operating strategy

How the four tendering strategies differ

The calculator compares four tendering strategies automatically.

1. Fixed tender, run until emptyThe tender stays fixed. The drone returns only when the tank is empty.

2. Fixed tender, forced refillThe tender stays fixed. At the tender-side turning edge, the drone refills before starting an out-and-back pair it cannot finish.

3. Movable tender, run until emptyThe drone runs until empty, then ferries from that point to the tender at its current optimized position.

4. Movable tender, forced refillThe forced-refill rule applies and the tender may move along the turning edge to shorten ferrying.

When movement is allowed, the calculator tests the turning edge in halves through ninths. Any move interval shorter than 100 m is excluded.

Starting tender position

Choose the initial point on the turning edge.

Starting tender position

Ferry and service

Speeds apply only while the drone is not spraying.

Loaded ferry speed

Empty ferry speed

Refill + battery swap

min/stop

Refill strategyChoose the return rule eligible for recommendation. Detailed scenarios still compare both rules.

Scenario orientation check

Set operating constraints

Crew and tender operation

Water support

Enter the tender capacity and the time required to replenish it.

Tender water capacity

Water-source round trip

minutes

Staffing and tender movement

Describe who is available and whether the tender can be repositioned during spraying.

Crew arrangementOne crew member serves as both pilot and mixer/loader. With two crew members, the pilot flies while a separate mixer/loader services the drone and moves the tender.

Tender mobilityWith one crew member, tender movement pauses the operation. With two crew members, the mixer/loader may move the tender while the pilot continues flying.

Optional refinement

Advanced flight settings

The defaults are suitable for an initial comparison. Open this section only when aircraft-specific settings are available.

Mission recommendation

Fastest valid scenario and its key operational trade-offs.

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Productivity—

Tender moves—

Time saved vs. fixed tender—

Refills / battery swaps: forced vs. fly until empty——

Total ferry distance: best movable vs. fixed tender——

Scenario comparison

Suggested fill subtracts the average forced-refill residual from tank capacity, then adds a 5 L reserve to reduce the risk of running empty before reaching the tender side.

Scenario	Time	Area/h	Sorties	Loaded	Return	Forced	Avg. left	Suggested fill	Moves	vs. ref.

Recommended sortie details

Recommended scenario

Time by activity

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—total minutes

Productive flight—

SprayingSupport, ferry and delays

Exact route verification

Exact comparison of fixed and movable tender strategies

Recommendation source

Exact-model safeguards: edge returns use the inset turning line. With two operators, the tender may move along the permitted turning edge while the drone sprays and wait at the best tested return coordinate. With one operator, the drone returns to the current tender before relocation. Every candidate set retains the user-selected starting position.

This section uses the same exact route model that now populates the recommendation above. It remains here temporarily so the recommendation, tender positions, ferry totals and sortie sequence can be independently inspected.

Exact fixed-tender time—

Exact relocated-tender time—

Time saved—

Recommended moves—

Loaded ferry—

Return ferry—

Edge-based early-return comparison

Return rule	Tender positions	Moves	Total time	Loaded ferry	Return ferry	Sorties

Recommended tender positions

Show recommended sortie sequence

Sortie	Tender position	Loaded ferry	Spray distance	Return ferry	Tank remaining	Return reason

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